Meeting the Government's The GAO Symposium: Technology Challenge Information technology systems are the lifeblood of the federal govern- Attempts to modernize the government's information systems have produced few successes and many costly failures. Over the past several years GAO has found skyrocketing costs, long delays, and elusive benefits to be characteristic of far too many information technology projects. The causes most often cited for this bleak history are a lack of effective leadership by senior managers, ineffective communication among those involved in developing information systems, incomplete knowledge of the customer's needs, the absence of a clear and complete systems plan or architecture, and frequent turnover among project managers and other key personnel. This record of failure has resulted in a lack of public confidence regarding the government's ability to manage information systems projects. In light of the current budget deficit and the growing demand for government services, federal managers must find a way to break this cycle of failure and begin creating a workable strategy for meeting the demands of the future. Modernizing the federal government's information technology is an enormous and complex undertaking. Given the government's disappointing record in this area, a consensus has been building among federal leaders that new ways of addressing this challenge must be explored. In October 1989 GAO convened a symposium, "Meeting the Government's Technology Challenge," to foster new ideas and fresh approaches to developing and managing the government's information technology systems. By bringing together leaders from industry, the Congress, and the executive agencies, we sought to begin a dialogue involving the major parties involved in helping the federal government use technology to meet the nation's needs. Dr. Peter Keen, Executive Director of the International Center for Information Technologies, moderated the symposium. Meeting the Government's Symposium Results: During the 2-day event, participants explored information technology issues and debated ways to ensure that the government will receive the greatest benefit for its information technology investments. To begin the symposium, speakers from private industry who had been highly successful in developing information technology systems recounted their experiences. Their presentations were particularly pertinent because the challenges facing these organizations were similar to those confronting the government; each was involved in delivering services to the public that required processing large amounts of data in short amounts of time. The speakers and the organizations they represent were General Donald Lasher (ret.), President for Information Systems, United Services Automobile Association (USAA); John Fisher, Senior Vice President, Banc One Corporation; Jim Grant, Executive Vice President for Systems and Technology, The Royal Bank of Canada; and Barry Kotar, President and Chief Executive Officer, Covia Corporation. Appendix I contains additional information on these speakers. Following the industry speakers, panels composed of representatives from federal agencies, congressional committees, private industry, and academia discussed alternatives for addressing the federal government's dilemma. The ideas generated in the panels were then debated during a plenary session. Appendix II contains a listing of the panelists. Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey and Representative Edward Markey of Massachusetts offered congressional perspectives on the information technology challenge. Additional information on these speakers is provided in appendix III. Five principles for effective management of information technology emerged during the symposium. Together they provide a framework for successfully integrating information technology into the business of government. GAO's experiences over the years in reviewing the government's use of this technology has confirmed the validity of these principles. GAO suggests that agency heads examine their use of information technology and apply the following principles when developing and managing their technology plans. Principle 1: Commitment and Vision Begin at the Top Most successful automation efforts begin with a top manager who has a clear vision of how the organization can benefit from information technology and a commitment to making this vision a reality. Without clear direction and support from the top, modernization programs tend to Meeting the Government's Leaders need to take a fresh look at alternative ways of accomplishing their goals, instead of simply automating existing processes and procedures. degenerate into loose collections of independent systems. Often these systems are developed under the oversight of technical managers who focus on the needs of their individual units rather than the organization's larger mission and goals. The net result is that the systems that are developed do not effectively meet the organization's or the public's needs. The importance of visionary leadership was clearly illustrated by John Fisher of Banc One in describing the financial services industry. During the last decade-when many banks were losing ground to their competitors-bank managers were repeatedly criticized as lacking vision. An important aspect of this lack of vision was the bank managers' reluc tance to embrace the prom.se of technology. He noted that this situation has recently changed, with many banks viewing technology as a strategic tool enabling them to stay ahead of the competition. Mr. Fisher suggested that the federal government's need for visionary leadership was analogous to the banking environment during the last decade. Senior managers should examine their missions and begin to look forward--beyond the next budget cycle-to find the best way of serving the needs of the public in the future. Instead of simply automating existing processes and procedures, leaders need to take a fresh look at alternative ways of accomplishing their goals and embody this new thinking into a vision that can guide systems development over the long term. According to General Lasher of USAA, if information systems are developed in concert with a clear long-range vision, they become the organization's "strategic weapon" for effectively accomplishing its goals. After examining their mission in light of the public's future needs, agency leaders should prepare clear, forward-looking statements articulating the vision. Such a statement should describe what services the agency is to provide now and in the future and present critical milestones for implementing the vision. Specific technology plans should then be developed that will transform this vision into reality. The agency's senior official for information resources management should play a leading role in these activities. Specifically, this official should assist ir. defining the vision and preparing the agency's technology plan, and then ensure that the ongoing and proposed systems development projects fall logically within this plan. The symposium participants reached a consensus that agencies need to redefine the role of the senior information resources management official and elevate the Meeting the Government's Having access to the best available knowledge and advice from government, industry, and academia is critical when establishing the vision and the supporting architecture. authority of this position to ensure that these responsibilities are Principle 2: Partnerships Can Help Define the Vision Forging alliances and cultivating partnerships is an essential part of defining and implementing an agency's strategic vision. Having access to the best available knowledge and advice from government, industry, and academia is critical when establishing the vision and the supporting architecture. Advisory panels, private consulting firms, research foundations, and other government agencies can provide fresh, independent perspectives and new insights. Alliances with external organizations such as these were cited by symposium participants as being invaluable. Within an organization, partnerships between program offices and technical groups, at all levels, can promote effective communication and cooperative working relationships. Agencies should establish such partnerships as a means of ending the artificial and damaging split between technical planning and program implementation. Jim Grant of The Royal Bank of Canada noted that allowing both groups-technical and program-to actively participate on architectural planning committees almost guarantees that concerns, ideas, and solutions from both sides will be aired and addressed. General Lasher echoed this approach for establishing organizational partnerships. USAA has created an “executive partnership" among senior managers from both program units and systems groups that promotes a cooperative environment. Representing top management, USAA's Architecture Review Board regularly convenes to ensure that stated policies and information technology projects conform to the organization's vision for the future. The consensus among the symposium participants was that agency officials should establish similar boards to ensure that the guiding vision is realized. Agency leaders should also involve the Congress as an active partner in defining and implementing their vision. Top management must clearly articulate to the Congress how the vision will help achieve the agency's mission and describe how each major information technology project will contribute to realizing the vision. It is particularly important that the information provided to decisionmakers is as complete and realistic as possible. Further, agency management needs to evaluate and discuss with the Congress the impact its vision will have on the organizational structure and congressional constituencies. Technological change often |