A Texas-Sized Task

THINKING AHEAD

A Texas-Sized Task

As executive director of the Texas Department of Information Resources, Carolyn Purcell must make sure not only that her state's information systems survive the passing of the millennium, but that they enable Texas agencies to provide efficient, effective service to citizens well into the 21st century. It's a challenge that will sound familiar to many federal managers, particularly chief information officers of agencies and departments.

Recently, Government Executive spoke to Purcell about such issues as managing large-scale procurements, adjusting to the fast pace of change in information technology, and working with federal agencies on common problems.

On IT management: We haven't learned how to manage projects and contracts to a successful conclusion. Our credibility in the industry requires that we deliver more on-time, on-budget projects. That's true for private organizations as well. Their record for successful implementation is not good, either. But in the public sector, there's so much more scrutiny.

The days of building, for example, a big child-support application effort are over. We cannot afford to have an application that is developed over half a decade at the rate that business processes change. Technology turns over every two years now, and business processes respond to that rate of turnover.

On the year 2000 problem: The year 2000 is a real near-term problem. The thing is, it will ultimately be over at some point. It's not a far-reaching issue, but it's a very tactical issue. It takes an incredible amount of our time. In Austin, the situation is very severe, because we are a high-tech Mecca.

In Texas, we are focusing on mission-critical applications. We're optimistic those will be successfully converted. But it's an incredible amount of work. If you look at a state the size of Texas, we have more than 250 agencies and universities. We have an oversight role, so naturally we're going to triage those applications.

We've had an ongoing dialogue with federal officials on the is sue. Last October, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge summoned state and federal CIOs to a summit in Pittsburgh. Issues involving big interface systems are going to continue to crop up until the bitter end. But there's a keen awareness on the part of both the federal government and the states that the issue must be resolved.

On public-sector CIOs: CIOs in states have increasing visibility, and whether that translates into power depends on how they do their job. Downsizing has pushed more people into dependence on IT and has fueled interest in being more efficient. Agencies more and more look to IT folks for relief from budget constraints. The agency I head just went under a "sunset" process. Under our new legislation, agencies must submit to us evaluations of their CIOs.

When IT first emerged on the scene in the 1980s, we concentrated on practical applications. We automated the back room. Processes were pretty well defined, and we had pretty successful projects. In the new realm, IT must bring a kind of competitive edge or strategic advantage. Agencies now are looking for ways to please their citizen users, and to please the legislature by cutting costs and making citizens happy. So we're thinking more strategically.

On relationships with the federal government: We see a trend from the federal government that is much more collaborative. Obviously nobody enjoys oversight, so that always seems burdensome. But agencies see commensurate benefits, such as matching grants. I just look forward to a more collaborative relationship, and I see that happening. There are things the feds do well and things states do well, and if we can sort that out, it'd be great.