Officials at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection (CBP) organization praised implementation of Technology Business Management (TBM) practices for enhancing agencywide communication about IT priorities.
Both Tim Argabrite, supervisory management and program analyst at FBI, and Sonny Bhagowalia, deputy CIO and deputy assistant commissioner of the Office of IT at CBP, listed TBM’s communication processes as an advantage at a March 25 Apptio Public Sector TBM Summit.
By creating a common IT language, Argabrite explained, it’s easier for the FBI’s IT office to communicate with both internal stakeholders and external business partners.
“Our business partners are beginning to understand the taxonomy and as we talk to them through that, that common language,” he said. “It really is about empowering individuals with the information. Our business partners understand better the mission and the strategic priorities, that they’re able to communicate with IT and finance now.”
Argabrite simplified this benefit as the “commonality” of what TBM offers. From there, the agency has started to explore automation and data management to enable better and faster decision making.
“We’re really trying to use the TBM taxonomy to empower our value delivery, to optimize our IT, to ensure that we’re aligning to those strategic priorities, and we just feel we’re prepared to answer any question that anybody would have,” he added.
At CBP, Bhagowalia explained how these communication improvements are boosting relations with the organization’s financial offices.
“[With TBM practice] we can communicate the value and impact of IT to not only internal but external customers,” he said. “We can provide agency decision makers with a deeper visibility into these requirements and costs across a full financial lifecycle.”
Bhagowalia added that TBM processes are a tool allowing IT offices to build upon existing processes and cooperation with CFO offices. This allows for better cost transparency and mission-related project completion, he said.
