CIO Council issues guide for sizing up TBM progress

A federal working group released a tool for agencies to measure their progress in implementing the Technology Business Management (TBM) framework pushed by the White House.

The IT Spending Transparency Maturity Model is an optional method for agencies to evaluate where they’re headed in six areas essential to effective TBM: engagement, taxonomy, data, automation, reporting and value.

In 2019, the Office of Management and Budget began tracking agencies’ use of the private-sector framework for understanding the cost, quality and value of IT, and the model helps guide TBM adoption.

“More specifically, the new maturity model turns qualitative activities into quantitative metrics, helping agencies measure progress and keep teams and leadership aligned on what matters most for their mission,” reads the accompanying white paper. “Most importantly, this model helps U.S. government agencies be more effective, efficient, and accountable to the taxpayers they serve through transparency and continuous improvement.”

The CIO Council‘s Federal Technology Investment Management Community of Practice developed the model in collaboration with the ACT-IAC IT Management and Modernization Community of Interest.

The two groups of government and industry stakeholders submitted a draft model in August for comments, and in releasing the revised final product on Sept. 30 completed a milestone within Action 9 of the Federal Data Strategy 2020 Action Plan aimed at improving financial management data standards.

TBM sees agencies collect and map data to its taxonomy, or common language for generating metrics and reports. Early automation is needed to keep the requisite data updated and error-free.

Agencies with lower maturity according to the model tend to be more reactive and lack the metrics and comprehensive processes for TBM.

“At the highest levels of maturity, you gain tightly controlled governance, integrated systems, and optimized services,” reads the white paper. “Your agency can leverage the IT spending transparency maturity model to support the implementation of TBM as well as the data collection activities in the Federal Data Strategy Action Plan.”