Business Processes Key to Fed Modernization

As federal agencies move into the business application and core system stage of modernization plans, contractors offering solutions need to consider internal processes, said a panel of federal officials at a breakfast event sponsored by the Bethesda chapter of the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA).

Most agencies in the federal government are in relatively good shape as far as physical infrastructure is concerned, so said Ed Meagher, chief technology officer (CTO) at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA for example, went from 28 separate wide-area networks to one backbone, and from 571 e-mail servers to less than 100--soon to be only a few.

Of course, what comes next is the real challenge. "[The IT people] in agencies don't control the systems and applications," Meagher said. "That happens higher up. We have to be the tick on the tail of the dog--annoy the dog so much that things finally change. Then make sure things change in a certain way and follow certain rules. When something fails, we're who they look at and say, 'It was the IT people.'"

And he would know. The VA hit a number of roadblocks while rolling out its HealtheVet program, which involved the upgrade of 170-hospital VA health systems to provide 5 million veterans with access to their medical records. A report released by A Carnegie Mellon last year gave the initiative a failing grade, stating that the program lacked a clear vision, and that department officials knew too little about the system integration required or proposed technology products and standards. The VA does seem to be on track, however, with a portal that provides veteran health benefits and services already available, and enhancements that provide further e-services underway.

Given those sorts of examples, and the fact that 70 percent of government projects fail, the private sector needs to help ensure that customers get the big picture. Project failure typically comes from a lack of full disclosure and disregard for internal processes and requirements, Meagher said. This is compounded by the growing trend toward performance-based contracting, which offers contractors with leeway to determine how to best meet stated performance objectives.

"There still needs to be some specificity," Meagher said. "Some of the stated objectives we get from contractors scare the hell out of me. It's the way we have to go, but I'm cautious. We need to make sure we're talking the same language."

For modernization initiatives to move forward and succeed, CIOs and other agency officials need seats at the table throughout the process--whether contracts are performance-based or not--and solution providers need to take a hard look at the environment before throwing product at the problem.

"If you can figure out the right methods to match with the governance, you have an advantage," Meagher said. "Fifty-one percent of the problem is on the government side, but dealing with the great small ideas slows things down. I love hearing about innovation, but typically that won't solve the issues."