An IT strategy for the transition

A consultant’s advice for preserving information technology projects during the transition to a new presidential administration might be effective, but it misses the point in some ways, one agency leader said. Consultant John Kost, a vice president at Gartner, said the next president is unlikely to consider IT a high priority. However, managers can protect IT projects by emphasizing their value to the agency and avoiding identifying the projects by name, Kost said. That’s an approach some agency leaders say they would avoid. Rather than protecting projects for their own sake, IT managers should always think about how their work can best support the agency’s mission, said Henry Chao, chief technology officer at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services at the Health and Human Services Department. “Technology is an enabler, not the driver,” Chao said.