Reengineer Basic Systems for Improved Services

3. Reengineer basic systems for improved delivery of government
services.

The GITS Working Group, by July 1995, in cooperation with OMB, should
develop a governmentwide plan addressing basic functions and services to
be reengineered, both within and across agencies.[7] The plan should
also include plans for interoperability among basic administrative
functions such as payroll, personnel recordkeeping, management
information systems, and financial and general ledger accounting.

An example of reengineering would be to have current agencies continue
to set policies for specific benefits programs, with one agency handling
administration and coordination of integrated benefits delivery. Another
example of reengineering that will reduce cycle time, steps, and pieces
of paper handled is incorporating use of automation- based geographic
information systems (GIS) data--such as streets, property boundaries,
parks, and police reporting districts--into revised workflows and
processes. The City of Minneapolis saved approximately $40 million in
street design costs through integration of GIS into its design
process.[8] The City of Phoenix is extending its GIS-based access to
property records data from one department, where savings of over
$100,000 in recurring costs are expected, to all departments and
customers.[9] These revised process flows will yield increased service,
additional savings, and opportunities for cost recovery.

Reengineering will also allow many government administrative support
services to be streamlined. These services presently include systems for
payroll, personnel recordkeeping, grants, loans, procurement, project
management, management information, budgeting, and financial accounting.
Smaller administrative systems, such as correspondence control, audit
tracking, and legislative information systems, should also be addressed.
OMB should prioritize the phased consolidation and standardization of
selected integrated systems for governmentwide use.

OMB, in cooperation with the GITS Working Group, should update and
review the plan annually from a cross-government perspective in
conjunction with agency budget submissions.

Endnotes

7. For additional information on this subject see Thomas A.  Stewart,
"Reengineering: The Hot New Management Tool," Fortune, vol. 128, no. 4
(August 23, 1993), pp. 41-48.

8. Telephone interview with Brad Henry, Engineer, City of Minneapolis,
August 17, 1993.

9. City of Phoenix, "Geographic Information System Implementation Plan"
October 26,1992.