IT Reform at the Department of Education
Posted by Dr. Danny Harris
At the Department of Education, the IT reform process is helping us in significant ways to promote student achievement and prepare for global competitiveness. Tracking student progress and achievement throughout the nation is essential to our ability to know how effectively our education systems are preparing children and adults for global competition. Similarly, tracking progress and achievement of our IT projects and investments is critical to our ability to know how effectively IT investments support our mission. Six months into our work on the 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal IT Management, it is clear that we are tracking progress better and making improvements faster as a result of executing the IT Reform Plan.
To improve IT investment management, we have begun to use the TechStat accountability model at the agency level. Through TechStat, we are adding a useful level of governance that improves performance and yields better results through transparency. Our first session, held this past March on our Common Services for Borrowers investment, led us to halt integration efforts focused on technology and re-focus resources on creating stronger alignment between business functions and the supporting IT. We also implemented more disciplined project management practices such as enhanced change management and improved verification procedures to ensure the Department receives the needed business value.
Regarding moving our services to the cloud, we have moved certain mission critical data collection functions into the cloud. We are currently executing a plan to move IT Investment Management functions into the cloud and we are evaluating moving email into the cloud. By consolidating these workloads into the cloud, we are expecting a reduction in overall costs, improved service to users, and greater agility in responding to demands across the agency. The potential improvements are substantial, and we hope to soon offer up our experience migrating mission-critical business functions to the cloud as a government-wide best practice.
Our Department has many stories to share and areas where we can help lead IT Reform across the Federal Government. I previously wrote about additional best practices from our Department in the area of capital planning and we have a case study on CIO.gov around improving contracts through strengthened vendor communication.
Driving lasting change in Federal IT management will require all agencies to come forward with their best ideas. My team will continue to challenge ourselves every day to contribute to this ongoing conversation. I look forward to learning about the progress and challenges that my colleagues at other agencies are experiencing as we take on IT Reform in the months ahead.
Dr. Danny Harris is the Chief Information Officer at the Department of Education.
