Why CIOs should prioritize people and process
The next level of transformation for federal IT organizations can only happen when we prioritize these pillars.
Building effective IT infrastructure is like building a house — you must construct it for the people living in it. Implementing a sophisticated and perfectly optimized infrastructure does nothing if it doesn’t work for and with your people. In fact, it can waste money, time and resources — three precious commodities for any organization, but especially in the federal sphere.
I believe the next level of transformation for federal IT organizations can only happen when we prioritize people and processes. Two important frameworks focus on the people and process factors that make even the most complex IT projects successful: organizational change management and FinOps. OCM is a strategic approach to helping organizations adapt to change while minimizing resistance and improving their effectiveness; FinOps is a framework at the intersection of finance and operations that maximizes the business value of the cloud.
I lean heavily on the four pillars of modernization — people, process, technology, and learning — however, I spend most of my time focusing on people and processes because I believe technology solutions should be chosen with processes and people’s needs in mind. It can be tempting to lead with technology and choose the newest, trendiest or shiniest tool. But if people aren’t comfortable with it, the process isn’t defined or it disrupts their workflows in a frustrating way, at best it won’t be used. At worst, it will complicate or hinder existing work and run up budgets.
Often, the technology is ready and on the shelf, but you have to ask yourself, are the people ready? This is why we are investing in readiness at OPM. Over the last three years, I have been the executive sponsor of the OCIO OCM function. We are providing change training to project managers and have developed readiness checklists for all projects.
Getting people ready for the change means keeping in mind that you’re introducing new technology to people with a wide range of knowledge and comfort with it. Explaining the “why” is crucial for buy-in and adoption, and explaining the “what” and the “how” will lead to correct implementation and use — and prevent headaches down the line.
But getting people prepared is not enough. You also need to manage IT's business value with efficient processes. Earlier in my career, during a cloud implementation at another agency, I discovered the need to manage our cloud spending and management differently than we would an on-premises solution.
I knew there was a solution out there because this problem wasn’t unique to our office or even to the government. When solving problems in government, we tend to look within our sector for solutions — even if the same problems arise in every sector. I wanted to implement the best practices across all sectors, not just the best practices for the government.
In this case, it meant looking beyond existing federal operations to the private sector. The federal government can be slow to adopt strategies and solutions that have gained ground in the private sector simply because we are unaware they exist.
I found FinOps, an open–source framework that optimizes cloud value with a focus on data-driven, timely decision-making. FinOps isn’t new — the FinOps Foundation was founded in 2019 and was gaining traction before then — but it was new to the federal government.
In my current role at OPM, FinOps is a success story for the agency. In our sprint to the cloud, we’ve had $650,000 in cost reduction so far, a 25% cost avoidance against a $1.9 million cloud spend, and a 99.98% execution against OPM’s $290 million budget authority. More than the numbers, it’s a testament to how the right technology management framework approach combined with a strong, people-focused implementation can offer a great solution to the government.
Implementing the first two pillars of people and process mitigates risks by addressing issues with getting users on board with the changes and defining the processes required for smooth transition and integration. With people on board and a process in place, it’s time to implement the technology. But the story doesn’t end there. The fourth pillar, learning, tends to be overlooked for budget and time reasons, but it ultimately determines the success of the technology. Learning is a continuous process and one that can even expand beyond your organization.
I try to be a role model for lifelong learning. I recently earned my second master's degree in cybersecurity policy. I currently serve on the board of the FinOps Foundation and sponsor the FinOps Government Special Interest Group, which focuses on expanding the framework across government. Today, 20 agencies participate and share knowledge in the group. Go to FinOps.org to learn more or reach out to me at melvin.brown@opm.gov.
As Chief Information Officer at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Melvin Brown II leads a $200 million IT portfolio and a team of 300 federal employees and 400+ contractors. He’s had a distinguished career spanning roles at the Small Business Administration, Department of Homeland Security, and Federal Aviation Administration. In addition to his OPM role, Melvin currently holds leadership positions with organizations like the American Council for Technology, Industry Advisory Council, and Advanced Technology Academic Research Center, and is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran.