Lean, Integrated, Partnered, and Frictionless: OIT Improves Process to Strengthen Technology

We have seen how OIT intends to empower staff to further its mission for its first goal, but what about plans to strengthen the technology that these same people use?

That question is answered by OIT’s second goal – achieving mature IT management and governance. IT governance is an ongoing activity that requires constant analysis and improvements to be successful. 

What does mature IT governance look like? It starts with being good stewards of what matters. This means prioritizing things like safety, security, budget awareness, and good tech practices. 

In governance, sufficient processes alone do not equate to success. An unwieldy governance process can undermine our ability to deliver value to our customers. This is why OIT is reframing the definition of success from “compliance” to “fulfillment of intent.”

“We want a lightweight experience for our partners,” says Division of IT Investment Management & Policy (DIIMP) Director Brian Jennings. "This will allow them to move quickly and easily through governance process toward their program objectives."

The office will integrate relevant IT governance processes and data into EASi, thereby giving business owners, product teams, governance teams, and leadership better insight into the current CMS status.

“We’re creating and maintaining optimized governance structures that are both low-burden and enabling,” Jennings says.

Along the way, OIT will need to do critical things like optimize spending, reduce risk, make data-driven decisions, meet legislative mandates, and justify continued IT effort and expenditure through demonstrative performance.

Jennings also states that major program initiatives, like Administrative Simplification and Interoperability, target reductions in process steps and approval timelines while eliminating duplicative conversations and data collection across seemingly disparate governance sub-systems.  

“Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) Program operations — including CIO Support, IT Governance, IT Investment Management, and Technical Review Board operations — stay laser-focused on the critical OIT strategy themes: Lean, Integrated, Partnered, and Frictionless,” Jennings says.

For some, becoming frictionless may mean changing their approach to their work.

“The best way to serve our customers will often mean we have to disrupt the way we do things,” said OIT Director and Chief Information Officer Rajiv Uppal in January's All Staff. "We are going to find it hard to become frictionless until we collaborate across our groups and divisions to deliver better service."

The office will simplify and integrate IT Governance, IT Investment Management, and Technical Review Board processes around four key areas:

• Interoperability
• SME/partner engagement
• Risk management
• Data-driven decision making

Another key aspect of OIT Strategy Goal #2 is enhanced Software Asset Management (SWAM). OIT will continue to improve SWAM processes to improve audit outcomes, inform vendor negotiations, and expedite resolution of malicious software attacks.

Other significant aspects of this goal include remediating security risks in the software supply chain, delivering enterprise capabilities around Software Bill of Materials (SBOMs) for CMS systems, developing a SWAM roadmap to help close operational gaps, and building a software inventory and utilization database to promote data-driven procurement decisions. 

“SWAM is a collaborative OIT effort between IUSG, ICPG, and ISPG,” says Michael Crow, Director for the Division of Vendor Strategy and Management (DVSM) in the IT Capital Planning Group (ICPG). "Our main objective is to ensure a common understanding and establish an overall software management process across CMS that enables each group to accomplish their SWAM goals.

Coordination of SWAM activities will include developing and maintaining practices that support the use of software in a responsible and productive way throughout the software asset lifecycle. Crow also states that this coordinated effort will allow OIT to capture cost savings and cost avoidance across the CMS enterprise through better software management.

OIT Strategy Goal #2 also seeks to reduce burden and improve service delivery for the Section 508 Program by raising awareness, enabling automation, ensuring accessibility to tools, and applying best practices.

“The Section 508 project will seamlessly incorporate Section 508 goals into the Governance Review process,” says Cora Tracy, Group Director for ICPG.

The Section 508 Program will focus on improving user experience, reducing complaint resolution time, promoting awareness of Section 508 best practices, and integrating Section 508 processes into the overall accessibility framework.

Finally, in order to better meet enterprise needs, OIT will incorporate category management into the category specific procurement process. This means sharing best practices to advocate for continuous improvement, incorporating new ideas, and decreasing contracting timelines.

The strategy calls for OIT to engage with the CMS Procurement Spend Optimization Community of Practice, as well as launch a strategic procurement initiative to eliminate the use of paper‐based contract proposals. These proposals will be replaced with an in‐person, paperless proposal procedure. OIT intends to pilot this process in FY23.