Meet the CIOs: OPM

OPM: Janet Barnes

JANET L. BARNES
Office of Personnel Management
1900 E St. N.W. #5415
Washington, D.C. 20415
Phone: 202-418-3200
Fax: 202-418-3251
E-mail: jlbarnes@opm.gov

Career Highlights:

1989-95: Director of information systems at Commerce Department's U.S. and Foreign Commerce Service
1986-89: CIO at Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.
1981-86: Director of revenue management systems at MCI

IT Budget (fiscal years):
1996: $51.4 million
1997: $52.0 million
1998: $55.5 million

Priority Projects:

• IT Architecture Vision and Migration Plan - developing standardized information technology architecture by 1999.
• Year 2000 Compliance - converting computer systems for the millennium date change.
• ITMRA Implementation - working to implement requirements such as capital investment planning and control.

Biggest Challenges:

"Defining and implementing a coherent agencywide IT architecture; implementing the requirements of the Clinger-Cohen Act in a cost-effective and value-added manner; and continuing to meet IT requirements with decreased staff resources."

Management Approach:

"The Office of Personnel Management has begun analyzing the needs of the agency for a workable capital planning and investment management process, and performance-based IT management systems. We expect to begin implementing these processes in the last quarter of fiscal 1997."

On CIOs:

"ITMRA provided the added impetus to enhance the CIO's role and responsibilities by giving the force of law to what is essentially good IT management practices. [For a CIO] to become truly effective, two things are essential. First, the agency head must clearly demonstrate support for the CIO function by including the chief information officer in the agency's highest management councils. Second, the CIO must quickly demonstrate a value-added capability."

Hottest Technologies:

"Internet and intranets, including Java programming. The potential for intranets to supplement or even replace client-server architectures presents both opportunities and challenges. The easy-to-use graphical interface provides the promise of quick and easy access to information. Because this is new information technology territory, however, standards are still being developed and the danger is getting out too far in front of this rapidly changing environment."