Public CIO - December 2008/January 2009 - (Page 47)

BOOK REVIEW September at the annual Government Technology Conference East conference in Albany, N.Y. Known as myBenefits, the Webbased program can be used as a prescreening tool for potential applicants’ eligibility for a wide range of benefits, including food stamps, cash assistance and food for infants and children. The FBI’s top IT executive has resigned. Zalmai Azmi, who was CIO of the country’s top law enforcement agency since 2004, has stepped down after leading the agency through some of its most turbulent IT-related projects. Shortly after taking over, Azmi had to scrap a $170 million software system that was supposed to manage case files but never functioned properly. In 2004, few FBI employees had desktop access to the Internet. Today more than 20,000 BlackBerry smartphones have been deployed to agents. Mike Howell, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s CIO, has been named the Office of Management and Budget’s deputy director of e-government and IT, replacing Tim Young, who had held the post since 2004. Steve Ferguson has left the valley for the bay. In September, Ferguson departed from his job as CIO of Sacramento, Calif., to become CIO of San Jose, Calif. Ferguson launched Sacramento’s 311 hotline, installed a citywide customer relationship management system, overhauled a utility billing system and introduced online permitting. Speaking of the West Coast, California CIO Teri Takai received NASCIO’s Meritorious Service Award for her outstanding service, advocacy and leadership in state government, and for championing the mission of state CIOs. Although GIS technology has improved significantly in the past few decades, there’s been little progress in measuring its business value. In the public sector, where geospatial data is viewed as increasingly important to the business of government, showing ROI can solidify the technology’s value at a time of so many competing interests and so few taxpayer dollars. The Business Benefits of GIS by David Maguire, Victoria Kouyoumjian and Ross Smith lays out a methodology for calculating this value, b ased on return on investment (ROI) calculations. The book is for executives (e.g., GIS professional managers, system analysts, etc.) who must justify their investments in GIS technology and organizations lacking GIS capability that want to evaluate the possible tangible benefits for their company. The ROI methodology, originally developed by PA Consulting Group, is broad enough to apply to both public and private organizations. The book does not demand much previous knowledge and is therefore easily comprehensible; it only requires an understanding of GIS and basic knowledge of business concepts. The authors created a 10-step process that guides readers from project preparation to the final business report. Each chapter details one step of the process, and they all include an account of the objectives, an explanation of the tasks in each step and a review of the outcome. The book also includes various electronic templates for managing data. A case study of a fictitious city also is included at the end of every chapter, helping to address a broad range of business issues. The methodology focuses on six topics essential to establishing GIS value: demonstrating business value, determining speBy David Maguire, cific costs, estimating the Victoria Kouyoumjian, time frame for receiving Ross Smith benefits, understanding Published by resource requirements, ESRI Press, $24.95 defining governance and management, and evaluating the ROI. The Business Benefits of GIS takes an applicable, hands-on approach to explaining ROI methodology and includes an accompanying Web site, http://gis.esri.com/roi, that contains digital versions of the book’s chapters, templates, a glossary, a discussion forum for exchanging advice, and a reading list for further information on GIS and the ROI approach. ¨ www.public-cio.com [47] http://gis.esri.com/roi http://www.public-cio.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Public CIO - December 2008/January 2009

Public CIO - December 2008/January 2009 Contents Contributors Introduction Tense Times Insider Threat Twenty and Counting Labor of Love Putting Process Into Play Crossover Appeal FastGov CIO Central Security Adviser CIOs Pluck BlackBerry Phones From the Field Straight Talk

Public CIO - December 2008/January 2009

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