Vol. 4| Issue 1| Jan. 28, 2009

Introduction

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This month’s edition of the Government Bulletin features a presentation that I enjoyed the honor of delivering as a keynote speaker at the BrainStorm DC conference, which was hosted this past summer by BPMInstitute.org. To accompany that presentation, a brief summary of its content has also been published in this edition, which helps to explain the context for the messages communicated via the presentation.

With that presentation, I tried to address the question of how a department or agency can better relate its enterprise strategy to business outcomes. My suggestion is that more attention to the application of performance management, portfolio management, and program/project management methods (and tools, techniques, etc.) to the execution of business strategy will go a long way towards improving one’s chances of success at implementing government solutions to enable government services – thereby furthering mission success.

Based on lessons learned while serving as Chief Engineer of the Enterprise Strategy and Transformation division in MITRE, my recommendations are mainly aimed at the challenges faced by chief information officers (CIO) and chief technology officers (CTO) in government, most of whom would no doubt agree that the extent to which technology influences business outcomes is often very hard to gauge. This means that attempts to demonstrate mission impact from the value of information technology (IT) run the risk of being met with skepticism on the part of “movers and shakers” on the business side of a government enterprise.

To follow these recommendations, however, would help provide a means for driving progress that is relevant – i.e., based on strategy –, is measurable, and is demonstrable to business. One way to help demonstrate delivered value is to be sure that IT strategy is not only derived from, but clearly traceable to, the strategy of the enterprise. A balanced scorecard, when properly used, can also help to communicate the fact that the activities performed by your IT organization do support the strategic goals of the larger enterprise.

If this featured presentation leads to a desire to obtain more information about Enterprise Strategy Development and Execution, in government agencies, don’t hesitate to contact me by email (kmullins@mitre.org). Also, please feel free to share any insight that you may have gained with colleagues and cohorts within your agency.

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Thanks,

Ken Mullins,
Editorial Director, Government Bulletin &
Chief Engineer, Enterprise Transformation Division
MITRE Center for Enterprise Transformation
kmullins[at]bpminstitute.org

This week's Features

• Featured Article: Relating Enterprise Strategy to Business Outcomes
• Featured Presentation: Relating Enterprise Strategy to Business Outcomes
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• Government Home page: More Government-focused content.