TechStat teaches skills that promote good government
The NolaStat report has offered a treatment of the TechStat approach used to manage IT projects in the District of Columbia. Additionally, the use of portfolio managers responsible for monitoring key performance indicators of D.C. projects was a remarkable innovation.
Here’s a review of the federal TechStat process that was published in Government Technology:
Federal CIO’s Techstat Initiative Seeks to Diagnose Troubled IT Initiatives and Deliver Quick Treatment
Aug 3, 2010, By Merrill DouglasA surprising number of current federal IT projects show signs of serious illness. That was one of the first things that Vivek Kundra learned when he became federal CIO in March 2009. …
Based on monthly figures from agency CIOs, the Federal IT Dashboard reveals how much each federal agency spends on IT initiatives and how well it manages those investments. …
“We recognize that shining light alone is not sufficient to take on some of these structural problems when it comes to federal IT,” he said.
In other words, it’s not enough to take the patient’s temperature. You must diagnose the disease, prescribe a medication and ensure that the patient takes it.
Kundra’s answer to ailing federal IT projects is the TechStat Accountability Session. A focused inquiry into a troubled IT project, TechStat is designed to determine the cause and prescribe a solution. …Kundra developed the TechStat session to convert good intentions into action. It’s a compact tool, designed to run only 60 minutes. “It’s time-boxed to an hour to make sure we have the appropriate decision-makers, and that the time of senior executives in that session is well spent,” Kundra said. …
During the 60-minute session, participants test that hypothesis against the dashboard data. They decide whether the hypothesis explains why the project is failing or if there’s another cause. Then they create a plan. In some cases, they temporarily halt the project; sometimes they pull the plug on it altogether.
Officials from both the White House and the agency deploying the IT project attend the TechStat session. Agency participants might include policy officials, the CIO, staff from the department secretary’s office, and staff who work on the project’s business and IT aspects. …
TechStat teaches skills that promote good government and make government officials better stewards of tax dollars. …
A disciplined process like TechStat is helpful for governments that want to innovate with technology despite budget constraints, Kundra said. “There’s no better way than to get more out of technology through these approaches, to make sure you’re going hard after wasteful spending, making sure that you’re unearthing the best practices and scaling them rapidly, to save money and produce results for your constituents.”
http://www.govtech.com/gt/articles/767303?id=767303&full=1&story_pg=1
