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NBC Profile |
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NBC PROFILE - SUMMER 2005
Bourgeois Speaks at the AGA Conference in Sacramento |
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Doug Bourgeois, Director, National Business Center (NBC), Department of the Interior, was a guest speaker at the Association of Government Accountants' (AGA) 10th Annual Northern California conference held in Sacramento, California, on January 25, 2005. The topic of Doug's speech was "Leveraging Technology to Improve Performance."
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Doug Bourgeois, Director, National Business Center (NBC).
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Doug focused on three areas where judicious application of technology can result in significant business benefits to any organization, private or public. These three benefits are: competitive advantage, operational efficiency, and improved quality. For each of these three benefits, Doug presented a brief benefit statement as background information. He then gave examples from his personal experience of how technology was prudently applied, or is being applied, to provide business benefits.
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He drew on his private sector experience at FedEx and his public sector experience at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and now at NBC for examples on how the wise use of technology has been, and is being, used to improve business practices to the benefit of customers.
Doug concluded his speech by sharing lessons-learned about how best to safeguard and maximize technology investments. The first lesson is that there is no such thing as a "technology initiative" .only a business initiative that involves the use of technology. The second lesson learned is, "governance is key." Here governance refers to the process, structure, and business rules that provide a framework for an organization to make effective IT investment decisions.
The third lesson learned is "form follows function," or define the business process and practices in advance of selecting the approach. This can be done by following three steps. First, answer the question, "How does it work now?", or the "as-is" model. Second, ask, "How do you want it to work?", or the "to be" model. The third question to ask is "What do you need from a technology standpoint to make it all happen?" By taking this approach, we can greatly reinforce the likelihood that the chosen solution will effectively meet the organization's business needs.
The fourth and final lesson that Doug shared was "manage the change." He pointed out that most all successful technology initiatives incorporate a change management process in their planning and execution. Effective change management is the key to building confidence, gaining cultural acceptance of new ideas, and ensuring the ultimate success of a project.
Based on these insights, there can be no doubt that Doug will ensure that the NBC applies judicious application of technology to benefit our valued customers.
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