Overview

May 25

Change efforts are a vital part of making government more effective and efficient. Major projects including digital transformation, IT modernization and hybrid workflow redesign are reshaping the way government serves constituents.

But too often, projects come in late or over budget – or fail completely. According to a 2017 report from the Project Management Institute (PMI), 31 percent of IT projects fail to meet their goals; 43 percent exceeded their initial budgets, and 49 percent were late. Another 14 percent fail completely.

With smarter project management on the front end, agencies can vastly improve the success rate of new projects – something that will be especially important as state and local governments make use of stimulus funds from the American Rescue Plan and the federal Infrastructure Bill.

Join us May 25 at 11:00am PT/2:00pm EST for a virtual discussion on best practices for project readiness. In this 30-minute webinar, you’ll learn:

How to set clear and reasonable goals and align all stakeholders
The importance of establishing an Executive Sponsor to provide ownership and accountability
How to identify the right project director and put together a successful team

Speakers

Russ Nichols

Acting State CIO / Acting Director, California Department of Technology

In February 2021, Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Russ Nichols deputy state CIO and chief deputy director at CDT. During his 30-plus year career, Nichols served as director of the Division of Enterprise Information Services at the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation since 2015, and also as acting director and as project director of the Strategic Offender Management System. Before that he was a data processing manager in the Office of California Correctional Health Care Services and at the California State Controller’s Office. Nichols previous state work includes stints at the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, and the Employment Development Department. He began his state tenure as a programmer in 1990. The California Public Sector CIO Academy named him 2018 Chief Information Officer of the Year. Nichols is the Acting California State CIO and Acting Director of the California Department of Technology.

David Morris

Founder, Chairman & CEO, HiPER Solutions

David has spent his career researching and empowering leaders to transform their teams, their companies and their careers. His passion is to identify High Impact Performers (HiPERs) and help them reach greater success through a hybrid of technology-driven platforms and experience-based advisory. Recent clients have included E*TRADE, DIRECTV, Subway Restaurants, Western Digital, Wendy’s, ON Semiconductor, CBRE, YPO and many others. Previously, David co-founded Seedling Group, a Boston-based retained executive search firm, serving start-ups, publicly-traded companies, and private equity firms. He also helped launched the San Francisco office as a Director at Corporate Executive Board (now Gartner). David graduated from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Teri Takai — Moderator

Senior Vice President of the Center for Digital Government

Teri Takai is the Senior Vice President of the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies and best practices in state and local government. She worked for Ford Motor Company for 30 years in global application development and information technology strategic planning. From Ford, she moved to EDS in support of General Motors. A long-time interest in public service led her to the government sector, first as CIO of the State of Michigan, then as CIO of the State of California, and subsequently the CIO of the U.S. Department of Defense, the first woman appointed to this role. She then served as the CIO for Meridian Health Plan. She is a member of several industry advisory boards. Teri has won numerous awards including Governing Magazine’s Public Official of the Year, CIO Magazine’s CIO Hall of Fame, Government Technology Magazine’s Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers, the Women in Defense Excellence in Leadership Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service.

Webinar

Mastering Project Readiness: How to Ensure a Project Will Be Successful