December 2006

 

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been giving many agencies some pretty tough feedback about their Fiscal Year 2008 funding requests for IT budgets. Quite a few people responsible for OMB 300s and 53s will be spending the holiday season planning remedies for their information technology (IT) projects. The remediation plans are due back to the Office of Management and Budget before the end of 2006, and the problems must be fixed by next June.

 

Here are some tactics worth considering for a succesful year in 2007:

 

1.  Move IT to the Front Office. The best management consultants will tell you to move IT decision making (including Capital Planning and Investment Control) from the computer room to the executive suite. That's where the CIO needs to have a voice, and the entire agency leadership team needs a clear understanding of how IT affects organizational strategy and program outcomes.

 

OMB, and GAO for that matter, will expect IT spending to be driven by mission and program priorities. Your top executives need to be using IT dollars as strategic assets ... and making decisions accordingly. As a bonus, a savvy leadership is in a position to fight for your essential budget priorities.

 

2.  Manage IT. Project and portfolio management have become top priorities. As we pointed out in our July newsletter, OMB wants detailed management control and real performance results. Words and promises will get you nowhere ... OMB wants to see the beef. There are multiple "best practices" that help agencies implement significant improvements, and experienced technology management advisors can help you chart a successful course of action.

 

3.  Do IT Right the First Time.  When you do IT right the first time, you spend less time on remediation plans and clean-up to fix problems. Take a look at our newsletter about Information Technology Investment Management, because ITIM provides a framework for doing it right the first time.

 

4.  Negotiate IT. Don't roll over every time OMB objects. If their examiners' decisions are going to hurt your agency's business performance in carrying out legislatively mandated programs, you need to take five action steps:

 

5.  Trim IT.  Another way to get what you need is to eliminate the lowest-ranking 10% or 20% of your portfolio. OK, it isn't quite that simple, but you can undoubtedly trim contracts, schedule modernization over a longer timeframe, and/or discontinue deadwood projects. The budget weight loss may yield dollars for the important (and exciting) initiatives.

 

6.  Replace IT. Today's technology options for hardware, software and systems cost as little as 10% of the cost of 1998 solutions. It may be time to decommision a few dinosaurs.

 

7.  Just Fix IT. Another solution is ... just fix things the way OMB wants. Just don't use it as an excuse to wimp out and paint your IT strategy into a corner.

 

8.  Support IT. High performance requires a smart, energetic team that can go far beyond cut-and-paste compliance. Industrial-strength support produces the IT results you need. 

 

TO-YOUR-DOOR TRAINING FOR PROJECT MANAGERS

 

The U.S. Department of Labor sponsors a subchapter of the Project Management Institute’s Washington Chapter, and it’s proving to be an innovative approach for continuing education for government project managers. There are monthly subchapter meetings with hour-long training sessions, rated at 1 Professional Development Unit (PDU) and eligible for counting toward PMP learning requirements.

 

I attended the session on December 6^th, featuring a presentation about ITIL, or Information Technology Infrastructure Library. ITIL seeks to optimize the quality of services provided to IT customers at a justifiable cost. ITIL originated in the United Kingdom during the 1980s and is now spreading like wildfire in the United States. Wikipedia offers a quick summary of ITIL at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITIL, which includes links to additional sources. The presentation at DOL was by Garret Goldstein, PMP and also certified by the ITIL Foundation. Garret is an Engagement Manager with Computer Associates.

The project management training initiative is the brainchild of Kevin Shine, DOL Program Manager. Personnel with Earned Value Management responsibilities usually have the option of staying for a second hour to hone their EVMS knowledge and proficiency.

SERVICES

 

The P2C2 Group provides authoritative services for the IT capital programming process--strategic planning, budgeting, capital investment, acquisition, management, and evaluation.

 

We were just informed of our latest past performance ratings from a government client, receiving a perfect score:

• Quality of Product or Service Rating:  5  (Excellent)
• Cost Control Rating:  5  (Excellent)
• Timeliness and Performance Rating:  5  (Excellent)
• Business Relations Rating:  5  (Excellent)

I became a grandfather on November 16. Of course I will insist on showing a photo.