Get a Life!: Transition planning?

We’re past Labor Day, kids are in school, and the fiscal year is ending. Wrapping up the year takes a lot of effort, and so does preparing for the coming change in government leadership.

With major campaigning revving up after the conventions, I continue to think, or perhaps hope, that somewhere in government, folks are gearing up for the transition time to a new administration.

I asked an agency Webmaster whether he had heard anything about going digital for transition briefing materials. “That’s a great idea,” he said. But the Webmaster noted that not only had he heard nothing about using technology for briefing presentations, he also had heard nothing at all about any transition planning. He recalled someone saying there might be a possible meeting in a week or two to discuss it, but he wasn’t sure.

So I ask again, will agencies be dusting off and using those bulky notebook-style briefing books or will there be any use of any technology beyond the old PowerPoint standby?

Some of you would rather not think about this because you are counting down the days to your retirement from government at the end of the year. If you are thinking about retirement, you should be checking with your human resources office about the steps you need to take now.

For those of you planning to be here next year, a transition offers an opportunity for IT staffs to get creative, not necessarily with pretty graphics, but with modern high-tech ways of presenting information. What are some of those ways you’d like to see? Or is everyone too busy right now to think about anything beyond September?