Archive for June, 2009
The Government Doesn’t Like Surprises
Wednesday, June 17th, 2009
by Dennis Powell, e-Management
Here’s a news flash: The government doesn’t like surprises. Especially when those “gotcha moments” mean disasters such as the inability of a vendor to complete projects successfully, excessive cost overruns, or the 3-month project that takes 2 years to finish. Yeah, project failures happen all the time and they can land at your door step if you are not careful.
Did You Know a Quarter of All Your Projects Will Likely Fail?!
If you flip through the pages of the CHAOS Summary 2009 from the Standish Group International, you will find that 44 percent of projects are plagued with schedule delays, cost overruns, or incomplete deliverables. The same report notes a quarter of all projects surveyed failed. When you consider those statistics, it is no wonder that the government is raising the bar for its business partners in an effort to reduce the potential risks of project failures. And with a new administration touting the philosophy of transparency and accountability, requirements for higher standards will likely be especially true in the areas of defense, information technology planning, project management, network infrastructure, Web services, and cyber security.
Will Small Businesses Rise above the New Bar?
We are noticing that many small businesses currently doing business with the feds are jumping on board while others are reluctant to shelve out the tens of thousands of dollars required to get industry certifications for their workforce and organizations. Those vendors who are unwilling to “pay for certificates” are convinced that their past performance of successful deployment on government projects should be enough to prove their competence.
But is Past Performance the Best Indicator for Success?
The answer is: maybe—especially if government contractors have processes that focus on documentation as well as understanding the needs of the federal customer. But not all vendor processes or methodologies for managing projects are created equally. We advise government organizations to require their vendors use scientific, industry standards such as those of Capability Maturity Model® Integration (CMMI®)*, International Organization for Standardization (ISO), or the Project Management Institute Inc. (PMI®) to understand and meet agency mission requirements.
What’s So Great about CMMI®?
Developed by the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) at Carnegie Mellon University, CMMI® provides organizations with essential components to improve their processes.
CMMI® can help agencies to better predict budgets and schedules. The framework can eliminate the need to re-do projects because they were done improperly because of poor planning or lack of appropriate documentation from historically similar projects.
Here’s the Proof It Works
SEI’s Performance Results of CMMI®-Based Process Improvement, August 2006 reports the median performance improvement for over 35 organizations surveyed using the CMMI® framework was 34 percent for cost reduction, 50 percent for schedule, 61 percent for productivity, 48 percent for quality, and 14 percent for customer satisfaction. Furthermore, the return on investment rate reported by those organizations was 400 percent!
We are not suggesting that CMMI® is the only framework to help in successful implementation of government processes or projects. Instead, we are recommending that government agencies consider the benefits of CMMI® or other industry standards as a way to reduce risks, improve efficiency at project and enterprise levels, and increase predictability of project and mission success. (*Note: CMMI is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University).
That’s our two cents on CMMI®. Now, we want to hear from you.
Why aren’t more small businesses willing to undergo the CMMI® appraisal process? Remember, everyone is invited to discuss this topic. Be sure to check earlier blog threads.
Tags: Accountability, Add new tag, CMMI, continuous risk management, contracting officer, cost overruns, COTR, Federal government, industry standards, ISO, PM, PMI, PMP, project failure, Project Management, project manager, Small Business, Software Engineering Institute, standards, Stimulus Act, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, thought leadership, Transparency
Posted in Government, IT Strategy & Management, Project Management, Risk Management, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), Uncategorized | 9 Comments »
The Department of Homeland Security Would Like to Add You as a Friend? How Weird is That?
Tuesday, June 2nd, 2009
by Dennis Powell, e-Management
Social networking sites attract hundreds of millions unique visits per month according to Internet media tracker comScore. Among the most popular is Facebook. The site started out as a place for college students to connect with other computer science majors at Harvard University. Today, it seems like everyone is embracing the site from your little nephew Billy to grandma Davis. Facebook mania is everywhere.
Much to the chagrin of rival site MySpace and their loyal fan base, Facebook is quickly becoming the preferred social network site in the USA. In fact, Facebook has over 200 million users worldwide. What’s more, Facebook’s membership eclipses the populations of Brazil, Pakistan, Nigeria, Russia, and Japan. Okay, you get the picture. Facebook is an online hit. So guess who has jumped on the Facebook band wagon? You guessed it, your friendly neighborhood government agency.
Why has government embraced 3rd party social networking technologies?
Depending on who you asked, there is certain to be a different answer. But for the sake of argument, government officials might say they are adopting Facebook and other social media sites to:
- Become more accountable and transparent as directed by the new Obama Administration
- Encourage more engagement with government agents, elected officials, etc., for the purpose of alerting you to new policy, public health information as well as a myriad of other issues and activities
- Save money by taking advantage of technology already in place and tested to connect with diverse audiences
- Take advantage of tens of millions of other Americans who are already using the cutting-edge technologies of Facebook and other social networking sites, which make “marketing” and information dissemination seamless
Let’s face it, social networking sites are cool and government has a serious image problem. Federal agencies are often seen as the enemy, wasteful, slow to act, etc. Perhaps social media agreements with the “Feds” are a step in the right direction for government agencies looking to transform their image into something more likeable, relatable, and yes “awesome.”
So is government adoption of Facebook and other social media sites risky?
Absolutely. And here’s why according to some of the biggest critics of government/3rd party social networking technologies agreements.
- Social networking sites are hot-beds for phishing scams. Will government be liable for cyber attacks against citizens who are a part of its network?
- Facebook, for instance, has in the past been infiltrated by hackers who have been able to steal personal information including e-mail, date of birth and passwords—information that in the wrong hands could results in fraud or identity theft.
- Information provided on social networking sites might have to be captured and retained as “.” Do “friends” of government agencies constitute official records?
- Personal Use vs. Official Use: Will the public know that a private citizen who works for the government (and has a social networking presence) is different from an official government agent acting on behalf of an agency?
Mitigating the Risks around Government Adoption of 3rd Party Social Networking Technologies
Some government agencies have taken steps to mitigate their risks. Leading the charge to the social networking gold rush is the General Services Administration (GSA). Over the past year, GSA has announced agreements with the two leading online social networks Facebook and MySpace as well as YouTube, blip.tv, and Slideshare, among others. According to the service agreements, federal employees apparently will be able to use many of the features of these popular social networking sites and stay within compliance of statutes and laws.
The GSA agreements with social networking providers make it easy for other agencies to quickly deploy public outreach efforts with these popular technologies. Since GSA’s agreement at least deals with risks particular to government agencies such as liability, freedom of information act (FOIA), active policy, promotions, and endorsements, adoption of social networking technologies may be less of a big deal than some are making it out to be. On the other hand, some critics have said that if the government wants to get into the social media “business,” it should build its own ultra-secure technology.
Online Social Media for Government: Friend or Foe?
So, what’s your take on the new marriage between government and 3rd party social networking sites such as Facebook? Do you think it is a good idea? What extra steps must government take to ensure successful implementation of online social media tools? Is it conceivable that enemies of the state could use these sites to launch cyber attacks? Should the government abandon 3rd party social networking technologies altogether?
Everyone is invited to discuss this topic. Be sure to check earlier blog threads as well as our recent Webinars.
Tags: Accountability, continuous risk management, Cyber security, , federal, Federal government, Government, GSA, Hackers, MySpace, Phishing, Records, Social Media, Social networking, Transparency, YouTube
Posted in Government, Risk Management, Social Media | 16 Comments »
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