Department of Education OCIO
Department of Education
Program and Contract Management
Increased the OCIO Organizational Assessment Deliverable Review Rate from 33% to 98% in less than 6 months
Challenge
The Department of Education (ED) replaced its primary IT support services contract with the EDUCATE contract. This new award moved ED from a Government-Owned Contractor-Operated (GOCO) IT environment to a Contractor-Owned Contractor-Operated (COCO) managed IT infrastructure service model. As a result of this migration, the Department no longer owned IT assets, but instead, received IT services. The effective management of contract services, deliverables, and constraints was critical to successfully utilizing technology to foster educational excellence across the Country. The Department needed a trusted advisor to rapidly deploy best-practical methodologies for IT Service Management, Critical Program Management, Acquisition Management, and Contract Oversight.
Approach
The Department of Education has been leveraging Octo’s strategic analytical approach to IT Service Management since 2008. Octo combines cutting-edge business process automation with precise information analysis to ensure the Department delivers high-quality IT services to its customers as contractually agreed. Octo supports a wide range of program areas, including Contract Planning and Evaluation, Price Analysis, Budget and Financial Management, Business Case Development, Performance Management, Governance, Change Management, and Business Process Reengineering.
Bringing to bear best-practical strategic solutions, Octo employs true subject matter expertise with both short-term and long-term vision for IT success. Octo helps grow and develop ED through training, process improvement, service delivery analysis, and governance. Octo works with stakeholders at every level of the organization to help the Department manage resources in a way that promotes innovation and fosters the optimization of IT performance.
Solutions
- Delivered core services to internal and external customers employing economies of scale while providing common enabling services for decision-making, financial benefits, customer service, fulfilling external requests, improved timeliness with reduced cycle time while reducing cost to the Department.
- Developed and implemented budgeting and invoicing process to improve cost management, tie customer credit lines to infrastructure usage, and establish more effective and consistent lines of communication between internal stakeholders.
- Supported the development and implementation of IT governance for the management of cost, schedule, scope, and performance related risks.
- Provided strategic oversight and advice for the development and execution of program objectives.
- Developed program management tools necessary to streamline the tracking of contract deliverable and service elements.
- Designed contract monitoring program and introduced contract management best practices.
- Designed and implemented process for negotiating financial consideration for deliverables and services that fail to meet schedule and scope requirements.
Key focus areas included:
- Program Management Support
- Budget Execution
- Performance Management
- Capital Planning
- Organizational Change Management
Results
- The Octo team is acting as trusted advisor to the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) and EDUCATE PMO providing insight and experience from program and contract management engagements.
- Cost savings, improved service delivery, and improved management of the current contract through use of strategic analysis, new business process rigor, and IT program management principals
RESULTS MATTER