28 / 78
Chart 1: Sample KERA Target Operating Model
Policy&Practice
August 2016
28
Paul Hencoski
is the U.S. Lead
Partner, Health and
Human Services, at
KPMG LLP.
seeking to adopt a more incremental
and agile approach to modernization
and systems development can do so
with a clear vision for how to get to the
finish line.
Step 1: Develop a Vision and
Set of Guiding Principles
Before embarking on a transfor-
mation journey, it is important that
the executive sponsor(s) of the effort
establish a clear vision for where they
want to go. Just as you would not
start a road trip from New York to San
Francisco without a clear idea of where
you are headed, you should not start
a transformation program without a
definitive destination in mind. The
are more critical. The fundamental
question is, “What will success look
like and how will it be measured?” The
vision must answer this question.
In tandem to the vision, the execu-
tive sponsor(s) should establish a
set of guiding principles. These act
like guard rails in evaluating options
for achieving the vision. They could
include options like:
Maximizing federal funding
Enhancing system interoperability
Minimizing worker impact while
empowering workers to be more
effective
Maximizing reuse of existing tech-
nical investments
Achieving the transformation within
certain time parameters
Reducing total cost of ownership for
technology assets
Limiting the need for multiple
procurements
Achieving early consensus on the
guiding principles is critical. During
the planning effort there will undoubt-
edly be numerous options to consider
with plenty of merit. The principles
serve as reference criteria to inform the
decisions related to such choices.
risk is that without a clearly defined
destination, you could end up driving
around the country for years wasting
gas money and wear and tear on your
car, only to realize you never actually
accomplished anything. You may have
seen some great sights and had some
fun experiences along the way, but the
effort would not have been productive
and, given the typical status of state
budgets today, limited resources would
have been wasted.
The vision should be informed
through research and data regarding
leading practices, input from front-
line caseworkers, consultation with
policy and technology experts, and
others. The most important crite-
rion for the vision, however, is that
it must lay out a clear, unambiguous
goal for the transformation effort
that goes beyond simply replacing
old technology. Indeed, analysis may
ultimately reveal that perhaps some
elements of the “old” technology can
support the future vision just fine (such
as back-end systems that have little
impact on clients and caseworkers)
while strategic investments in new
technology (such as portals, mobile
apps, and master person indices)