The dollars and sense of government IT.

• Author: Bertolini, Phil
• Position: Information technology

Governments vary in their use of technology, in part because of differences in their IT governance. There is some confusion about what the term means, but the GFOA publication, IT Budgeting and Decision Making, provides a clear definition: "A system of management processes and structures that help steer and define how an organization operates through rules of engagement. "To make a case for IT, government officials must identify the concrete goals that the technology can accomplish. IT leadership can then prioritize and manage those projects while assigning accountability to their team.

Oakland County, Michigan, has a number of core governance processes that help in developing a solid business case and stakeholder review. Many business cases start with a project charter, which Oakland County calls a scope and approach (S&A) document. Leadership groups of customers and partners from like government functions review the S&A and then authorize it for an IT cost estimate. Once the project cost is estimated and an anticipated ROI is calculated, the leadership group authorizes the project to move forward and assigns a prioritization ranking in the IT master plan. These documents create the business plan, which--with supporting facts and figures--significantly improves communications about project expectations. In Oakland County, technology business cases are directly tied to the IT strategic plan, ensuring that the projects further the overall mission of the organization. Since a successful technological project requires strategic planning, tying projects to this type of plan provides the proper vision to help make sense of the why and the potential significant investment in technology.

A core function of a mature IT organization is providing governance to manage technology initiatives effectively. A core component of IT governance is project and portfolio management (PPM). A number of practices inform PPM, but in its simplest form, PPM is the process and framework for managing the organization's technology initiatives. This includes meeting with key stakeholders to understand their business and their needs; understanding the overall needs of the organization; creating a project charter and managing the resources according to the charter; and assessing and mitigating risks. Understand that implementation is a business change effort; set clear goals, scope and expectations from the beginning, and track progress, results, and scope throughout the...