Digital transformation is all about making IT systems more responsive, flexible, and secure. But like most things in the IT world, the reality of “change everything while keeping the machine running” can get in the way of improvements. On a recent episode of the Government Matters Tech Leadership Series, host Francis Rose asked technology leaders in government and industry about best practices.
David Chow, Chief Information Officer at HUD, Kate Zwaard, Director of Digital Strategy for the Library of Congress, and Jeff Estes, Director of Technical Solutions for Software AG Government Solutions, all agreed that the place to start is with the customer—in this case, citizens.
Chow and Zwaard said customer experience was a huge focus for their agencies, with Chow explaining, “Migrating (our 17 mainframes) will take years. Citizens do not have time to wait for us to do that. We’re changing out the front end so the customers can experience better capability within a short time frame.”
While the agency leaders said they looked to user feedback and analytics to help validate decisions, Estes summed it up with a back-to-basics approach. “Have a good inventory of what you have, what you want to have, and a timeline,” he said, with a reminder that transformation isn’t an endpoint; it’s an ongoing process.
Want to learn the best practices citizen-facing agencies are using to transform their digital infrastructures? Click to watch the video.
Learn more about how Software AG Government Solutions is streamlining digital transformation for federal agencies.
