Manager's Give Technology a Thumbs-Up

t's been a roller-coaster ride these past few years, as federal executives have tried to keep up with the changes in information technology and the IT policy and procurement climate. But the situation appears to be stabilizing. Most agencies now have chief information officers. There are fewer uncertainties about basic system architectures. Computer acquisition no longer is very constrained. And even resolving the year 2000 problem is, for the most part, a challenge whose magnitude is known.

So it seemed like a good time to ask federal managers about IT problems and issues. One of the questions that most interested us was the degree of synergy between the IT staffs and the rest of their agencies. We also wondered whether the gulf between agency expectations and IT performance has begun to narrow. Our mail survey on these and related issues is the foundation of this special report.

Our most important finding: Federal managers are in love with information systems. Our respondents overwhelmingly endorsed the value and importance of IT in getting their agencies' work done. They're not cynical about the promises of technology, and they don't think their agencies can get along without it.

Some sample comments:

• "IT sensibly applied is the only way to be successful."
• "If you don't learn, you burn!"
• "We have one of the most modern IT environments in the government and make very good use of it in program delivery."
• "To stay ahead of the manpower reductions, we have to turn to IT to get the mission accomplished."

Quite frankly, we had expected the non-IT managers to complain about delays and poor performance in their systems. We gave them every opportunity to do so on survey forms, where their names and agencies were optional. But only a few accepted our invitation. Even respondents who did criticize IT programs or managers often added enthusiastic comments about the value of the technology.

Similarly, most of the IT managers resisted any temptation to carp about inadequate budgets, backward policy-makers or unrealistic demands placed on the systems. To be sure, lack of money was a constant refrain, but it did not stand out as a problem of great urgency. Instead, managers of both stripes (IT and non-IT) seemed to be saying that if they had more money, they could really get their information systems humming.

The problem that managers repeatedly brought up came as a bit of a surprise to us: Wrestling with the trade-offs between personnel and systems. Can automated systems really replace people? Should they? And how do you manage the transition to minimize disruption and employee pain?

Quite a few of the managers who replied to our survey seemed to be caught up in a chicken-and-egg dilemma. If they reduce their staffs, they must depend more on IT. Every dollar spent on IT is more ammunition for the head-counting overseers who are demanding payroll reductions. And many managers see automation as a slippery slope that will lead to even more job losses and dependence on expensive contract staff.

It's likely that the agencies have no choice but to let people go and automate more. That's been the push from the White House and Congress, as well as the taxpayers. But it hurts. Here's how one respondent, the manager of a Customs Service field office, put it: "Despite mistakes made, IT is the single best investment our agency has made in its future, besides people-the latter of which is dangerously low to complete agencies' non-IT mission."

We found that managers also are wrestling with management of all the information they receive and disseminate at ever-increasing rates. They are confounded by the pace of change, and they're trying to integrate their systems. Choosing the right technology, when it never stands still, also remains a challenge.

One other survey surprise: IT procurement is not an issue. Only one respondent even mentioned it, and her reply had many facets. For decades, both IT managers and non-IT managers were frustrated by delays and red tape when they needed IT products and services. The villain of that piece was the highly regulated acquisition environment established by the 1965 Brooks Act. It's clear that recent IT reforms have had the desired effect, freeing managers to concentrate on the more important aspects of their agency's IT.