Internal consultation on use cases, integration within existing services allows agencies to best position new capacities to modernize their organization.
Technology leadership across the federal government seeks to further facilitate the use of new capacities by developing frameworks for integrating them within existing services and institutional priorities.
Many of the recent modernization efforts across the federal government require the processing and management of large volumes of proprietary data, particularly by using them in analytic capacities or large research initiatives. This has led to a movement towards internal collaboration in ensuring that this data is easily accessible and its management is treated as an enterprise-wide consideration.
“Most of my experience with ServiceNow is trying to find the data and understand what you have so you can handle it the right way. In the case of scientific organizations, this may include placing it in a place where it is easily accessible and something that people can interact with. Later, this may include understanding what data you have so you can secure it properly, and make sure it is protected. It’s really mission-based and the basic understanding of what and where your data is, ”said Jonathan Alboum, federal CTO at ServiceNow, at the GovCIO Media & Research Infrastructure: Health IT event.
This requires a newly discovered level of cross-departmental collaboration where teams engage in shared management of data analysis, ultimately creating a more refined and comprehensive approach to research initiatives that allows them to be better copied and their insights will be shared throughout the agency.
“We do it more with one of our [genomics research information] systems we have developed, enabling accurate medicine for our patients at the clinical center. We track the entire genomic sequence of each patient admitted to the clinical center and provide genetic counseling, ”said Mike Tartakovsky, CIO of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).“ Our doctors work collaboratively. to genetic counselors. , providing advice and explaining outcomes or evaluating sequences. “
A similar approach is needed for large-scale business modernization, especially the dual process of communicating with key stakeholders and understanding the likely technical needs of individual departments that may end up working. in concert with large projects enabled by both modernized IT systems.
“We really need to do a lot of communication with each side to understand what their needs are. This is something we did when we did a three-year review of our legacy applications. What we saw was about 40% of the old applications have functions that are still in use because things have changed drastically. You have to make sure you give them what they need, sit with them, talk to them and talk to them, ” said La’Tanya Burton, CIO at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS).
This model of preemptive analysis and discussion is also important for ensuring that resources and federal funding are used as efficiently as possible, avoiding the kind of overspending and bloat that can sometimes occur during large-scale tech modernization.
“It comes down to prioritization and how these things impact the organization because you can’t do everything. Budgets are always very limited. I think it’s important that IT has a seat at the table and can talk about prioritization and resources, ”Alboum said.