In addition, grades have a way of calling attention to specific areas of performance that need improvement. In IT management, a sub- standard grade can be a catalyst for focusing the attention of top officials on the need to reform a purchasing process or modernize an ineffective IT planning process. Not surprisingly, many IT leaders have learned how to leverage a poor grade on a report card to gain high-level support for needed changes.
With all the attention that grades attract, it is easy to overlook the obvious--grades are only as good as what they measure. And no grading system can measure everything of importance. For example, a grading system that measures how well IT is being managed typically focuses on the processes used to govern IT, such as planning, purchasing, budgeting and personnel practices.
However, there is more to IT management than having good processes. In these tough fiscal times, it is important to measure results. Top IT leaders in state and local government, especially those who occupy highly visible positions, are increasingly expected to deliver tangible benefits.
Here are five areas that need to be addressed immediately in order to start measuring results:
- How much is being spent on IT, with whom and for what? North Carolina Senator Eric Reeves is on a quest to uncover this in his state and is finding the going quite tough. So is George Newstrom, Virginia's new secretary of technology. The federal government, on the other hand, can come pretty close: It spends approximately $52 billion on IT annually. The feds know this because a procurement database records every purchase made by the federal government, with whom it was made, what was purchased and the amount. This information is made available to the public and to members of Congress on a regular basis. Surely, each state should develop a similar capability.
- What benefits are being achieved from the investment states and localities are making in IT? In this new era of accountability and scarce resources, it's extremely important to measure the outcomes being produced. For example, what results have been achieved by moving government services online? It's one thing to cite the number of transactions now conducted online. It's much more meaningful to measure what the cost savings have been and how much the total cycle time for the citizen transaction has been reduced. Mark Forman, the new e-government czar for the federal government, is using improvements in cycle time as a basis for evaluating federal IT budget requests.
- What IT capabilities and information do front-line personnel have at their disposal? For example, a jurisdiction should know what IT capabilities its patrol officers, teachers, meter readers, case workers and emergency-response personnel have at their fingertips, as well as what information they have ready access to in order to do their jobs. For the most part, similar job functions in different jurisdictions have the same need for technology and information. Setting a standard for technology and information that those on the front line should have access to, and then measuring whether, in fact, they do, would be quite revealing.
- How quickly, and at what price, can different jurisdictions buy technology? States and localities purchase the same IT goods and services on a regular basis. This includes PCs, routers, servers, software and wireless devices. Yet there are large variances in both the time it takes and the price that is paid. Governments that purchase their goods cheaper and faster should be recognized for doing so. A purchasing "bake off" would help set the record straight.
- How effectively can state and local governments dig out and report on information about their own business? The collection, analysis and disbursement of information are what a government does every minute of every day. Yet, governments have widely varying capabilities to respond to relatively simple questions, such as how many families receiving public assistance also have children at risk in the public schools? Or, what citizens have been treated for highly contagious diseases through the public health system? Having such insights can hold the key to improving the performance of government and addressing public policy concerns.
