Federal agencies from the VA to the Air Force are taking advantage of opportunities to drive IT Modernization and deliver on the mission more effectively to their constituents. To help agencies that are lagging in their modernization efforts, IDC has created a taxonomy to help structure the journey. Other suggestions for moving the IT forward include looking to the OMB to help develop CIOs for other agencies and finding ways to better integrate the public and private sectors in terms of IT. In the meantime, the US Air Force and the Department of Veterans Affairs are making moves toward modernization with the aim to be more efficient, effective and transparent.
How to Talk About IT modernization
IDC has developed a four-stage taxonomy that aims to help government stakeholders understand the full scope of digital transformation efforts and create a framework they can use to inform how problems can be solve. The taxonomy begins with the digital mission, then lists the strategic priorities that support that mission, the programs that satisfy the priorities and, finally, the funded projects or use cases that will be implemented under those programs. IDC has similar taxonomies for other sectors, but government is unique, because it doesn’t have competition or a bottom line, and it can’t choose its customers. The driver for government IT modernization is often increased effectiveness and efficiency, and big data and analytics, as well as cloud, can be key technologies for the federal government.
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One Way to Keep Government Stocked with Qualified CIOs: Groom Them at OMB First
A report from a meeting designed to brainstorm ideas to solve IT issues facing the federal government and convened by the General Accountability Office recommends that future federal CIOs could be culled from those who have been successful at the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The suggested program would create 3- to 5- CIO advisory positions at OMB that would eventually serve as the pool to fill agency CIO roles across the federal government. The group also discussed the need to better integrate private sector innovation groups into the federal workforce, as well as ways to better integrate federal IT workers with contractors.
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Air Force Wants to Use Digital Service to Get Ahead of IT Problems, Boost Efficiency
The new Air Force Digital Service (AFDS) is designed to make IT operations more agile and help the Air Force to improve software development and cybersecurity issues, as well as to overcome technological hurdles. Working in partnership with the Defense Digital Service (DDS) at the Pentagon, the AFDS will utilize the expertise of IT industry experts to improve and help troubleshoot strategic or challenged projects and help to ensure that software-focused programs do not go over budget and run into problems. The AFDS is currently working on the development for the GPS Operational Control Segment and the Air Operations Center Weapons Center 10.2, both of which are dealing with cost overruns.
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Veterans Affairs Launches Wait-Time and Quality-Transparency Tool
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has launched a web-based access and quality tool to boost transparency around its medical care and services, give veterans better access to key data and increase the VA’s accountability. With the new tool, veterans can see average wait times in their local area; feedback other patients left about their experiences; the timeliness of appointments for immediate care; and the quality of care provided compared to private-sector hospitals. The VA says the tool is “the most transparent and easy to understand wait time and quality data website in the health-care industry, and it plans to evolve the tool with feedback from veterans, VA employees, veterans service organizations and others.
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