Prior to incorporating “consensus building,” into its
methodology, an IT performance measurement contractor
said its corporate clients would cease to use the new
system with a matter of months and go back to their old
decision making habits, according to the Federal Chief
Information Officers Council report.
The report detailed two pilot programs at federal agencies
to determine the usefulness of commercial IT performance
measurement methods for federal agencies and reached some
general conclusions.
One was that the best place to start in measuring
performance is with a clear understanding of the purpose
of the IT investment and its contribution to
organizational objectives.
The CIO noted that more than the first half of each pilot
was “dedicated to defining the contribution of each
investment to organizational objectives and clarifying the
investment’s purpose.”
Useful performance measures are the result of in-depth
analysis, the report said. The time spent developing
meaningful measures reduces the time, expense and loss of
momentum during implementation.
The report also noted that consensus among program personnel
and stakeholders is paramount, otherwise people won’t
accept and use the system.
