NASCIO points to successful IT frameworks

Successful IT management at the state level requires the application of robust IT management frameworks, the National Association of State CIOs emphasized in a research brief (PDF) released yesterday. The report pointed to four successful frameworks - one from a state, one from the private sector, and two adapted from the federal government - that state CIOs and IT managers may wish to use for their planning, budgeting and operations management.

The North Carolina framework looks at the lifecycle of technology planning from investment planning to operations to retirement. The GAO framework looks at stages of maturity in an organization's IT planning from just starting to build an investment foundation to fully leveraging IT for strategic outcomes.

The IT Infrastructure Library, created in the United Kingdom and just now being introduced in the UK, takes a business approach to managing public IT. It takes the approach of meeting the cost and performance requirements of specific service level agreements. Finally, the Federal Business Reference Model, the foundation of the Federal Enterprise Architecture, breaks through vertical agency organizations to efficiently provide services across common business areas. Virginia was able to effectively adopt the FBRM by translating federal agencies to state agencies, and adding and subtracting several business areas.

In seeking the right framework, governments need to find a system that fits, but NASCIO says:

An effective and efficient IT investment management process emphasizes the importance of thorough planning, competent risk management, strict accountability for meeting business/program goals and objectives and asset performance expectations, and cost-effective life-cycle management.