Overview
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) needed help maturing their organization and solidifying FEMA as the gold standard agency for successful information technology (IT) management. Forming strategic planning documentation for FEMA OCIO was critical to created lasting impacts within Agency.
Challenges
Agency Reorganization: Recent Agency Reorganization left many within FEMA OCIO with new job functions and responsibilities. With the change in leadership, there needed to be clear documentation and expectations on the strategic goals for IT within the Agency.
Stakeholder Buy-in: As a large organization, FEMA stakeholder buy-in was critical to ensure full adoption of critical initiatives and to create a culture of accountability.
Solutions
- Strategic Plan Development: WBD identified three strategic goals that we implemented within the FEMA IT Strategic Plan for Fiscal Years 2020-2024, including increasing workforce capabilities, protecting the enterprise and finally simplifying processes across the agency.
- Strategic Implementation Plan: To accompany the FEMA IT Strategic Plan, WBD also created the Strategic Implementation Plan which serves as guide to making the strategic goals a reality. Each strategic goal has specific objectives and initiatives that clearly define success through metrics and timeframes.
- Risk Management: By implementing closed loop management, FEMA OCIO is better equipped to manage both risk and value. Risks are identified through surveys, economic trends, and processes by people of all levels within FEMA. Risks then are evaluated based on impact to the enterprise and likelihood of the risk occurring. In addition to risk management, the implementation of value management improves the transparency of information technology costs, consumption and performance.
- Technology Business Management Framework: By implementing Technology Business Management (TBM) framework into FEMA business processes, all stakeholders gain better understanding of the different IT services and products offered. Implementation of this standard taxonomy ultimately provides FEMA with a universal way to benchmark costs and to accurately analyze IT data.