Going Public

Aaron is the former editor of ProjectsAtWork.com

  ProjectsAtWork  

Federal project managers get a vote of recognition.

Federal agencies face many of the same project management challenges encountered in the private sector: doing more with less, integrating disparate systems, overseeing contractors, facilitating collaboration across constituencies, and, above all, linking execution to mission. Contrary to popular opinion, however, the public sector is not lagging far behind the private sector when it comes to meeting these challenges.

True, the government still has a long way to go in breaking down bureaucratic barriers to tap into the innovation and efficiency that epitomize leading corporations. But forward-thinking agencies can teach the private sector a thing or two. With $58 billion in annual IT spending, there is a lot going on, and some of it is downright impressive.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the efforts surrounding the President's Management Agenda. Our cover feature ("The Agenda") explores how this mandate and related legislation is fundamentally changing the way federal IT projects are selected, measured and managed. From business cases, review boards, scorecards and assessment tools to training, information sharing and compliance on enterprise architecture—there is a new commitment to delivering results on IT investments. And it's leading to greater visibility and accountability.

But perhaps the most …

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