What these programmes actually involve.
Walkthroughs of the identity programmes governments commission most often — the phases, the realistic durations, the costs that arrive late, the decisions that are hard to reverse, and the failure modes that catch most authorities out. Written for the people who have to defend the business case internally.
Workforce identity is usually the right place to start. The population is bounded, the financial return is measurable within a year, and it builds the institutional muscle — enrolment logistics, exception handling, grievance processes — that a national programme will need at a hundred times the scale.
Travel documents are often forced rather than chosen: an ICAO deadline, an expiring supply contract, or a neighbouring state moving first.
A national ID programme is the largest of the three and the one most often started first, which is part of why so many of them run long.
These are written to be useful whether or not you work with us. If they save you one avoidable mistake, they have done their job.
If you'd like the version specific to your country, population and legal framework — that's a conversation, and it's usually a short one.