The federal Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) policies established in 1996 were a great first step toward understanding and managing IT investments. But just as government’s use of technology has evolved over the past 23 years, so have the policies and procedures used to manage it.
The Federal Deputy CIO, Margie Graves, explains: “Nothing, I believe, stays valid over a twenty-year process without some substantial change that is necessary. Technology has changed the way we look at our business outcomes within the Federal government. The expectations of our citizens and how we deliver IT services has changed, so we need to evolve the CPIC process from where it began to something that is more modern and appropriate.”
That’s where Technology Business Management (TBM) can help. TBM is an expense and budgeting framework and methodology that brings together an organization’s finance, IT, and business stakeholders to create transparency and insight into information technology investments. Requiring strong collaboration between the CIO, CFO, and business owner’s teams, the TBM framework (if properly implemented) reveals the true cost of an IT investment, and helps leaders understand funding priorities, what is needed to support the mission, and where to redirect funds.
“What we’re moving to is an environment that is more data-driven, more transparent, we have clarity of where we’re putting taxpayer money, but more importantly we have visibility to the outcomes that have been achieved and that we can show those through data at any point in time,” noted Federal CIO Suzette Kent.
The Office of Management and Budget intends to complete the transition to TBM by 2022. In adopting this methodology, it is believed that government will get more detailed insight into the $36.6 billion in O&M spending. David Shive, General Services Administration CIO commented, “If you think this is just a White House [compliance] initiative, you’re probably thinking about this at the wrong level.“For agencies that are looking to move past compliance and get true meaning from their TBM efforts, TCG has developed a white paper to help agencies kick-start and mature their TBM program. 6 Steps to Implementing Technology Business Management at Your Agency outlines the discovery, implementation, and evaluation phases of starting a TBM program along with areas to focus on in order to improve in TBM maturity.
Setting a strong foundation for a TBM program is necessary in order for it to progress into a fully leveraged, mature program. Those who follow the steps provided in the white paper will begin to see incremental value accrue as executives and managers gain greater insight into the true costs and value of IT spending and as the quality of practices, models, and processes improve. The six steps found in the paper are really just the first step in a bigger effort to achieve an automated and efficient TBM program, with the ultimate goal of delivering mission-focused IT spending and responsible use of taxpayer dollars.
Download 6 Steps to Implementing Technology Business Management at Your Agency