Review Agile Government, Cloud Technology, Data, Mobility and Social Government.

1. Government
Technology
Year in Review

2. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
2.
WELCOME CONTENTS
About GovLooP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4
Executive SummarY - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5
The Year in Review – Results of 2012 GovLoop Technology Survey - - - - - - - 7
What has been the most important technology trend in 2012?
What technology trends are you watching for 2013?
What is your greatest challenge implementing new technology?
Communicate Value of Project
Agile Methodology
Training
Expert Insights: David Graziano of Cisco Talks BYOD
Expansion of Mobility: The Perfect Storm for Government Agencies - - - - - 15
Challenges
Case Studies – The Digital Government Strategy
Case Study - U.S. Census Bureau
5 Great Mobile Apps from Microsoft
Turning Data into Power: Unlocking Big Data for Agencies - - - - - - - - - - 23
Challenges
Predictive Policing: Santa Cruz Police Department
NASA’s Human Spaceflight Imagery Collection
Looking Ahead to 2013
3 Keys to Big Data: Quick Wins, Clear Scope, Communicate
Finding New Efficiencies, Cost Savings and Improved Services with Cloud
Technology - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 29
Challenges
Case Studies: FedRAMP
Case Studies: NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
Looking Ahead to 2013
Cloud Computing Offers Cost Savings for Public & Private Sector

3. 3.
2012TECHREVIEW
Changing Traditional Project Management: Bringing Agile Methodology to
Government - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 37
Agile Best Practices
Case Study: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)
BlueCRUSH Program Redefining Analytics in Government
The Year of Social Government: Social Media in 2012 - - - - - - - - - - - - 45
Challenges
Case Study: Public Engagement Lessons Learned from Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanual and President
Obama
How to Derive Value from Everyday Interaction with Citizens
Final Thoughts & Acknowledgements - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 50
GovLoop Resources - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 51
HP & GovLoop Develop Telework App
Bibliography of Report - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 54
Expansion of Mobility: The Perfect Storm for Government Agencies
Turning Data into Power: Unlocking Big Data for Agencies
Finding New Efficiencies, Cost Savings and Improved Services through Cloud Technology
Changing Traditional Project Management: Bringing Agile Methodology to Government
The Year of Social Government: Social Media in 2012
GovLoop Resources

4. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
4.
ABOUT GOVLOOP
Location
GovLoop is headquartered in Washington D.C
with a team of dedicated professionals who
share a commitment to connect and improve
government.
GovLoop
734 15th St NW, Suite 500
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202) 407-7421
Fax: (202) 407-7501
GovLoop’s mission is to connect government to day, GovLoop is the leading site for addressing
improve government. We aim to inspire public public sector issues.
sector professionals by acting as the knowl-
edge network for government. The GovLoop GovLoop works with top industry partners to
community has over 60,000 members work- provide resources and tools to the government
ing to foster collaboration, solve problems and community. GovLoop has developed a variety
share resources across government. of guides, infographics, online training and
educational events, all to help public sector
The GovLoop community has been widely professionals become more efficient Civil Ser-
recognized across multiple sectors. GovLoop vants.
members come from across the public sector.
Our membership includes federal, state, and GovLoop’s 2012 Technology in Review Report
local public servants, industry experts and pro- is sponsored by Cisco, Google, GovDelivery, HP,
fessionals grounded in academic research. To- IBM, Oracle and Microsoft.

5. 5.
2012TECHREVIEW
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
2012 has been an exciting year for government Linda Cureton, Chief Information Officer, NASA
technology, everything from Todd Park becom-
ing the Federal CTO, the release of the Digital Malcolm Jackson, Chief Information Officer,
Government Strategy, FedRAMP launching, Environmental Protection Agency
the White House Innovation Fellows Program,
and countless examples of mobile application Our report continues with overviews of five
development, open data initiatives, and cloud core trends in government technology in 2012,
adoption. mobile, big data, cloud adoption, agile meth-
odology, and social media. Each trend is high-
In this report, GovLoop set out to perform a lighted within this guide and identifies best
year in review of government technology, iden- practices, common challenges, and top case
tifying the core trends, themes and what to an- studies from 2012.
ticipate for 2013. The GovLoop team wanted to
stay true to our mission at GovLoop of sharing In 2012 we saw incredible innovations from
knowledge and resources to empower govern- government. GovLoop wants to thank the in-
ment employees. With that said, not only did novators, front line staff, leaders and agency
we want to identify and tell great case studies heads working hard to improve how services
of government work in 2012, we also wanted to are delivered to citizens. In times when bud-
facilitate the sharing of resources, best practic- gets are constantly tightening, demand is in-
es, ideas and solutions to improve how govern- creasing, and the mantra is to do more with
ment operates. We believe this report not only less, government leaders are challenged like
will highlight some of the best case studies for never before to implement new technology
2012 and technology initiatives, but also en- to facilitate cost savings, efficiencies, and im-
courages the government community to share proved reliability. Technology has become es-
ideas and work collaboratively to improve the sential to meeting organizational objectives.
way that government functions. As such, this report should serve as a roadmap
to help you tackle some of your agencies most
In late September 2012 GovLoop ran a survey pressing challenges and provide a year in re-
asking our community for their insights to top view for government technology in 2012, and
technology trends in 2012. The survey had 250 what to expect in 2013.
respondents from the government community.
Further, GovLoop reached out to key thought Be sure to check out GovLoop.com for more
leaders in government for their expert insights. technology related resources, and to join the
This report contains comments from the fol- conversation and collaborate with peers. If you
lowing leaders in government: have any questions about this report, please
feel free to reach out to Pat Fiorenza, GovLoop
Bernie Mazer, Chief Information Officer, De- Research Analyst at pat@govloop.com.
partment of the Interior
Jim Ropelewski, Chief Procurement Officer, De-
partment of Education

6. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
6.
Expansion of Mobility
Turning Data into Power
Efficiencies of Cloud Technology
Agile Methodology for Government
The Year of Social Government

7. 7.
2012TECHREVIEW
The Year in Review
Results of 2012 GovLoop
Technology Survey
ovLoop recently conducted Linda Cureton, Chief Information Officer,
a survey from 250 members NASA
G
of our community as part of
our year-end technology re- Malcolm Jackson, Chief Information Officer,
port. Not only did we reach Environmental Protection Agency
out to the GovLoop commu-
nity, we also reached out to You’ll be able to listen to their interviews in full
key decision makers in government, and have by visiting GovLoop.com. This section of the re-
incorporated their insights. The following gov- port provides a snapshot of technology in gov-
ernment thought leaders were interviewed for ernment in 2012 and shares the results from
this report: our 2012 technology in government survey.
Bernie Mazer, Chief Information Officer, De- What has been the most important
partment of the Interior
technology trend in 2012?
Jim Ropelewski, Chief Procurement Officer,
Our survey asked respondents to select the
Department of Education

8. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
8.
2012 2013
What Are The Most 60%
50%
Important
40%
30%
20%
Technology Trends 10%
of 2012 and 2013?
Ag vel
Bi
Br vic
g D ly t
ile op
in e
De
An
De
gY
at i c s
a
a/
ou
r
m
Ow
en
n
t
top technology trend, respon- become the normal operating continue to grow.”
dents could select all that ap- procedure.”
ply with the options of agile Other responses identified as
development, big data/ana- Linda continues, “I think we leading trends were mobile
lytics, bring your own device started to enter that in 2012. initiatives, such as BYOD and
(BYOD), cloud computing, col- We are getting beyond the collaboration tools. Malcolm
laboration tools, cyber securi- hype. And commercial prod- Jackson, CIO, EPA, backed up
ty, and data center consolida- ucts are now giving offerings these findings, stating, “At the
tion. At 56%, cloud computing that are very sensible and eco- EPA we are looking at ways to
was the leading response (see nomical. So we’re not making make it easier for people to do
graphic for full findings). In a decisions about cloud or not their work. In the past people
recent interview, Linda Cure- cloud, we are looking at the were chained to their desks.
ton, CIO, NASA, also stated the best service offerings for our They would leave their desks to
importance of cloud technol- agency and our environment.” go to a meeting. Collaboration
ogy in 2012, “The thing every- would happen in conference
one was looking at in 2012 was NASA was not alone imple- rooms. Where I see the federal
cloud computing. We are all re- menting cloud technology, government going today is to
sponding to the OMB mandate Bernie Mazer, CIO, Department a mobile workforce. Mobile in
of cloud first. That coupled of Interior, stated, “This year we that they can take their devic-
with the maturity of cloud moved our email to the cloud. es with them. Walk down the
products in the commercial And cloud will just continue hall and have conversations
space made cloud pretty ex- to expand. We are also look- with people and have instan-
citing. I look forward to when ing at adding applications to taneous meetings because
the hype goes away and we the cloud. And with the Digital you could loop anyone via a
stop looking at cloud as this Government Strategy the role virtual conference. Plus if they
cool one off thing and make it of cloud as cost savings will have their devices they have

9. 9.
2012TECHREVIEW
Cl mp
Co ols
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Da nso
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Mo vel
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Ot
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ca ce
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their data with them.” partment of the Interior, “We n data. In her interview, Linda
are also actively courting the Cureton mentioned, “In 2013
As Jacksons indicates, mo- use of consumer devices into we will see more software as
bile is truly a transformational our world. We will have tablets a service headed to the cloud.
trend for government. Along and smartphones within our Lots of interest in apps stores
with the move to mobile, there department; those devices are in the cloud because it offers
has been a boom in the kinds subject to security constraints that type of capability now.
of data that has been created. and life cycle management. NASA is also looking at our
Jim Ropelewski CPO, Depart- We are also looking at BYOD website and trying to take ad-
ment of Education, expanded and how we can protect the vantage of the platform as a
on how in 2012 there has been federal database and individu- service layer.”
an increasing need for real in- al private space.”
sights and improved decisions Linda was also aligned with
from the data created, “Right What technology trends our survey respondents, cit-
now there is a desire for a ing BYOD as a trend to watch
great deal of data. Data analyt-
are you watching for in 2013, “Mobile and BYOD will
ics is really the big buzzword 2013? become how the government
this year. We don’t suffer from does business. CIOs will stop
a lack of data but what to do Survey respondents were looking at endpoint devices
with it. We are still figuring out also asked which technology but look at data applicants and
what’s the best way to crunch trends to watch in 2013. From capabilities to deliver more re-
the numbers in order to make our survey, cloud computing liable internet technology,” she
strategic decisions.” is anticipated to be one of the continued, “At this point a lot
key trends in 2013, just like in of people do BYOD anyway so
Bernie Mazer continued about 2012. Other results included in 2013 we want to do it in a
the impact of mobile at the De- BYOD, collaboration and big better more managed way.” Fi-

10. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
10.
nally, Linda mentioned the im- park rangers who are in the government, which was men-
portance of big data in 2013, field. We want them to have tioned in the “other” category
stating, “We’ve been dealing the ability that they can take of the GovLoop survey, is the
with big data for decades. their devices with correspond- workforce. Jim Ropelewski also
But now with the capabilities ing capabilities with them and mentioned this challenge dur-
of the cloud, big data has be- have content and data accessi- ing his interview, stating, “It’s
come a big deal.” bly anywhere.” not a new or cutting edge chal-
lenge. But our real area of con-
Mobility was also a core find- What is your greatest cern is finding and maintain-
ing, especially in terms of ing a highly skilled workforce.
BYOD. Our government experts
challenge implementing Right now because technology
also believed that mobile will new technology? is getting so sophisticated we
be critically important in 2013. need to start thinking of our
Malcolm Jackson stated, “The Although technology exists to staff as strategic business of-
continued evolution of mo- transform how government ficers.”
bile. And growth of apps. We operates, there are a lot of chal-
realized there is a tremendous lenges for government agen- Bernie Mazer also mentioned
opportunity to build a public- cies to implement technol- some of the challenges related
private partnership. We are ogy initiatives. Respondents to legal and security for BYOD
looking for opportunities to le- stated the budget as a core initiatives, “We are concerned
verage the private sector from challenge, followed by culture, about the legal and security
a technology perspective.” Jim leadership, workforce and no ramifications of BYOD and mo-
Ropelewski mentioned, “Agen- government precedent. bility. We are presently issuing
cies will likely move to more a directive where we are look-
mobile workforce in the next Our experts added in some ad- ing at these concerns. We are
few years. We’ve already intro- ditional insights as well, Linda actively examining how we
duced some iPads and other Cureton and Malcolm Jackson can put access apps on a per-
tablets. The other big trend both mentioned the budget- son’s individual device. We are
will be BYOD. But BYOD brings ary challenges. Linda states, also looking at native clients
a whole host of security chal- “With budget cuts we have to and how we put those on an
lenges. We will have to partner get over the IT strategies that individual’s device.”
with CIOs even more than we are based on hope. We “hope:
do now to make sure that add- we can get a big influx of In our survey, we wanted to
ed complications don’t arise money to x,y and z. We’ll that’s stay true to what we do at
from BYOD.” just not going to happen any- GovLoop, sharing knowledge,
more. We have to change our ideas and resources to empow-
Finally, Bernie Mazer adds ad- mindset. CIOs need to become er government employees to
ditional insight to the role of brokers of services and have a do their job betters. In the sur-
mobility in 2013, stating, “Mo- business savvy.” Jackson adds, vey, we asked what are some
bile will define 2013. As part of “Budget cuts will always be a best practices that govern-
the Digital Government Strat- challenge. We are always look- ment employees have learned
egy government as a whole is ing at ways to carve out funds throughout the year. We found
trying to reduce the number for innovation. Because in- three common trends from
of workstations. And at the novation is what really drives the responses by government
Department of Interior our technology.” employees, communicate the
people work outside. We have value of projects, adopt agile
biologists and geologist and An additional challenge for project management philoso-

11. 11.
2012TECHREVIEW
phy, and train appropriately. spondent stated, “Show (not technology in the workplace,
tell) your organization the val- the way government operates
Communicate Value of ue through a low risk demo/ continues to evolve and im-
Project pilot and enlist an early adopt- pact the current workforce. In
ers group to implement the our survey, three core findings
One of the core themes in the pilot and advocate for the new appeared as to how to best re-
survey was the need for lead- technology.” cruit top IT talent into govern-
ers to communicate the value ment. The three core findings
of the technology initiative Another additional com- were, offer competitive pay, of-
that is taking place within the ment was, “Do real agile de- fer flexible work schedules and
agency. This is true from se- velopment and use real us- tell top applicants about the
nior leaders to front line em- er-centered design. Don’t amazing opportunity working
ployees, the need for proper modify well-used processes for government offers.
communication channels is just because you are not used
clear. One respondent stated, to them.” Finally, a more con- Survey respondents stated
“Support from management cise response about the need that in order to attract top tal-
and key player buy-in; start- for agile was stated by a re- ent, there must be competi-
ing small; referencing organi- spondent as, “Test. Pilot. Ana- tive pay for employees. One
zation change management lyze. Then implement.” respondent stated, “Attractive
resources to address cultural pay packages and opportuni-
barriers.” Training ties to grow,” as one solution
to attract talent. Although
Yet, in the end, the initiative competitive pay is certainly
Another core theme from the
needs to show results. One important, unfortunately, gov-
survey, and one that has been
survey respondent stated, ernment is not always in the
echoed during GovLoop we-
“Start small, rack up a few position to compete financial-
binars, events, and through
wins.” Racking up a few wins ly. With that said, government
surveys done this year, was
is key, having some quick wins does offer other benefits than
the need for training on how
to point to and share across a private sector counterparts.
to best leverage new technol-
team will ultimately help show Flexible work schedules could
ogy. “Training is key, identify
the value of a project and get be used as one way to recruit,
the strengths and weakness
support for the initiative. a respondent stated, “Alterna-
of people or teams. Look for
tive work schedules, telecom-
experience and proper leader-
muting opportunities,” anoth-
Agile Methodology ship and mentorship. Identify
er stating, “Be creative. Offer
and engage the people work-
telecommuting, flexible hours,
This was a really interesting ing the project,” stated one
training.”
finding in the report. Many survey respondent.
survey respondents identified
A final trend from the survey
the importance of bringing Finally, the survey explored
was to have people tell their
agile methodology into gov- an ongoing and critical chal-
story. One respondent stated,
ernment. We found this to be lenge for government, recruit-
“Recruitment is a difficult chal-
such an important trend; we ing and retaining top IT talent
lenge in today’s climate -- but
expanded one of sections in into government. There is no
we still offer some of the most
this report to solely agile. The question that the workforce is
exciting projects, and amazing
key for government agencies changing. Whether it is from
growth opportunity.”
is to iterate and adapt, one re- Baby Boomers retiring or new

12. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE FP_Headline
12.
FP_Body
Expert Insights: David Graziano of Cisco Talks BYOD • FP_Bullet
This post is an excerpt from GovLoop’s recent report, Exploring Bring Your Own Device inFP_CallToAction
the Public Sector.
Recently, David Graziano, Director, Security and Unified Access, US Public Sector, Cisco, spoke with
Pat Fiorenza of GovLoop on the state of BYOD in the public sector. David provided expert insights
on how to best manage, control and implement a BYOD program for a public sector agency. Gra-
ziano’s insights provide further evidence that although challenges still remain for BYOD, this is one
of the most important trends occurring in government. You can find the complete interview by
visiting the blog post, and the complete BYOD guide.
David advised that agencies must start by embracing BYOD, and accept that BYOD is a trend that
they must act upon, “Embracing BYOD is really important, because if they don’t, then the agency
is actually moving away from technology rather than leveraging it to achieve their mission,” states
Graziano.
Embracing BYOD is essential. BYOD initiatives show a commitment to becoming an innovative
workplace and allowing people to work on the platform they desire. “If you embrace BYOD and
make it very easy for people to get on the network and enforce policies to protect data, that is the
best thing,” David keenly acknowledges. Once BYOD is embraced by agencies, he advises that it is
essential that the organization create a simple user experience. David states:
“You need to create a simple user experience. This involves guest access and onboarding, this
means potentially allowing people access who do not work for you and limiting information they
can access. If it is an employee, it is simple onboarding, managing the user experience of getting
on the network, establishing and confirming their identity and authenticate who they are and
their device, just making this a very smooth process.”
David highlighted four core challenges for BYOD, the loss of control, protecting government data,
limited access, and changing work practices for new employees. The loss of control is absolutely
one of the most critical concerns with BYOD. Graziano states, “Typically loss of control is related
to policy, if you are going to let these things on your network, how do you possibly control where
they are allowed to go, and what they are allowed to do?” These are important considerations
to make while crafting a BYOD policy, and as David mentioned, the importance of a well-crafted
policy is essential to the success of any government BYOD initiative.
Closely linked to the challenge of a loss of control, is the need to protect government data. David
states, “If you are going to allow people access to data and in theory they could pull it down, you
run the risk of losing that government data.”
Additionally, Graziano advises that policies will differ for government furnished devices and per-
sonal devices. “If the devices are government furnished, you can establish one set of policies, and
if it is literally BYOD, then you have to establish a different set of policies for that,” stated David.
Beyond operational and efficiency gains, BYOD also may contribute to tackling the challenges to
recruit and retain top talent in government.
GovLoop’s report: Exploring Bring Your Own Device in the Public Sector is an important read for
government agencies considering BYOD at their agency. The report will guide agencies through
the common challenges and roadblocks faced by peers in government, helping agencies consider
all the numerous aspects of BYOD.

13. 13.
2012TECHREVIEW
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14. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
14.
Expansion of Mobility

15. 15.
2012TECHREVIEW
Expansion of Mobility
The Perfect Storm for
Government Agencies
he progress surround- portunities for increased productivity.
ing employee mobility in
T
2012 has been astounding The launch of the Digital Government Strategy
to watch unfold. With the earlier this year underscored the federal gov-
launch of the Digital Gov- ernment’s unparalleled support for greater ef-
ernment Strategy, increased ficiency and innovation through mobility. Their
adoption of cloud technolo- goal of building a 21st century government
gy, and growing implementation of bring your that works better for the American people
own device policies government is in a great highlights the need for increased efficiency in
position to capitalize upon mobile technology. government, achievable through mobile tech-
The ability to increasingly work from any digi- nology.
tal device has given employees greater flexibil-
ity for telework, more effective communication With this in mind, one of the greatest innova-
from the field, and connectivity from almost tions seen throughout 2012 has been the in-
anywhere they go, providing significant op- creased utility and functionality of tablets for

16. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
16.
government work. The porta-
bility of tablets has enormous
potential, especially when
looking toward streamlining
the collection and digitizing
data. In particular, the use of
tablets is having a dramatic
impact for employees in the
field.
One great example comes
from the State of Indiana. For
the State of Indiana Police De- strably increase efficiency, no- to mobile apps. In the City of
partment, the process of in- tably through cost savings and Minneapolis, for example, the
specting 17,000 state school better employee recruitment, city government has opened
buses was vastly simplified among other measures of suc- up a mobile application store,
when the state partnered with cess. where work-related productiv-
a local college computer class ity applications can be found.
to create a customized tablet Throughout the year, Gov- They offer city employees a
inspection application. The Loop Insights has highlighted range of apps, from file brows-
Department plans to take it a a number of incredible apps ers and PDF readers, giving
step further, integrating quick produced throughout govern- tablets the same functional-
response (QR) codes into the ment, starting with GSA’s work ity as laptops and desktops.
application functionality to launching the USA.gov Mobile For government employees in
track bus information. With Apps Gallery. With government Minneapolis, this significantly
these technology upgrades, apps relating to categories as increases work mobility.
the Illinois Police Department diverse as education, finance,
has come a long way from us- medical, travel, and reference Challenges
ing checklists on paper forms materials, government has in-
just a few years ago. creased the accessibility and While mobile technology has
mobility of public information. presented fantastic opportu-
This example highlights an ad- This coincides with the Digital nities for increasing efficiency,
ditional technology mobility Government Strategy’s goal challenges still remain to fully
trend this year, the develop- to unlock government data to capitalize on these advances.
ment of productivity appli- spur innovation in and beyond Some agencies have been able
cations within government. the public sector. to easily demonstrate the im-
Agencies throughout govern- pact of mobile adoption on
ment have capitalized on new Even on the local level, em- their mission, clearly estab-
mobile technology to demon- ployees have increased access lishing value. For example, the

17. 17.
2012TECHREVIEW
Unlock the power of gov-
ernment data to spur in-
novation across our Nation
and improve the quality of
services for the American
people
With these three goals in
mind, the strategy has created
a framework and timeline for
agencies to build a technology
Government Printing Office Government Strategy infrastructure to open their
has been able to provide great- data, adopt common stan-
er access to public information As previously mentioned, this dards, and produce device ag-
through mobile applications. year the White House launched nostic content and data for the
Other agencies, however, need its new Digital Government public. The framework will al-
to ensure they have a clear Strategy: Building a 21st Cen- low government to get in front
understanding of the mission tury Platform to Better Serve of technology adoption and
value, as well as the impact of the American People. The provide tools to help others
mobile adoption on their bot- strategy was put in place to ac- innovate.
tom line. complish three major goals:
Having a clear framework
Another obstacle for integrat- Enable the American peo- across government will dra-
ing mobile technology into ple and an increasingly matically increase efficiency,
agencies is addressing infor- mobile workforce to access especially for initiatives that
mation security. With many high-quality digital gov- span agencies. Previously, in-
additional devices accessing ernment information and formation silos in government
enterprise data, security is a services anywhere, any- created distinct barriers for
real concern. Going forward, time, on any device collaboration, but this new ap-
agencies will need to con- proach will allow both public
tinue tracking device access, Ensure that as the govern- and private organizations to
addressing the variety of ap- ment adjusts to this new access information and spur
plications available on those digital world, we seize the innovation.
devices, and other measures opportunity to procure
to ensure the security of enter- and manage devices, ap-
prise information. Case Study - U.S. Census
plications, and data in
smart, secure and afford- Bureau
Case Studies – The Digital able ways

18. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
18.
W
Malcolm Jackson e a r e i n t h e m i d d le o f a m o b i le e xplosi on.
EPA CIO From the perspective of the size (they continue to get smaller), to the per-
from a recent inter-
view with GovLoop on spective of capabilities and price point. It’s the perfect storm for technolo-
the DorobekINSIDER.
gists. Platforms should be agnostic; that gets to the whole BYOD mantra. CIOs should
be focusing on safe and secure delivery of information in a manner that doesn’t nec-
essarily factor in the various operating systems. The big ask becomes. How do we
provide a secure tunnel into our systems through the endpoints of mobile devices
that our users have available to them and deliver the capabilities they need in a fash-
ion that they can use to meet their mission goals.
This year, the Census Bureau the economy,” said Buckner. It Looking to 2013
released an app to enable is part of the Census Bureau’s
citizens to access real time, approach to increase mobil- As the Digital Government
accurate economic data to ity of data and accessibility of Strategy is further implement-
help people more efficient- information. The Bureau wants ed throughout government
ly do their jobs, and under- to connect with the public in in 2013, it will be exciting to
stand their complex data with a way that they actually con- see whether the promise of
greater ease. The app is called sume data. “We need to pro- greater efficiency materializes.
America’s Economy, and it pro- vide data anywhere, anytime There is a tremendous amount
vides updated statistics from on any device,” said Buckner. of opportunity, but agencies
the Census Bureau, the Bureau will need to address the chal-
of Economic Analysis and the The app is the latest step the lenges outlined in order to
Bureau of Labor Statistics. It census has taken to use the In- fully capitalize on mobile tech-
includes 16 monthly economic ternet more in both collecting nology. If government is able
indicators, such as house sales, and disseminating statistics. to get ahead of the tech curve
personal income, international The data is only as valuable as by fully implementing the out-
trade, Gross Domestic Product, it is accessible, and this new lined strategy, they will be in a
and the unemployment rate. format allows others to ac- great position to take advan-
cess that information more ef- tage of new tech trends and
Stephen Buckner, Director of ficiently than ever before. Last move to the forefront of tech-
New Media and Promotions month, the White House cited nology innovation.
at the Census Bureau, told the Census Bureau as an exam-
Chris Dorobek that in the first ple of a federal agency that is
month of its release the app “making great strides towards
was downloaded more than putting a solid foundation for
45,000 times. “The app allows a 21st Century digital govern-
you to be the first to know ment in place.”
what’s really happening in

19. 19.
2012TECHREVIEW
GovLoop Mobility Resources
APPS
BYOD
Want Real-Time Economic Data? Census
New GovLoop Report: Exploring Bring Your Launches An App for That
Own Device in the Public Sector
Text My Bus: Using Open Data to Improve
White House Releases Bring Your Own Citizen’s Lives
Device Tool-Kit
United We Ride: Making Transportation
BYOD @ EEOC: case study featured in official Easier With Intra-Collaboration
WH guidance
Wildfire Danger - There’s An App For That
BYOD Pilot: Five Lessons Learned
Can Tech Really Help You Engage? Insights
3 Tips for Your Bring Your Own Device From The Knight Foundation
Strategy
Meet Textizen -- A new way to get citizen
feedback in the digital age
Ten Steps to Creating Insanely Great Mobile
MOBILITY Apps
Digital Government Strategy The NASA Mobile App University
Yammering On About Mobility, But No Real
Solutions... Think Again

20. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
20.
5 Great Mobile Apps from consumers will own a smart- several years now, we’ve even
phone by 2016—that’s rough- held developer competitions
Microsoft ly one seventh of the world’s to help catalyze mobile app
population! For government, development in government.
An article over on the Micro-
this represents a massive con- If you haven’t already, be sure
soft Government Blog reports
stituency of citizens who are to check out what our devel-
about apps built exclusively
increasingly accustomed to— oper community has dreamed
for Microsoft Phone 7. The blog
and now expect—having ac- up for both federal and state
was written by Parul Bhandari,
cess to mobile services served and local government from re-
Government Industry Solu-
up via their smartphones.” cent competitions. Below are
tions Lead, Worldwide Public
some of my personal favorite
Sector. I thought it was an in-
This statistic shows the im- government apps that have
teresting look at some of the
portance of government to been developed for Windows
apps built for Microsoft mo-
continue to move towards de- Phone 7.”
bile devices, and also a look at
veloping mobile applications,
how much smartphones have
mobile friendly websites and Parul closes out his post by
impacted our professional and
continue to work towards pro- sharing some apps developed
private lives.
viding services on mobile de- for Microsoft Phone 7. The five
vices. Parul talks briefly about apps he identifies is Advanced
Parul states, “According to For-
the role Microsoft has played in Mobile 311, United Nations
rester Research, one billion
the developer community, “For News, Eye on Earth, Love Clean
Streets, and World of Politics.
All of the apps are really cool
examples of citizen engage-
ment in the mobile space.
Advanced Mobile 311
United Nations News
Eye on Earth (Click to
download PDF)
Love Clean Streets
World of Politics

21. 21.
2012TECHREVIEW
Real
for Lean
Government
Simplify, reduce costs while providing new agency capabilities
3 Ways Microsoft Can Help
1. Use What You Already Own 2. Lighten Your Technology Load 3. Work Without Walls
in the Cloud
• If you’re government organi- • Telework solutions can help re-
zation has a Microsoft enter- • With little to no infrastructure duce travel costs and close gaps
prise license agreement, you investment, you can quickly add in a dispersed workforce.
may already own some of the powerful software and comput- • Keep teams and resources bet-
most powerful solutions on ing resources. ter connected wherever people
the market. • Save on hardware, maintenance, are located.
• Microsoft Financing can help IT management, and facilities • Virtual workspaces reduce
you tailor a payment plan to cost, in addition to software infrastructure costs and give
meet your agency needs, real- licensing fees. staff options during disruptions
izing the technology benefits • Offer services faster and stay in service due to weather or
as you pay. on the latest technology using emergencies.
• Software Assurance can help Microsoft cloud services.
improve worker productivity,
streamline development and
help reduce costs with fast,
efficient access to the most
current technology.
Learn more www.microsoft.com/govcostsavings

22. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
22.
010001000110000101110
100011000010010000001
101001011100110010000
001010000011011110111
011101100101011100101
Turning Data into Power

23. 23.
2012TECHREVIEW
Turning Data into Power
Unlocking Big Data for Agencies
ig data has been a hot and processed; and variety, or the multitude of
topic this year, with many sources from which the organization or agency
B individuals and organiza-
tions discussing what it is
and how best to use it in
their particular industry or
agency. Though there’s no
receives data, which can include anything from
sensor readings to posts on social media sites
to cell phone GPS signals and much more.
Challenges
official definition of big data, there are a few
key points that many experts agree constitute Although big data has many benefits for gov-
big data, otherwise known as the “Three V’s”: ernment agencies, challenges exist to fully un-
volume, which refers to the large amount of lock big data and turn information into power.
data that an organization or agency amasses; One of the main challenges with big data is
velocity, the rate at which data is being gen- having the technology and staff available to
erated and how quickly it must be received capture, store, distribute, manage, and analyze

24. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
24.
all of the information. This of-
ten requires agencies to invest straightforward. According
both time and money, some- to Zach Friend, crime analyst
thing many agencies lack in with SCPD, “We’re inputting
today’s difficult fiscal environ- data into this algorithm and
ment. Keeping up with the producing hotspot maps that
constant stream of data can tell our officers where to pa-
also prove to be rather diffi- trol, hopefully to help prevent
cult. crimes before they occur.” Hot
spots, Friend noted, are 500
Though big data is volumi- foot by 500-foot areas in which
nous, fast moving, complex, the probability of crime occur-
and often requires investing ring is higher than in any other
time and resources, govern- locations. The police depart-
ment has made effective use ment originally created ten
of it. In the next section, we hot spots a day, but eventually
detail two case studies dem- bumped that number up to
onstrating ways in which gov- 15 in order to increase buy in
ernment has successfully used from officers.
big data.
Though predictive policing
Predictive Policing: Santa does not replace officer in-
tuition, Friend believes that
Cruz Police Department it does normalize informa- timeframe in 2011, before the
tion across two important el- advanced analytics and pre-
In the summer of 2011, the
ements of law enforcement diction technology was being
Santa Cruz Police Department
- experience level and talent used.
(SCPD) began a six-month pi-
level. Friend calls the process
lot project, using large datas-
a “great equalizer for law en- In July 2012, The Santa Cruz
ets and a complex algorithm
forcement agencies to ensure Police Department shifted its
- based on the same model
that everybody’s patrolling the predictive policing program
used to predict earthquake
areas that they should be pa- from pilot phase to fully opera-
aftershocks - to try to predict
trolling at the times that they tional. The system is now fully
and prevent crime. This ap-
can.” automated, and is used to pre-
proach, called predictive po-
dict gang activity and street
licing, is being adopted across
SCPD’s use of the system has crimes for specialty units with-
the country, as police depart-
had positive effects. Without in the department, in addition
ments realize the value of big
adding more officers to the to property theft.
data in their efforts to catch
streets or changing beats and
criminals and ensure public
shift times, SCPD realized a NASA’s Human Spaceflight
safety.
19% reduction in property
theft when comparing crime
Imagery Collection
The process used by police of-
statistics from the first six
ficials in Santa Cruz is pretty The Information Resources
months of 2012 to the same

25. 25.
2012TECHREVIEW
Directorate (IRD) at NASA’s photo processing system in has three broad goals:
Johnson Space Center (JSC) the federal government, as
is responsible for managing well as an imagery organiza- 1) Advance state-of-the-art
the human spaceflight imag- tional structure, after which core technologies needed to
ery collection, one of the larg- both FEMA and FAA’s programs collect, store, preserve, man-
est archives of its kind in the are modeled. JSC has success- age, analyze, and share huge
world. Images are used by in- fully collected and catalogued quantities of data.
dustry and the general public data for quite some time while
to educate and entertain. The meeting both federal and 2) Harness these technolo-
collection currently contains agency requirements for re- gies to accelerate the pace of
“over 4 million still images, 9.5 cords retention and archiving. discovery in science and en-
million feet of 16mm motion gineering, strengthen our na-
picture film, over 85,000 video Looking Ahead to 2013 tional security, and transform
tapes and files representing teaching and learning.
81,616 hours of video in ana- In March 2012, the Obama ad-
log and digital formats,” and is ministration unveiled the “Big 3) Expand the workforce need-
growing exponentially. Data Research and Develop- ed to develop and use big data
ment Initiative,” which provid- technologies.
JSC’s efforts to collect and ed $200 million in funds for R
manage imagery data led to & D investments. The initiative Given these investments as
the creation of the first green well as the ever expanding

26. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
26.
pool of big data success sto- any type of interaction on the gain support across the orga-
ries, we can expect that agen- website. Armed with this kind nization.
cies will begin and/or contin- of knowledge and a long his-
ue to examine how Big Data tory of user behavior, organi- Have a Clear Scope
might be useful in their work zations can have a full view of
and start making investments the customer. This information Izzy advises to start with a
in the technology and staff can then be used to improve clear scope of the project,
necessary to take full advan- services for the end user, driv- “Don’t start with an open-end-
tage of Big Data’s potential. ing improved productivity and ed project. Try and solve one
efficiency for the agency. problem and answer one ques-
3 Keys to Big Data: Quick tion. You can expect some kind
GovLoop and Oracle recently of iterative approach as you go
Wins, Clear Scope, Com- collaborated to produce the forward. Big data is a data dis-
municate Big Data Industry Perspective, covery exercise and it almost
which you can view online be- becomes like a habit.” Having a
For centuries, government low or download as a PDF. The clear scope and knowing what
organizations have been col- brief talks with Big Data ex- problem is trying to be solved
lecting data from a variety of perts Peter Doolan, Group Vice is critical for big data. With so
sources, and using the collect- President, Chief Technologist, much data and information
ed data to inform their deci- Oracle Public Sector and Izzy that agencies collect, having a
sion-making. With the boom in Sobkowski, CIO, New York City clear scope and project goals
non-traditional forms of data Department of Health and Hu- is essential to success.
such as social media, video, man Services. Peter and Izzy
digital photographs and email, share their experiences using Communicate
government agencies are now Big Data and identify common
challenged how to best collect, challenges and provide some Izzy identified numerous best
manage, and drive decisions best practices for government practices related to clear com-
from data. Today, government agencies. munications. Izzy suggests
leaders are increasingly ex- to set reasonable goals, meet
ploring innovative ways to use Quick Wins deadlines, control cost and
big data to glean insights to value of the project, deliver
improve efficiency within their Izzy mentioned the impor- on budget, and to build the
agency. tance of having quick wins project with confidence. Izzy
while running your big data states, “Setting reasonable
Further, as more kinds of data program. Izzy states, “Like ev- goals, not over promising in
on the web become transac- erything in the government, terms both of time and cost
tional, government agencies just really showing the value and value, but getting consen-
are pressed to develop a mul- of what you’re doing. This is sus that these are items which
tidimensional view of their the quick win. Show the im- are valuable and then deliver-
customers and citizens. For in- pact that it’s having on the ing them on time and on bud-
stance, a government agency agency.” By pointing to quick get, built a lot of confidence
that provides permits online wins and being able to quickly and have allowed this program
can track dozens of statistics identify ways the big data ini- to thrive.
about visitors. The agency tiative is enabling the agency
can see how customers ar- to become more productive
rive, page views, collect com- and efficient, the team will be
ments, exit paths and nearly energized and will be able to

27. 27.
2012TECHREVIEW

28. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
28.
Cloud Technology

29. 29.
2012TECHREVIEW
Cloud Technology
Finding New Efficiencies, Cost Savings
and Improved Services
echnology can certainly facilitating open data initiatives, or mobility,
help facilitate innovation, the cloud has certainly made an enormous im-
T
and cloud technology has pact for government employees, and continues
become essential to facili- to transform how government operates. Ajay
tate innovation and to build Budhraja, CTO at a US Government Agency, de-
a 21st century government. scribed on GovLoop the impact cloud comput-
With the “cloud first” men- ing is having in government:
tality being endorsed by the highest levels of
government, agencies have looked to embrace “Cloud has dramatically changed how we think
innovative technologies such as cloud technol- about and utilize services. Cloud facilitates rap-
ogy to optimize internal processes, which in id deployments due to quick availability of scal-
turn will re-define how services are delivered able services. It provides the high service veloc-
by government. ity to manage changes incrementally and less
time for provisioning storage and applications.
Cloud technology has certainly made waves Cloud can enhance productivity by providing
this year in the government IT space. Whether the infrastructure or application platforms and
it is for improved collaboration, cost savings, related tools to respond to customer needs

30. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
30.
faster, giving organizations an grate to the cloud. The cloud Case Studies: FedRAMP
edge over others that have not also relates to governments
assessed such mechanisms. In ability to recruit and retain tal- With the implementation of
addition, the on-demand ca- ent, as the entering workforce the Federal Risk and Authori-
pabilities can lead to efficient expects cloud technology to zation Management Program
utilization of resources. I have be the norm for improved col- (FedRAMP), cloud adoption
seen applications that tradi- laboration and efficiency. Fur- will hopefully continue to be
tionally would take months ther, training employees on embraced by government,
to deploy, being rolled out in how to use cloud technology and work to remove some of
several weeks due to the cloud to best improve internal ef- the common challenges faced
and new environments being ficiency and performance is by government employees
set up very quickly, the key is critical for the success of gov- while adopting cloud technol-
to carefully assess existing ca- ernment cloud initiatives. ogy. FedRAMP is a government
pabilities and focus on service wide program that helps gov-
and process integration.” Although these challenges ex- ernment agencies implement
ist, there are dozens of great cloud based technology. At
Challenges cases studies for government the core of FedRAMP is pro-
agencies to learn from. Addi- viding government officials
Three core challenges for the tionally, the implementation of with a standardized approach
cloud continue to be informa- FedRAMP in 2012 has helped to security, authorization and
tion management, data pri- guide agencies in their cloud monitoring of cloud-based
vacy, and interoperability as adoption, and help them work services.
more business functions mi- through common challenges.

31. 31.
2012TECHREVIEW
W
Linda Cureton ith cl oud w e ar e ab le to take ad van t age o f
NASA CIO
from a recent inter- flexible, scalable, elasticity of the cloud is nothing to sneeze about. As
view with GovLoop on commercial providers make that secure and affordable and easy to pro-
the DorobekINSIDER.
vision that puts it within very accessible reach for agencies. Security concerns in
the cloud are more emotional than real at this point.
With the implementation of Fe- rity authorizations using
dRAMP, government wide ac- a baseline set of agreed Improves real-time secu-
quisition of cloud technology upon standards to be used rity visibility.
is expected to increase. With for Cloud product approval
FedRAMP, cloud service pro- in or outside of FedRAMP. Provides a uniform ap-
viders will have to use a third proach to risk-based man-
party to verify the company Ensure consistent applica- agement.
meets basic security require- tion of existing security
ments. FedRAMP is an exten- practices. Enhances transparency
sion of the Obama Adminis- between government and
tration’s “Cloud First” strategy, Increase confidence in se- cloud service providers
detailed by the memorandum curity assessments. (CSPs).
released on December 8th,
2011. Increase automation and Improves the trustworthi-
near real-time data for con- ness, reliability, consisten-
FedRAMP.gov states the fol- tinuous monitoring. cy, and quality of the Fed-
lowing program goals: eral security authorization
FedRAMP.gov states the fol- process.
Accelerate the adoption lowing program benefits:
of secure cloud solutions FedRAMP is important as it
through reuse of assess- Increases re-use of exist- aids government agencies in
ments and authorizations. ing security assessments cloud adoption. With a uni-
across agencies. formed security measures and
Increase confidence in se- protocols, more agencies will
curity of cloud solutions. Saves significant cost, time adopt cloud computing, and
and resources – “do once, retain security.
Achieve consistent secu- use many times.”

32. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
32.
Case Studies: NASA’s Jet
Propulsion Laboratory prove world-wide response to those services, as a CIO, that
(JPL) natural disasters,” stated Linda. enables us to shift our focus
on other types of more mis-
One great example of cloud Looking to 2013 sion critical areas.”
technology comes from NASA.
According to Linda Cureton, As new technology enters the In 2013, cloud computing will
NASA CIO, NASA has used the government IT space, it is es- continue to shape the gov-
cloud to help connect with sential for agency leads to ac- ernment IT landscape. Cloud
citizens through the “Be a knowledge how technology computing, in tandem with
Martian” initiative. This initia- changes the function of the other technologies like mobile
tive is being run by NASA’s Jet CIO’s role, and what the true devices, is a game-changer
Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), business value is for the agen- for government. The promise
the laboratory loaded 250,000 cy. Cloud has a great business of cutting cost and working
pictures of Mars into a cloud case as it allows CIOs to move through fiscal austerity is ap-
platform, and shared the im- from focusing on commodity pealing to all in government.
ages with the public. “This “Be IT to focus on delivering deep- The cloud is part of the solu-
a Martian” initiative has been er mission value. tion, leveraging cloud tech-
very popular, serving over nology can help agencies cut
2.5 million data queries from Malcolm Jackson, CIO of the cost, increase productivity and
crowd-sourcing applications EPA, recently spoke with Chris assist in cross-agency collabo-
and proving that the cloud can Dorobek on GovLoop’s Daily ration. We are living in a fas-
be a terrific way to reach and Podcast regarding cloud tech- cinating time for government
engage the public and support nology in government. Mal- innovation. The ability to con-
STEM activities in our schools,” colm stated, “[Cloud] does nect individuals, resources and
Linda acknowledged. change our job…We don’t information is unlike any other
have to worry about commod- time in history. In many ways,
By starting with a small pilot, ity IT services, that part of it we cloud technology is at the
NASA has been able to take can allow a vendor to provide heart of this transformation.
this quick win and expand the
scope to dozens of fascinat-
ing cloud projects that deeply
serve the mission. For exam-
ple, NASA has entered into
“
[ C lo u d ] do e s c ha n g e o u r jo b…
a strategic partnership with
USAID to deploy a geospa-
tial information technology
We don’t have to worry about commodity IT services,
“
infrastructure called SERVIR.
that part of it we can allow a vendor to provide those
“SERVIR integrates satellite
services, as a CIO, that enables us to shift our focus on
and ground-based data with
other types of more mission critical areas.
forecast models to monitor en-
vironmental changes and im-
- Malcolm Jackson EPA CIO

33. 33.
2012TECHREVIEW
From GovLoop.com
Cloud Computing Offers Cost Savings for Public & Private Sector
Andrew McAfee, a principal re- their larger counterparts, al- to the cloud to cut costs and
search scientist at the Center lowing them choose the type become more efficient. Al-
for Digital Business at the MIT of IT that fits best; thus, SMBs though the cloud offers doz-
Sloan School of Management, are typically the bellwethers ens of great opportunities to
recently shared some of his re- for the future of enterprise advance the mission of the
search on the Google Policy by computing.” Andrew states, “To agency, there are a lot of ques-
the Numbers blog. His findings determine how the costs of the tions about how to make the
showed how the private sector cloud compare to on-premise transition to the cloud. Below
is expecting significant cost IT, the model allows users to is a great government case
savings by moving on-premise select a number of cloud com- study about cloud adoption.
IT to the cloud. Andrew’s blog puting services that cover the The case study highlights the
post had a lot of interesting most common needs of SMBs, Idaho National Lab, and some
insights that can be applied including email, office pro- of the success they have had
to government. The study fo- ductivity software, account- with cloud adoption.
cused on small and medium- ing and finance software, CRM
sized business (SMBs), which software, and file and print Idaho National Lab has
Andrew states account for functionality.”
99.6% of businesses in the U.S. Gone Google
(Government was not included It is always interesting to take Posted by Denise Stephens, CIO, Idaho
in his study). a look at the private sector National Laboratory
and what lessons learned can
Andrew states, “SMBs lack the be found. The private sector is Editors note: Today’s guest blog-
constraints and legacy costs of not alone in the push to move ger is Denise Stephens, CIO and

34. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
34.
Information Management direc- ployees to Google Apps for ers work at our complex in the
tor of the Idaho National Labo- Government from Lotus Notes. desert, some 30 miles away.
ratory (INL). INL joins a growing INL has not taken this transi- In the past, this geographic
number of government agen- tion lightly. We have spent the separation made it harder for
cies that have made the switch better part of a year develop- employees to share informa-
to Google Apps for Government. ing requirements, engaging tion. Google Apps is improving
in internal pilots to mitigate communications by allowing
Located in southeastern Idaho risk and overcoming emerg- employees to work together in
on nearly 900 square miles ing challenges as a cross-or- real-time with voice and video
of desert, the Idaho National ganizational team to smooth chat, calendar sharing and si-
Laboratory is the lead lab for our move to the cloud. Google multaneous document edit-
nuclear research for the U.S. Apps is the right investment to ing.
Department of Energy (DoE). move the laboratory forward
Employees at INL work on di- while meeting the lab’s impor- In this case, INL simply couldn’t
verse projects that include tant requirements. afford not to go to the cloud.
making batteries used on Unit- This move is less expensive,
ed States space missions, de- Due to our remote location, and allows the lab to take a
veloping new technologies for having a reliable, redundant flexible, nimble and cost effec-
nuclear reactors, protecting email system is paramount. tive approach to lab communi-
critical infrastructure and op- Google Apps’ track record of cations. Instead of managing
erating the world’s 64th fastest 99.9% uptime gives INL em- infrastructure, INL has chosen
supercomputer. ployees’ confidence that their to invest in capabilities that
email will be there when they support the lab’s critical mis-
System integrator Unisys re- need it. Some INL employees sion areas.
cently completed the migra- work in facilities in the city of
tion of nearly 5,000 INL em- Idaho Falls, while many oth-

35. 35.
2012TECHREVIEW
Bring Google innovation to your agency!
Google products help government agencies or-
ganize information and make it accessible and
useful to citizens or to authorized employees.
Our solutions for search, geospatial data, and
messaging and collaboration are easy to use,
quick to deploy, fast and scalable.
Government agencies across the US and around
the world use Google’s enterprise solutions —
Google Apps for Government, Google Earth &
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helps take the hassle out of managing IT solu-
Learn more at www.google.com/federal
tions, letting you focus resources on your core
Contact us at: federal@google.com
202-346-1100 mission.

36. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
36.
Agile Project Management

37. 37.
2012TECHREVIEW
Agile Project Management
Changing Traditional Project Management:
Bringing Agile Methodology
to Government
ederal agencies depend on rebaselined projects, 51% must be rebaselined
IT to support their missions a second time. Agencies simply cannot afford
F
and spent over $76 billion these project failures during a time of shrink-
on IT in fiscal year 2011. Al- ing resources and increased technology expec-
though agencies have in- tations.
vested billions into govern-
ment IT initiatives, almost The days of the 10-year government IT plan
50% of IT projects fail. Far too often lengthy and project are over. With the rapid pace of
IT projects incur cost overruns and schedule technology and changing requirements, the
delays and contribute little to mission-related technology is outdated by the time it is im-
outcomes. A recent Government Account- plemented. Leaders such as White House CIO
ability Office (GAO) study reports that roughly Steve VanRoekel and White House CTO Todd
forty-eight percent of all IT projects fall behind Park have pushed government to embrace
schedule and must be rebaselined, and of those modular development, prototyping, and lean

38. THEGOVLOOPGUIDE
38.
startup methods. To reduce
the risk of such problems, the
The
Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) recommends
modular software delivery
consistent with an approach
1. Individuals and Int
Over Processes and
known as agile, which calls for
producing software in small,
Agile
short increments.
Agile development is based
on the practice of shorter soft-
ware development and deliv-
ery. Agile breaks projects into
short duration springs to de-
Manifesto
liver functioning components
and evaluate this functional-
ity firsthand. Agile empha-
sizes this early and continu-
ous software delivery, as well
as using collaborative teams
that can quickly respond to
valid changing requirements,
and measuring progress with complete a full functionality. day and has four core values:
working software built incre- (1) individuals and interactions
mentally. In contrast, with the 2. Timing and scope of plan- over processes and tools, (2)
traditional waterfall approach, ning – Agile plans at a very working software over com-
IT gathers the requirements high level of planning with prehensive documentation, (3)
up front, gets approval from most of planning done at each customer collaboration over
business unit, and goes off to iteration, while waterfall plans contract negotiation, and (4)
build and test the system. Six the whole project in detail at responding to change over fol-
months or a year later they beginning. lowing a plan.
come back with a solution, but
often during that time the re- 3. Project status evaluation – In Agile development is more
quirements have changed. agile, project status evaluation of a philosophy than a rigid
is about working functionality methodology. However, there
There are three main differ- while waterfall is about com- are some key features of suc-
ences between agile and tradi- pleting milestones against a cessful agile projects. The
tional development: plan. GAO recently completed a re-
port “Effective Practices and
1. Timing and scope of soft- Federal Challenges in Apply-
ware delivery – Agile works in
Agile Best Practices
ing Agile Methods” and part of
sprints of eight weeks or less their findings identified 10 key
The agile approach was first ar-
which provides some piece practices of an effective agile
ticulated in a 2001 document
of functionality while water- initiative in government agen-
called the Agile Manifesto. The
fall produces in no consistent, cies:
manifesto is still relevant to-
fixed duration and doesn’t