Managing e-Voting Projects

Vienna.
The next session at EDEM 2009 starts with Christoph Eckl and Robert Müller-Török, who begin by pointing out the difficulties involved in establishing an e-voting project. Such projects are complex because of the applicable legal frameworks, the software required (and the approval and certification processes surrounding it), the need to engage in PR exercises to promote public acceptance of e-voting, and the stringent project management requirements which such a project therefore entails.

There have been a number of unsuccessful e-voting processes in recent years (turning in some cases into re-voting where legal challenges were successful) - there was limited participation, there were legal and political attacks, and there were negative reports from election observers. As we've already heard in other presentations, at least one Supreme Court challenge against e-voting has been successful (in Germany), setting back progress towards e-voting substantially.

Problems include that these are highly multi-stakeholder projects, with a great deal of outside involvement and influence (for more or less constructive reasons); there are mandatory deadlines set by election laws; the technology is highly complex and problematic; there is great media awareness, but limited knowledge of the details; and there are project sponsors who have relatively limited power over the process (election commissions are independent, there is limited direct reporting or clarity of chains of command, and random interference from courts, newspapers, and other outsiders). Ultimately, not all stakeholders are actually interested in the sucess of the project...

There are high risks for intervention from outside the project, then - complaints or lawsuits, court interference through stop orders, parliamentary debates and inquiries - which may lead to deadlines being missed. This also undermines trust and acceptance - and if confidence in the system is lost, the project is lost, and yet further problems will follow. This also means that proponents of such projects must act proactively and close as many loopholes as possible in advance.

What requirements exist for project management, then? There is a need to set up and enforce strict rules for engagement - especially in relation to communication (the project must speak with one voice); the project manager must be strong and capable. There also need to be clear reporting schedules and project timetables, and rules must be enforced extremely strictly. Single contractor arrangements are to be preferred, and professional consultants and advisors need to be involved from the start.

Intervention from the outside can be avoided by checking all legal issues right from the start (and by lawyers other than internal staff - critical dissenters should be sought out immediately) - all partisan organisations need to be part of the process, including civil rights groups and major NGOs. It is also important to make sure that the quality of tendering documents is flawless on order to avoid complaints through administrative courts.

Critical success factors are to ensure clear and stringent project communication, to be proactive and transparent in addressing any issues which may be raised, and to operate on a target group-oriented basis which seeks out the major groups that need to be involved in the process. A successful team involves (on the customer side) a project sponsor, an internal project coordinator, a consultant/auditor, and a communication coordinator, and (on the supplier side) a project manager, a software provider, an infrastructure provider, and a PR services provider. Professional project management is essential in this context.

Technorati : EDEM 2009, e-voting, project management
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