----------------------------------- -----------------------------------
  Financial Management Line of        
  Business                            

  ----------------------------------- -----------------------------------

Migration Planning Guidance (Version 1)

Section 3.1: Change Management Best Practices

This section provides considerations for managing the organizational
changes to facilitate the transition from an Agency's existing financial
systems and/or operations to a shared service provider (SSP).

Table of Contents

**[Introduction to Managing Change
[1](#introduction-to-managing-change)]{.underline}**

What is Managing Change? [1](#what-is-managing-change)

Why is Managing Change Important? [1](#why-is-managing-change-important)

What does Change Management Entail?
[1](#what-does-change-management-entail)

Change Management Activities [3](#change-management-activities)

Change Management Requires Proactive, Transparent, and Interactive
Leadership
[3](#change-management-requires-proactive-transparent-and-interactive-leadership)

The Role of Leaders in Managing Change
[4](#the-role-of-leaders-in-managing-change)

Leadership must engage in change management prior to engaging in
migration planning
[4](#leadership-must-engage-in-change-management-prior-to-engaging-in-migration-planning)

Leadership must stay engaged in change management during migration
planning and the migration
[6](#leadership-must-stay-engaged-in-change-management-during-migration-planning-and-the-migration)

Governance/Organizational Structure
[6](#governanceorganizational-structure)

Delineating CFO and CIO Responsibilities
[6](#delineating-cfo-and-cio-responsibilities)

Organizational Structure of the Future Office of the CFO
[7](#organizational-structure-of-the-future-office-of-the-cfo)

Migration Team Organization and Composition
[7](#migration-team-organization-and-composition)

Additional resources [18](#additional-resources)

Human Capital Management [18](#human-capital-management)

Introduction [18](#introduction)

What is Human Capital Management?
[18](#what-is-human-capital-management)

The Need for Human Capital Planning
[19](#the-need-for-human-capital-planning)

What does Human Capital Planning for a Migration Entail?
[21](#what-does-human-capital-planning-for-a-migration-entail)

Organizational Needs Assessment [23](#organizational-needs-assessment)

Future Roles and Future Need for Organizational Needs Assessment
[24](#future-roles-and-future-need-for-organizational-needs-assessment)

Skills and Competencies for the Organizational Needs Assessment
[27](#skills-and-competencies-for-the-organizational-needs-assessment)

General Core Competencies [28](#general-core-competencies)

Accountants [29](#accountants)

Program Managers [31](#program-managers)

Budget Analysts [34](#budget-analysts)

Financial Managers [36](#financial-managers)

Financial Systems Analysts [38](#financial-systems-analysts)

Information Technology Personnel Implementing Financial Systems
[41](#information-technology-personnel-implementing-financial-systems)

Financial Management Analysts and Financial Specialists
[44](#financial-management-analysts-and-financial-specialists)

Project Managers Implementing Financial Systems
[46](#project-managers-implementing-financial-systems)

Current Workforce Assessment [49](#current-workforce-assessment)

Gap Analysis [50](#gap-analysis)

Workforce Strategies to Close Human Capital Gaps
[51](#workforce-strategies-to-close-human-capital-gaps)

Recruitment of quality personnel [52](#recruitment-of-quality-personnel)

Retention of Qualified Personnel [53](#retention-of-qualified-personnel)

Workforce Development [53](#workforce-development)

Stakeholder and Communications Management
[56](#stakeholder-and-communications-management)

Introduction [56](#introduction-1)

What is Stakeholder and Communications Management?
[56](#what-is-stakeholder-and-communications-management)

The Need for Communications [56](#the-need-for-communications)

What do Stakeholder Analysis and Communications Management Entail?
[58](#what-do-stakeholder-analysis-and-communications-management-entail)

Stakeholder Analysis Overview [58](#stakeholder-analysis-overview)

Defining the Stakeholders [59](#defining-the-stakeholders)

Conducting a Stakeholder Audience Quick Assessment
[61](#conducting-a-stakeholder-audience-quick-assessment)

Conducting a Stakeholder Audience Needs Analysis and Risk Evaluation
[62](#conducting-a-stakeholder-audience-needs-analysis-and-risk-evaluation)

Communications Plan Overview [63](#communications-plan-overview)

Organization of the Communications Plan
[63](#organization-of-the-communications-plan)

Description of the Communications Plan Template
[64](#description-of-the-communications-plan-template)

Purpose of the document [64](#purpose-of-the-document)

Project background [64](#project-background)

Communications Roles and Responsibilities
[64](#communications-roles-and-responsibilities)

Communications Approach [65](#communications-approach)

Objectives [65](#objectives)

Principles [65](#principles)

Key Messages [65](#key-messages)

Stakeholder Audience [65](#stakeholder-audience)

Communications Process [66](#communications-process)

Vehicles/Tools by Audience [67](#vehiclestools-by-audience)

  --------- -------------------------------------------------------------
  Section   Change Management Best Practices

  **3.1**   
  --------- -------------------------------------------------------------

This section provides considerations for managing the organizational
changes to facilitate the transition from an Agency's existing financial
systems and/or operations to a shared service provider (SSP).

# Introduction to Managing Change

## What is Managing Change?

Change management is the process of employing systematic processes to
help align an organization's *people* *and culture* with changes in
business strategy, organizational structure, business processes and
systems. Change management involves employing several tools and working
with an organization's various stakeholder groups to help them
understand what the change means for them. The goal of change management
is to secure buy-in to the change, and to align individual behavior and
skills with the strategic objectives of and changes to the organization.

## Why is Managing Change Important? 

The success or failure of a migration project cannot be solely measured
by meeting milestones or system performance. A measure of success of a
migration project also involves employees' capacity to adapt to the
change and work effectively and efficiently in the new environment.

The basic tenet of change management is that changes do not readily
happen on their own because people tend to be comfortable with their
familiar way of performing daily activities. People's capacity to change
can be influenced by how change is presented to them and their capacity
to adapt to change can shrink if they misunderstand or resist the
change, causing roadblocks and challenges for a migration. However, if
people understand the benefits that the change will have on the
organization, they may become invested in seeing the change successfully
carried out.

## What does Change Management Entail?

Managing change must be approached from a variety of perspectives that
will be unique to each organization and the stakeholders of the
migration.

Basic approaches employed to facilitate change include the following:

-   Define and instill the new vision for the organization, including
    the values and norms that will help to guide behaviors.

-   Assess the organization's readiness and commitment to change.

-   Identify and enlist informal leaders from across the organization as
    change agents.

-   Transform the organization's culture to align with the new business
    environment that will result from the migration.

-   Design organizational structures that align with the change in
    functions post migration.

-   Emphasize how the change(s) will allow the organization to better
    meet its mission.

-   Emphasize the benefits of the migration to the organization as well
    as to individual users.

-   Maximize coordination of the migration with any other changes taking
    place within the organization.

-   Support the organization through training and other supporting
    activities.

-   Set *realistic* expectations with stakeholders throughout the
    migration to avoid disappointment or surprise.

-   Create awareness and understanding of the changes that the migration
    will bring to the organization.

-   Create awareness and understanding of the steps that will take place
    as the organization migrates to its new financial system/new
    operations.

-   Build consensus among stakeholders by actively and visibly
    soliciting feedback and demonstrating a willingness to meet
    stakeholder needs.

-   Build ownership by maximizing prospective users' involvement in the
    blueprinting process, such as designing how their business processes
    may be implemented in the new system. [^1]

-   Assess and communicate the progress of change efforts to both
    internal and external stakeholders and tying change management
    activities to performance measures.

### Change Management Activities

Change management requires involving the management team in each of the
following types of change management activities.

-   Leadership: Leadership involves setting a clear vision and agenda
    for the migration effort, and ensuring this vision has the support
    of senior leadership and other key stakeholders.

-   Governance: Governance involves establishing the appropriate
    organizational structures, roles, and responsibilities to engage
    stakeholders and support the migration effort.

-   Human Capital Management: Human Capital Management involves
    identifying the human capital impacts of a migration effort on both
    the organization and its individuals, developing an action plan to
    ensure the organization has an adequately skilled workforce to
    support its post-migration needs, and the individuals within the
    organization have the competencies to supply those skills. Human
    Capital Management addresses how to recruit, retain and train
    individuals to support the changing organization.

-   Stakeholder and Communications Management: Stakeholder and
    communications management is employing continuous and effective
    communication approaches to advance stakeholder understanding and
    organizational commitment.

The following sections in this Change Management chapter will provide
suggestions on *how* each of the following activities should be
approached.

### Change Management Requires Proactive, Transparent, and Interactive Leadership

Change management is not a one-time, operational initiative, but an
on-going strategic initiative that must be part of the overall migration
planning and execution effort.

-   Managing change is a leadership role. Change management is a
    *strategic* initiative that senior leadership must drive and engage
    in. Additionally, managers and informal leaders from across the
    organization can, and should, be used as change agents.

-   Change management must be activated early in the project life cycle.
    The earlier in the project life cycle senior leadership engages in
    change management, the more effective they will be at building
    acceptance of the change by those who are affected by it.

-   Change management is necessary throughout the project life cycle.
    Acceptance must be attained through each phase of the development
    life cycle. Leaders must exhibit stamina and patience throughout the
    project to continuously engage with stakeholders.

-   Change must be upfront and transparent. Giving stakeholders a
    holistic view of the transition will cause them to be more likely to
    align their business needs, personal motivations, and organizational
    concerns with the migration project.

# The Role of Leaders in Managing Change

The role of leadership in the change management effort cannot be
underestimated. Support from leaders at all levels of the organization
will be critical to the success of the migration effort. Senior
leadership must be the visionaries, champions, and role models for
change. In addition senior leadership must delegate both the
responsibility and authority to make decisions grounded on the vision to
managers at *all* levels of the organization. This delegation of
decision-making authority will help both to reduce bottlenecks at the
highest levels of the organization and to increase buy-in from
individuals affected by the change.

Managers throughout the organization should be expected to support and
communicate the benefits of change to their peers and employees. Their
performance should be measured based on how well they execute work to
achieve the defined vision and how aligned their decisions are with the
vision.

## Leadership must engage in change management prior to engaging in migration planning 

Success begins with a clear vision and strategy. Leaders must have a
clear and strategic message about how the future of their organization
and their stakeholders will be improved and impacted by a migration.
Establishing this clear vision involves the following steps:

-   Set, document, advocate for, and supporting the vision and direction
    for the Agency's financial operations. The Agency CFO must establish
    and engage with the Office of the CFO leadership on the overall
    future vision of how the finance organization should support the
    Agency and the financial management systems strategy.

```{=html}
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```
-   How should the finance organization operate after the migration?

-   How should the financial management enterprise architecture look?

-   How will this benefit the stakeholders and the Agency overall?

    This vision will help to guide the approaches managing
    communications and human capital impacts within the CFO
    organization.

```{=html}
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```
-   Set, document, advocate for, and support the FMLoB vision and
    direction with intra-agency partners. FMLoB inextricably links
    financial management and information technology. As such, it is
    vital that the CFO and the CIO organizations be in partnership in
    establishing the overall vision for FMLoB.

-   Align with Agency leadership and mission. The Agency's FMLoB vision
    must be aligned with the vision of the Agency leadership and the
    Agency's mission. A vision that is misaligned with the rest of the
    Agency will instigate early resistance and a lack of support for
    resources and for change. Obtaining, in writing, the support of
    Agency leadership will mitigate the future risks as leadership
    changes hands.

-   Select an Agency executive sponsor at the appropriate level. The
    executive sponsor for a large migration effort should be someone who
    has authority over both the CFO and the CIO, such as the Agency
    Deputy Secretary or Administrator. This individual must be vested in
    ensuring that any conflicts among offices that impede the migration
    are resolved in a timely and appropriate fashion based on the Agency
    mission.

-   Obtain the appropriate authority and partners. The CFO and CIO must
    have clear sign-off from Agency leadership on the level of authority
    their respective offices have in decision-making on behalf of the
    changes that will be necessary for the migration to succeed. This is
    discussed further in the Governance section of this chapter.

## Leadership must stay engaged in change management during migration planning and the migration

Leadership must continue to be involved with managing the change efforts
throughout the FMLoB initiative. This involves the following steps:

-   Monitor readiness. Leaders must work closely with the migration
    team's change management lead and communications lead to monitor the
    readiness of the organization throughout the migration. Leaders must
    be ready to make "go/no-go" decisions at critical points throughout
    the process based upon their assessment of the organization's
    readiness.

-   Take decisive action on changes. Throughout the migration process,
    issues will arise that will require leadership to intervene and take
    decisive action. Leaders must maintain their authority to decide on
    issues that may impact not only their organization but also partner
    organizations, escalate issues, as appropriate, to more senior
    leadership and push for timely resolution, or delegate this
    decision-making authority to others and support the final decision.
    Further, if issues that are escalated or delegated are not resolved,
    leaders must be willing to take decisive action to move the
    migration process forward.

# Governance/Organizational Structure

Governance involves establishing the appropriate roles, responsibilities
and organizational structure within the Agency to ensure a successful
migration and subsequent shared service relationship.

The governance structure must delineate clear lines of responsibility
among the following organizations and roles:

-   the CFO and CIO during the planning, migration, and
    post-implementation phases

-   the organizations within the Office of the CFO

-   the SSP and Agency migration teams working on the migration effort

-   the Office of the CFO, Office of the CIO, program offices and SSP
    post implementation

## Delineating CFO and CIO Responsibilities

The CFO and the CIO must resolve questions such as:

-   Who is the system owner? The CFO is typically the functional owner
    (owner of the business processes in the system), but the CIO may own
    the hardware and/or the software[^2].  The CIO may
    have responsibilities equal to the CFO\'s in dealing with program
    management issues. 

-   Who is responsible for ensuring the technology is in place and is in
    alignment with the Federal Enterprise Architecture? Typically this
    is the Office of the CIO, who is responsible for the technology of
    the Agency.

-   Who is responsible for ensuring the appropriate level of systems and
    information security is in place? Typically this is the Office of
    the CIO, who is responsible for ensuring that the systems security
    of an agency's systems meets federal requirements. [^3]

## Organizational Structure of the Future Office of the CFO

As part of the Human Capital Plan, the CFO leadership must have a future
view of the CFO organization and begin to think about organizing for
change. Questions that the CFO leadership must resolve include:

-   What services will the CFO organization provide to its customers in
    the future?

-   How will those services be provided?

-   Where will those services be provided?

-   What types of resources will be needed?

Further details on Human Capital Management are outlined in later
sections of this chapter.

## Migration Team Organization and Composition

A migration team comprised of representatives from both the selected SSP
and agency staff will be necessary on order to undertake a migration of
this size. In addition, it is recommended that agencies contract with a
non-biased third party to provide independent validation and
verification support throughout the migration process. The migration
team should be established prior to embarking on the migration and
should remain in place throughout the entire migration until the agency
and SSP have entered in to an operations and maintenance phase.

In developing a team to undertake the migration effort, the agency will
be responsible for determining the migration team's organizational
structure, composition and overall project management. When developing
an organizational structure for the migration project team, the agency
should consider:

-   agency resources and skill sets

-   shared service provider resources and skill sets

-   size, scope and complexity of the migration effort

-   required roles and areas of responsibility

The organizational model below represents a potential solution that
migrating agencies can use as a model for establishing migration team
governance. Agencies should determine the right representation and
assignment of roles based on their specific circumstances. The model
below recommends and depicts the following organizations:

-   **Executive Steering Committee** (ESC) -- comprised of Senior
    Leadership from the Migrating Agency and charged with setting the
    vision and providing overall direction

-   **Project Management Office** (PMO) -- includes leadership from the
    SSP and the Migrating Agency and is responsible for managing the day
    to day migration project effort.

-   **Contracting Office** -- includes the Contracting Officer and
    Contracting Officer's Technical Representative who support the PMO
    and are responsible for handling all aspects of contract management.

-   **Technical Team** -- includes the SSP Technical Manager, Database
    Administrators and Technical Team members from the SSP and Migrating
    Agency.

-   **Functional Team** -- includes the SSP Functional Manager and team
    members from the SSP and Migrating Agency.

-   **Change Management Team** -- led by the Change Management lead,
    includes members from across the SSP and Migrating Agency teams..

-   **Configuration Manager** -- provided by the SSP and responsible for
    supporting the Technical and Functional Teams with configuration
    management planning, management and documentation.

-   **Migrating Agency Support Leads** -- subject matter experts from
    the Migrating Agency responsible for supporting the Technical and
    Functional Teams with change management, communications, technical
    integration, business process reengineering, security and testing.

-   **IV&V Contractor** -- an independent, non-biased contractor
    responsible for reviewing all project deliverables from the
    technical, functional and configuration management teams for quality
    and conformance.

![](media/image1.wmf)

The number of resources that comprise a migration team will be largely
dependent on the size, scope and complexity of the migration effort.
However the general makeup of the migration team should include the
roles and organizations listed below. Based on the scope of the
migration effort and the skills required to successfully complete the
tasks, some roles designated as Migrating Agency staff may be supported
by SSP staff and vice versa. In addition, in some cases, a single
individual may hold multiple roles.

The following table provides more information on potential migration
team roles and the responsibilities that may be assigned to each.

+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Role               | Minimum Responsibilities                        |
+====================+=================================================+
| **Roles supported  |                                                 |
| by SSP staff**     |                                                 |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Project Manager    | The Project Manager is responsible for          |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with the Migrating Agency Executive |
|                    |     Sponsor(s) and Migration Manager to align   |
|                    |     on: project scope and approach, project     |
|                    |     governance, project plan, resource plan,    |
|                    |     risk management plan, and change management |
|                    |     plan                                        |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   updating/managing the project plan          |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   monitoring project status and resources to  |
|                    |     identify changes in project scope, identify |
|                    |     risks, and develop contingency plans        |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing project status and escalating     |
|                    |     issues/risks to Migrating Agency Executive  |
|                    |     sponsor(s) and Migration Manager            |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   ensuring the migration effort meets         |
|                    |     schedule and budget constraints             |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   managing and leading project resources      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   coordinating project activities and making  |
|                    |     day-to-day decisions regarding the project  |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Technical Manager  | The Technical Manager is responsible for:       |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   leading/advising the Technical Team in      |
|                    |     development and unit testing efforts        |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   reviewing technical aspects of the          |
|                    |     following documentation: designs, security  |
|                    |     plan, configuration documents, testing      |
|                    |     plans, unit test scripts and results,       |
|                    |     conversion documents and checklist,         |
|                    |     migration documents and checklist, risk     |
|                    |     assessment and business continuity plan     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   overseeing Database Administrators in       |
|                    |     database setup and configuration, migration |
|                    |     dry run, and production cutover             |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   advising the Project Manager on             |
|                    |     infrastructure and technology needs and     |
|                    |     risks                                       |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   assisting in project plan development by    |
|                    |     providing timelines and resources for       |
|                    |     technical implementation tasks              |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   ensuring Technical Team tasks are completed |
|                    |     on schedule and within budget               |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Technical          | The Technical Architect is responsible for      |
| Architect          | determining the technical solution that         |
|                    | provides the optimal balance between functional |
|                    | and technical requirements, schedule            |
|                    | constraints, etc. The Technical Architect will  |
|                    | work closely with the Project Manager,          |
|                    | Migration Manager and Technical Manager to      |
|                    | ensure that the SSP is migrating the agency to  |
|                    | a solution that meets and addresses the         |
|                    | agency's identified requirements.               |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Technical Team     | The Technical Team may be divided into smaller  |
| members            | teams for development, architecture and,        |
|                    | conversion. The overall Technical Team consists |
|                    | of technical subject matter experts (SMEs),     |
|                    | software developers, and system administrators  |
|                    | who are responsible for                         |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   gathering technical requirements            |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   defining the technical architecture based   |
|                    |     on requirements and the overall enterprise  |
|                    |     architecture                                |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   establishing the technical configuration    |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   testing baseline software after the         |
|                    |     software has been loaded in the development |
|                    |     environment                                 |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   developing new or customizing existing:     |
|                    |     system architecture, data structures, data  |
|                    |     conversion jobs, application software,      |
|                    |     system interfaces/feeder systems, job       |
|                    |     streams, tables, and reports                |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   unit testing system after coding is         |
|                    |     complete                                    |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with the Functional Team to clarify |
|                    |     design/requirements                         |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with the Functional Team to correct |
|                    |     system defects                              |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   assisting Database Administrators (DBAs)    |
|                    |     during migration dry run and production     |
|                    |     cutover                                     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   executing production data conversion and    |
|                    |     reconciliation scripts                      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   developing a systems security plan          |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   developing the continuity of operations     |
|                    |     plan                                        |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing advice and assistance to DBAs     |
|                    |     during software installation,               |
|                    |     configuration, and patch application for    |
|                    |     upgrades and fixes, if needed               |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Functional Manager | The functional manager is responsible for       |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   leading/advising the Functional Team        |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   reviewing all documentation drafted by the  |
|                    |     Functional Team                             |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   reviewing functional aspects of the         |
|                    |     following documentation: security plan,     |
|                    |     configuration documents, unit test scripts  |
|                    |     and results, conversion documents and       |
|                    |     checklist, migration documents and          |
|                    |     checklist, risk assessment and business     |
|                    |     continuity plan                             |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   advising the Project Manager on             |
|                    |     functionality and business requirements and |
|                    |     risks,                                      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   ensuring Functional Team tasks are          |
|                    |     completed on schedule and within budget     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   assisting in project plan development by    |
|                    |     providing timelines and resources for       |
|                    |     Functional Team tasks                       |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Functional Team    | The Functional Team may be divided into smaller |
| members            | requirements analysis, design, testing, and     |
|                    | training teams. The overall Functional Team     |
|                    | consists of functional subject matter experts   |
|                    | (SMEs) and financial systems analysts           |
|                    | responsible for                                 |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   defining current client environment and     |
|                    |     drafting "As Is" documentation (or          |
|                    |     reviewing "As Is" documentation if client   |
|                    |     has already performed analysis of current   |
|                    |     environment)                                |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   defining current client environment and     |
|                    |     drafting "To Be" documentation (or          |
|                    |     reviewing "To Be" documentation if client   |
|                    |     has already performed analysis of current   |
|                    |     environment)                                |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   gathering requirements                      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   meeting with the Migrating Agency to        |
|                    |     conduct a gap analysis                      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   documenting gap analysis and system         |
|                    |     customizations, workarounds, or business    |
|                    |     process/workflow changes necessary to       |
|                    |     mitigate impact of gaps                     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | ```{=html}                                      |
|                    | <!-- -->                                        |
|                    | ```                                             |
|                    | -   developing system design, security,         |
|                    |     configuration, testing, training, and user  |
|                    |     documentation                               |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   clarifying design requirements for the      |
|                    |     Technical Team                              |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   conducting system, integration,             |
|                    |     performance, regression, and conversion     |
|                    |     testing                                     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with the Functional Team to correct |
|                    |     system defects                              |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   supporting user acceptance testing (UAT) as |
|                    |     necessary                                   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   leading/supporting conversion and           |
|                    |     production data cleansing efforts           |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   verifying and reconciling data after        |
|                    |     production data conversion                  |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   leading/assisting user training efforts     |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Database           | The Database Administrators are responsible for |
| Administrators     |                                                 |
|                    | -   installing and configuring software         |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   applying patches for upgrades and fixes     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   creating and configuring database instances |
|                    |     and configurations for development,         |
|                    |     testing, training, and production           |
|                    |     environments                                |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   establishing access and maintaining USERID, |
|                    |     access rights, privileges, and user roles   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   table space capacity planning               |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   database performance tuning and debugging   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   managing server storage                     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   developing the migration plan and migration |
|                    |     checklist                                   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   executing migration dry run and actual      |
|                    |     migration of system to production           |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Configuration      | The Configuration Manager is responsible for    |
| Manager            |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing guidance to Functional Team in    |
|                    |     drafting functional configuration           |
|                    |     documentation                               |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing guidance to Technical Team in     |
|                    |     drafting technical configuration            |
|                    |     documentation                               |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   establishing and implementing the           |
|                    |     configuration management (CM) plan          |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   developing, maintaining, executing and      |
|                    |     enforcing all CM related policies and       |
|                    |     procedures                                  |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   managing configuration baselines for        |
|                    |     software and documentation                  |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| **Roles Supported  |                                                 |
| by Migrating       |                                                 |
| Agency staff**     |                                                 |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Executive Sponsor  | The Executive Sponsor, typically the Agency     |
| and Executive      | Deputy Secretary, along with the CFO and CIO    |
| Steering Committee | will comprise the Executive Steering Committee  |
|                    | and will responsible for                        |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   setting the vision for the FMLoB migration  |
|                    |     effort                                      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   exhibiting visible sponsorship and advocacy |
|                    |     for the effort                              |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   assisting in establishing source selection  |
|                    |     criteria                                    |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   assessing and mitigate resistance to the    |
|                    |     initiative (with assistance from all leads) |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   building commitment for the initiative,     |
|                    |     particularly from Agency leadership         |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   establishing the internal partnerships      |
|                    |     necessary to make the full life cycle of    |
|                    |     the migration (from the competitive process |
|                    |     through implementation) successful          |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Migration Manager  | The Migration Manager is the Migrating Agency   |
|                    | equivalent of the Project Manager, and performs |
|                    | the following tasks. Oftentimes the Migration   |
|                    | Manager is also the COTR. The Migration Manager |
|                    | should be responsible for                       |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   guiding agency-wide migration; Leads        |
|                    |     Migrating Agency personnel involved in      |
|                    |     migration effort                            |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   managing relationships with Executive       |
|                    |     Steering Committee, program stakeholders,   |
|                    |     CO, COTR, and SSP Project Manager           |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing change management and             |
|                    |     communications recommendations              |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with agency technical and           |
|                    |     functional SMEs and leads to compare test   |
|                    |     results to organizational requirements      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   identifying and elevating migration risks   |
|                    |     and issues to the Executive Steering        |
|                    |     Committee                                   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   implementing project controls to ensure     |
|                    |     migration is completed on schedule and      |
|                    |     within budget                               |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   implementing/maintaining Quality Assurance  |
|                    |     (QA) procedures Performing QA for all       |
|                    |     client deliverables (a separate QA lead may |
|                    |     be established to perform these duties)     |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Risk Management    | The Risk Management Lead is responsible for     |
| Lead               |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with the project manager and        |
|                    |     migration manager to develop a risk         |
|                    |     management plan                             |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with project and team leads to      |
|                    |     identify, analyze, monitor, and develop     |
|                    |     mitigation strategies for risks             |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Change Management  | The Change Management Lead is responsible for   |
| Lead               | coordinating the activities of the Change       |
|                    | Management Team. Within this responsibility,    |
|                    | the Change Management Team Lead will be         |
|                    | responsible for                                 |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with the Project Manager and        |
|                    |     Migration Manager to define and manage the  |
|                    |     project governance structure and internal   |
|                    |     communications approach                     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   developing the Human Capital plan for the   |
|                    |     organization                                |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with the shared service provider in |
|                    |     developing or aligning with the agency's    |
|                    |     change management plan (to include human    |
|                    |     capital management and communications)      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   ensuring the change management process      |
|                    |     addresses business process changes,         |
|                    |     personnel changes, and technology changes   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   managing customer preparedness and          |
|                    |     communication efforts within the Agency     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   executing change management strategy        |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   conducting a skills gap analysis and        |
|                    |     training needs analysis                     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing expert guidance to Migration      |
|                    |     Functional team on training techniques as   |
|                    |     the team develops a training plan           |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   supporting change education, hands-on user  |
|                    |     training efforts                            |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Communications     | The Communications Lead is responsible for:     |
| Lead               |                                                 |
|                    | -   overseeing the entire communications        |
|                    |     process including the adjustment of any     |
|                    |     communications approaches                   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   managing the execution of the               |
|                    |     communications plan                         |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   adjusting communications approaches         |
|                    |     identified in the communications plan based |
|                    |     on monitoring results                       |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   ensuring coordination in execution occurs   |
|                    |     by breaking down barriers and promoting     |
|                    |     cooperation                                 |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   managing internal project communications    |
|                    |     including keeping other leads informed of   |
|                    |     changes to schedule, approach or audience   |
|                    |     buy-in                                      |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Tec                | The Technical/Integration Lead is responsible   |
| hnical/Integration | for                                             |
| Lead               |                                                 |
|                    | -   assessing system infrastructure             |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   reviewing all technical documentation       |
|                    |     including: design documents, unit test      |
|                    |     scenarios and results, security documents,  |
|                    |     configuration documents, migration plan,    |
|                    |     and migration and conversion checklists     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with Functional Team (provider and  |
|                    |     agency) in providing agency technical       |
|                    |     system requirements                         |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   submitting configuration requests for       |
|                    |     Migrating Agency's feeder systems to CIO's  |
|                    |     office                                      |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Business Process   | The Business Process reengineering and          |
| Reengineering Lead | Functional Leads are responsible for            |
| and Functional     |                                                 |
| Lead               | -   reviewing current agency polices and        |
|                    |     requirements                                |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   drafting the "As Is" documentation or       |
|                    |     assisting the Migration Functional team     |
|                    |     (provider and agency) during the "As Is"    |
|                    |     analysis by providing information on the    |
|                    |     agency's environment                        |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   drafting the "To Be" documentation or       |
|                    |     assisting the Functional Team (provider and |
|                    |     agency) during the "To Be" analysis by      |
|                    |     providing information on the agency's       |
|                    |     environment                                 |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing requirements to the Functional    |
|                    |     Team or providing subject matter experts on |
|                    |     each functional area to work with the       |
|                    |     shared service provider during requirements |
|                    |     gathering                                   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with the Functional Team to         |
|                    |     determine requirements gaps and ways to     |
|                    |     mitigate the gaps through business process  |
|                    |     reengineering, customization, or            |
|                    |     workarounds                                 |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   determining impact of any business process  |
|                    |     reengineering efforts and work with         |
|                    |     Migration Manager, Executive                |
|                    |     Sponsor/Executive Steering Committee, and   |
|                    |     Change Management Lead in implementing      |
|                    |     changes                                     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   reviewing all SSP functional documentation  |
|                    |     including: "As Is" document, "To Be         |
|                    |     document, Requirements Analysis, Gap        |
|                    |     Analysis, Testing Plan, Security Plan,      |
|                    |     Configuration Plan, and Training Plan to    |
|                    |     ensure that all documents meet agency       |
|                    |     requirements                                |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Security Lead      | The Security Lead is responsible for            |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing Functional Team (provider and     |
|                    |     agency) with system security requirements   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   reviewing design documentation,             |
|                    |     configuration, and security plan for        |
|                    |     security related issues                     |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   establishing system roles and               |
|                    |     responsibilities                            |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   assisting with user account establishment   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   overseeing security testing for the system  |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Testing Lead       | The Testing Lead is responsible for             |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   working with the Functional Team (provider  |
|                    |     and agency) in providing guidance for the   |
|                    |     test plan                                   |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   reviewing test plans, test scripts, and     |
|                    |     test results                                |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing feedback to the Migration         |
|                    |     Planning functional team on test            |
|                    |     documentation during joint reviews          |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   reviewing requirements, gap analysis,       |
|                    |     design, configuration, and security         |
|                    |     documentation and verifying that test       |
|                    |     scenarios accurately test each requirement  |
|                    |     and design element                          |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   conducting User Acceptance testing (UAT)    |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Contracting        | The Contracting Officer is responsible for      |
| Officer (CO)       |                                                 |
|                    | -   administering the contract                  |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   amending, modifying or deviating from       |
|                    |     contract terms, conditions and requirements |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   authorizing or ordering the cessation of    |
|                    |     contract work                               |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| Contracting        | The COTR is delegated authority by the CO for   |
| Officer's          |                                                 |
| Technical          | -   monitoring contract performance             |
| Representative     |                                                 |
| (COTR)             | -   authorizing contractor payment              |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   receiving deliverables                      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   communicating acceptance or non-acceptance  |
|                    |     of contract deliverables to the Project     |
|                    |     Manager and Executive Sponsor               |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| **Roles supported  |                                                 |
| by independent     |                                                 |
| vendor**           |                                                 |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+
| IV&V contractor    | The IV&V contractor is responsible for          |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   providing QA services for the entire        |
|                    |     migration effort including activities       |
|                    |     performed by the Migrating Agency, SSP or   |
|                    |     vendor                                      |
|                    |                                                 |
|                    | -   validating quality and completeness of      |
|                    |     service provider deliverables related to    |
|                    |     the migration efforts                       |
+--------------------+-------------------------------------------------+

## Additional resources

-   *Financial Management Shared Services: A Guide for Federal Users*;
    AGA, July 2005.

-   The JFMIP publication, *Building the Work Force Capacity to
    Successfully Implement Systems* (April 2002).

# Human Capital Management

## Introduction

This human capital planning subsection provides a framework for
organizations to develop a human capital management plan. This
subsection addresses human capital impacts to outsourcing
business/transaction processing and system maintenance tasks to
SSPs.[^4]  The subsection also offers best practices and change
management recommendations for managing short- and long-term human
capital impacts.

### What is Human Capital Management?

Human capital management involves identifying the human capital impacts
of a migration effort on both the organization and its individuals, and
developing an action plan to ensure the organization has an adequately
skilled workforce to support its post-migration needs and the
individuals within the organization have the competencies to supply
those skills. The action plan should also address the issue of
redirecting resources in situations where the migration creates an
irreconcilable gap in individual skills and the needs of the
organization.

### The Need for Human Capital Planning

Human capital planning is a critical piece of any successful migration
effort, regardless of the extent of financial management operations
being migrated. Agencies today face many challenges, often with fewer
resources. The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) holds CFO
organizations accountable for their agency's financial performance and
requires that organizations create and submit strategic plans, program
evaluations, and measurable performance goals to the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) along with the organization's budget
request[^5]. These and other agency, legislative, and regulatory
financial performance requirements require that CFO organizations
perform more decision support and analytical functions, often with fewer
resources than they have had in the past.

Migration of financial system and business operations to SSPs offers CFO
organizations the opportunity to better meet the demands placed on them
to increase their focus on improving agency financial performance.
Outsourcing financial system and business operations to an SSP assists
CFO organizations in meeting these demands by providing the CFO
organizations with timely and accurate data for decision-making[^6] and
by freeing up resources at the Migrating Agency to assist with analysis
and decision support functions.

The focus on government financial performance and the increase in
financial operation outsourcing will result in financial management
roles at migrating agencies moving from transaction-based processors to
decision-based information managers and financial business advisors. The
diagram below shows this evolution of government financial
functions[^7].

![](media/image2.png){width="4.429166666666666in"
height="2.7159722222222222in"}

*Source: PriceWaterhouseCoopers, 2000*[^8]

In this future financial environment, CFO organizations will require
financial management personnel that can support them in

-   achieving performance objectives

-   achieving strategic financial management objectives

-   making informed business decisions[^9]

Both migrating agencies and SSPs must ensure that they have staff with
the appropriate skill mix to assist the CFO in accomplishing these
objectives. Through human capital planning, organizations can align
their workforce with Agency strategic and financial goals and
objectives. This document addresses what human capital planning for a
migration entails and provides details on the following concepts related
to human capital planning:

-   organizational needs assessment

-   current workforce assessment

-   gap analysis

-   workforce strategies to close human capital gaps

More information on these concepts can be found in the sections below.

## What does Human Capital Planning for a Migration Entail?

OPM outlines six Human Capital Standards for Success.[^10] The following
table details how these standards could apply to a CFO organization as
it develops its human capital plan to align its financial management
competencies with its future needs.

+-------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Standard for      | Suggested steps                                  |
| Success           |                                                  |
+===================+==================================================+
| Strategic         | -   The vision for the CFO organization should   |
| Alignment         |     guide human capital planning and investment  |
|                   |     activities. Leaders need to keep in mind the |
|                   |     end goal as they establish the CFO and CIO   |
|                   |     organizations' human capital plans. Through  |
|                   |     an Organizational Needs Assessment, the CFO  |
|                   |     and CIO organizations can clearly identify   |
|                   |     where they need to be in the future to       |
|                   |     support their mission and determine the      |
|                   |     resources required to meet their goals.      |
|                   |     Recommended practices on *Organizational     |
|                   |     Needs Assessment* are provided on page 24.   |
|                   |                                                  |
|                   | -   The CFO and CIO should align with the        |
|                   |     agency's Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO), |
|                   |     early in the migration planning process, on  |
|                   |     the changes that will need to occur within   |
|                   |     their respective organizations.              |
+-------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Workforce         | -   The Migrating Agency should create two       |
| Planning and      |     pictures of its desired workforce for the    |
| Deployment        |     future by performing an *Organizational      |
|                   |     Needs Assessment*.                           |
|                   |                                                  |
|                   |     -   The first picture should delineate the   |
|                   |         size of the workforce, the mix of skills |
|                   |         in the organization, and how the mix of  |
|                   |         skills will be deployed throughout the   |
|                   |         organization in order for it to serve    |
|                   |         its constituents effectively and         |
|                   |         efficiently.                             |
|                   |                                                  |
|                   |     -   The second picture should delineate the  |
|                   |         team size, competencies, and skills      |
|                   |         needed for the migration.                |
|                   |                                                  |
|                   | -   The SSP should perform an *Organizational    |
|                   |     Needs Assessment* that establishes a picture |
|                   |     that delineates the workforce size, mix of   |
|                   |     competencies and skills, and how this mix    |
|                   |     will be deployed in the SSP in order for it  |
|                   |     to effectively and efficiently host and      |
|                   |     administer another agency's financial        |
|                   |     operations.                                  |
|                   |                                                  |
|                   | -   Recommended practices on *Organizational     |
|                   |     Needs Assessment* are provided on page 24.   |
+-------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Talent            | -   SSPs and Migrating Agencies should perform a |
|                   |     *Current Workforce Assessment* of the        |
|                   |     personnel, competencies, and skills of the   |
|                   |     current workforce. Recommended practices on  |
|                   |     *Current Workforce Assessment* are provided  |
|                   |     on page [49](#current-workforce-assessment). |
|                   |                                                  |
|                   | -   After the Organizational Needs Assessment    |
|                   |     and Current Workforce Assessment are         |
|                   |     complete, organizations should perform a     |
|                   |     *Gap Analysis* that highlights where gaps in |
|                   |     the mix of current and future competencies   |
|                   |     and skills are occurring. Recommended        |
|                   |     practices on *Gap Analysis* are provided on  |
|                   |     page [50](#gap-analysis).                    |
|                   |                                                  |
|                   | -   Based on these gaps, the organizations       |
|                   |     should then identify workforce strategies to |
|                   |     close the gap through recruiting, hiring,    |
|                   |     deployment, retention, education and         |
|                   |     training, and other staffing and development |
|                   |     initiatives. Additional information          |
|                   |     *Workforce Strategies to Close Human Capital |
|                   |     Gaps* is provided on page                    |
|                   |     [51](#wo                                     |
|                   | rkforce-strategies-to-close-human-capital-gaps). |
+-------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Results-oriented  | -   Both the SSPs and Migrating Agencies should  |
| Performance       |     ensure that they have a performance          |
| Culture           |     management system that establishes           |
|                   |     performance expectations, measures results,  |
|                   |     and links individual performance to          |
|                   |     organizational strategic goals and           |
|                   |     objectives. Additional information on        |
|                   |     performance management is discussed in       |
|                   |     *Workforce Strategies to Close Human Capital |
|                   |     Gaps* on page 52.                            |
+-------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Leadership and    | -   The organizations should have in place tools |
| Knowledge         |     and resources for knowledge sharing across   |
| Management        |     the organizations.                           |
|                   |                                                  |
|                   | -   The organizations should invest in workforce |
|                   |     development and provide opportunities for    |
|                   |     continuous development to ensure employees   |
|                   |     have the competencies essential to perform   |
|                   |     their current duties and to position         |
|                   |     themselves for growth. Additional            |
|                   |     information on establishing development      |
|                   |     opportunities is discussed in *Workforce     |
|                   |     Strategies to Close Human Capital Gaps* on   |
|                   |     page 52.                                     |
+-------------------+--------------------------------------------------+
| Accountability    | -   The organization should ensure its plan is   |
|                   |     transparent to its employees so that they    |
|                   |     understand the opportunities available to    |
|                   |     them. In addition, the plan should be        |
|                   |     reviewed regularly and updated according to  |
|                   |     the changing needs of the organization.      |
+-------------------+--------------------------------------------------+

Through these activities, the Migrating Agency will have a workforce
that is business-focused and decision-oriented, and the SSP will have a
qualified workforce with the necessary skills to implement and manage
federal financial systems.

## Organizational Needs Assessment

To ensure that organizations have staff with the skills to succeed in a
performance-based financial system outsourcing environment, agencies
must first conduct an organizational needs assessment. Through an
organizational needs assessment, organizations can determine and plan
for their future human capital needs. The table below provides a high
level framework for how organizations should conduct an organizational
needs assessment.

+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Area of analysis               | Questions                           |
+================================+=====================================+
| Vision for the future:         | -   Where does the organization     |
| Organizations must have a      |     want to be in the future?       |
| clear view of where they want  |                                     |
| to be in the future to         | -   What is the organization's      |
| determine the resources they   |     mission?                        |
| will require to meet these     |                                     |
| goals.                         | -   What are the organization's     |
|                                |     future strategic, financial,    |
|                                |     and performance goals and       |
|                                |     objectives?                     |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Resource roles and Future      | -   What types/roles of personnel   |
| Need: Organizations must       |     does the organization need?     |
| determine the human capital    |                                     |
| resource requirements for      | -   What are the responsibilities   |
| achieving their strategic      |     assigned to each role or type   |
| vision.                        |     of personnel?                   |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | -   How many personnel does the     |
|                                |     organization require in each of |
|                                |     these roles?                    |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | -   What are the work location      |
|                                |     requirements for these          |
|                                |     personnel?                      |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | -   What are the work hour          |
|                                |     requirements for these          |
|                                |     personnel? (work time and hours |
|                                |     of work required)               |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| Skills and Competencies:       | -   What general competencies       |
| Because titles and duties may  |     should be required for all      |
| vary for a role, the           |     financial management and        |
| organization must determine    |     business systems operations     |
| the essential competencies for |     roles?                          |
| personnel in each role.        |                                     |
|                                | -   What competencies should be     |
|                                |     required for each role?         |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | -   What specific competencies      |
|                                |     should be required for entry,   |
|                                |     mid, and senior level personnel |
|                                |     in each role?                   |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | -   What skills, education,         |
|                                |     knowledge, or work experiences  |
|                                |     should the resources have for   |
|                                |     each identified competency?     |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

The sections below provide detailed guidance for Migrating Agencies and
SSPs conducting an organizational needs assessment by providing the
following information:

-   future roles and future need -- detailed assessment of the financial
    and business operations roles and the future need for these roles in
    the migrating agencies and SSPs

-   skills and competencies -- detailed assessment of the competencies
    and skills required for specific financial management and business
    operations personnel

### Future Roles and Future Need for Organizational Needs Assessment

This section assists organizations in determining the role and resource
needs for the organizational needs assessment. The table below details
the eight roles that exist for financial management systems and business
operations[^11]. Depending on the size of the organization, the nature
of its work and its strategic goals for the future, organizations may
require different financial management and business operations personnel
than those mentioned in the table below. The table also contains an
assessment of the future need for these resources in a Migrating Agency
and an SSP, assuming that the Migrating Agency migrates its hosting,
application management, and transaction processing functions to an SSP.
Future needs are assessed in relation to the changing mission and
business operations of the organization and reflect a change in the type
of resource needs but do not necessarily indicate a need for more or
additional resources. For additional information and guidance,
especially as it relates to A-76, agencies should review the *OMB
Competition Framework for FMLoB Migrations*.

+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| Financial Management Role   | Assessment of Future Need              |
+=============================+========================================+
| Accountants                 | -   Both migrating agencies and SSPs   |
|                             |     may have a greater need for        |
|                             |     accountants. This need will be     |
|                             |     dependent on whether the future    |
|                             |     vision of the organization         |
|                             |     anticipates providing additional   |
|                             |     financial accounting analysis      |
|                             |     services to its customers.         |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| Program Managers            | -   It is anticipated that migrating   |
|                             |     agencies and SSPs will experience  |
|                             |     little change in the need for      |
|                             |     program managers or competencies   |
|                             |     required by this role.             |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| Budget Analysts             | -   It is anticipated that migrating   |
|                             |     agencies will have a greater need  |
|                             |     for budget analysts. The Migrating |
|                             |     Agency will require budget         |
|                             |     analysts to validate the structure |
|                             |     and data being created by the SSP. |
|                             |                                        |
|                             | -   SSPs will have a greater need for  |
|                             |     budget analysts in the SSP. The    |
|                             |     SSP will require budget analysts   |
|                             |     knowledgeable of the Migrating     |
|                             |     Agency's budget structure.         |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| Financial Managers          | -   It is anticipated that migrating   |
|                             |     agencies will have a greater need  |
|                             |     for Financial Managers. The        |
|                             |     Migrating Agency will need         |
|                             |     financial managers to work with    |
|                             |     the SSP in addressing complex      |
|                             |     agency issues and to provide the   |
|                             |     SSP with guidance on the agency's  |
|                             |     vision and its policy              |
|                             |     transformations.                   |
|                             |                                        |
|                             | -   It is anticipated that SSPs will   |
|                             |     likely experience no change in     |
|                             |     their need for financial managers. |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| Financial System Analysts   | -   It is anticipated that migrating   |
|                             |     agencies will have less need for   |
|                             |     financial systems analysts because |
|                             |     the SSP will be responsible for    |
|                             |     implementing any subsequent        |
|                             |     upgrades to the Migrating Agency's |
|                             |     software.                          |
|                             |                                        |
|                             | -   It is anticipated that SSPs will   |
|                             |     have a greater need for financial  |
|                             |     systems analysts as they host more |
|                             |     agencies' financial operations.    |
|                             |     When migrating agencies have new   |
|                             |     requirements or when new reporting |
|                             |     or financial management policies   |
|                             |     arise, financial systems analysts  |
|                             |     will be responsible for            |
|                             |     requirements gathering, design,    |
|                             |     test, documentation updating, and  |
|                             |     user training.                     |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| IT Personnel Implementing   | -   It is anticipated that migrating   |
| Financial Systems           |     agencies may have less need for IT |
|                             |     personnel implementing financial   |
|                             |     systems because they will be       |
|                             |     outsourcing their financial        |
|                             |     systems implementation and         |
|                             |     maintenance. However, migrating    |
|                             |     agencies must take into            |
|                             |     consideration that they may need   |
|                             |     continued support for their own    |
|                             |     feeder systems.                    |
|                             |                                        |
|                             | -   It is anticipated that SSPs will   |
|                             |     have greater need for IT personnel |
|                             |     implementing financial systems     |
|                             |     because they will be responsible   |
|                             |     for implementing and upgrading     |
|                             |     financial systems for the          |
|                             |     migrating agencies.                |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| Financial Management        | -   It is anticipated that migrating   |
| Analysts and Financial      |     agencies will have less need for   |
| Specialists                 |     financial management analysts and  |
|                             |     financial specialists as the focus |
|                             |     of its financial operations move   |
|                             |     from transaction processing to     |
|                             |     decision support.                  |
|                             |                                        |
|                             | ```{=html}                             |
|                             | <!-- -->                               |
|                             | ```                                    |
|                             | -   It is anticipated that SSPs will   |
|                             |     have a greater need for financial  |
|                             |     management analysts and financial  |
|                             |     specialists as it begins to        |
|                             |     support more and more agencies     |
|                             |     with their transaction processing. |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------+
| Project Managers            | -   It is anticipated that migrating   |
| Implementing Financial      |     agencies will have less need for   |
| Systems                     |     project managers Implementing      |
|                             |     Financial Systems as the agency    |
|                             |     would typically migrate only once  |
|                             |     unless the agency decided to       |
|                             |     migrate from one SSP to another.   |
|                             |                                        |
|                             | -   It is anticipated that SSPs will   |
|                             |     have a greater need for project    |
|                             |     managers implementing financial    |
|                             |     systems as they must manage        |
|                             |     multiple agency migrations as well |
|                             |     as financial system upgrades.      |
+-----------------------------+----------------------------------------+

### Skills and Competencies for the Organizational Needs Assessment

This section provides the skills and competencies for the following
eight financial management and business systems operations roles to
assist agencies in conducting the organizational needs assessment:

-   accountants

-   program managers

-   budget analysts

-   financial managers

-   financial system analysts

-   IT personnel implementing financial systems

-   financial management analysts and financial specialists

-   project managers implementing financial systems

General core competencies are provided for the financial management and
business systems personnel as well as role-specific core competencies.
The competencies and skills listed for these personnel can be used as a
guide for agencies performing organizational needs assessments. However,
because the nature of these occupations can vary by organization,
agency, department, and skill level, agencies will need to tailor the
competencies and related skills to meet their needs. The sections below
also contain the impact that outsourcing financial operations to an SSP
will have on the personnel in the migrating agencies and SSPs. The
impacts detailed in this document will also depend on whether the
Migrating Agency outsources only IT hosting and application management
or also outsources transaction processing as well.

#### General Core Competencies 

To communicate effectively in the workplace, work with others, present
information to management, make effective decisions, and meet overall
agency financial objectives, all personnel should have a set of general
core competencies. The table below presents core competencies for all
financial management personnel and the competencies for those personnel
in leadership/management positions.

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Competencies for All Personnel         Additional Competencies for
                                         Individuals in roles of
                                         Leadership/Management
  -------------------------------------- --------------------------------
  Written communication                  Vision

  Oral communication/presentation skills Strategic Thinking

  Accountability                         People Management

  Conflict management                    Results Driven

  Basic understanding of computer        Creativity/Innovation
  applications                           

  Stress and time management techniques  Building
                                         Coalitions/Communications

  Critical thinking skills               Influencing/Negotiating

  Analytical skills                      Technology Management

  Problem solving skills                 Decisiveness/Decision Making

  Business Expertise                     Team Building

  Interpersonal Skills                   Leadership

  Flexibility                            Organizational Awareness
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

For a complete list of general competencies or more details on the
skills within these competencies, see OPM Executive Core
Qualifications[^12], the *JFMIP Core Competencies in Financial
Management* series[^13], or the *OPM Interpretive Guidance for Project
Manager Positions* document[^14].

#### Accountants

Accountants are critical to government financial management performing
tasks ranging from preparing, analyzing, interpreting, and presenting
accounting data to designing, implementing, and assessing internal
control processes and systems.[^15] Because GPRA requires integration
between an agency's planning, analysis, budgeting, and accountability
activities, accountants must also participate in planning and budgeting
activities and relay accounting information to program managers. To
perform their duties, accountants in the Federal Government must have
the following competencies:

-   accounting

-   agency specific knowledge/business expertise

-   basic government operations

-   information technology

-   general management

For additional information on these competencies including the skills
required for entry-, mid-, and senior-level personnel, please see the
"JFMIP Core Competencies for Accountants in the Federal Government
Matrix."[^16]

##### Accounting

To perform tasks such as preparing financial reports, analyzing data,
and presenting accounting information to financial managers, accountants
must be knowledgeable in the following accounting concepts:

-   General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and concepts

-   Federal accounting concepts and standards

-   Federal cost accounting concepts and standards

-   basic Federal accounting concepts and principles

-   Federal financial reporting

-   current accounting issues

##### Agency-Specific Knowledge/Business Expertise

In addition to understanding federal requirements for accounting,
accountants must understand the agency's structure and its specific
accounting requirements and procedures. Accountants must have
agency-specific knowledge and business expertise:

-   missions, functions, and organizational structure of the agency and
    its offices

-   agency accounting policies and procedures

-   specific agency/organization business practices

-   basic budgeting and program concepts and principles including agency
    budget procedures and relationship with financial management
    system(s)

-   structure of appropriations and other funds which support the
    agency's mission

-   agency's budget execution operations and processes and how
    obligations and expenditures are incurred for assigned program areas

-   audits and formal reviews

-   cash management/internal controls

-   areas outside of the budget that have a financial impact on the
    agency's programs

##### Basic Government Operations

Accountants should have knowledge of the following concepts of basic
government operations:

-   mission and functions that central agencies play in government
    operations

-   public laws, executive orders, OMB circulars, bulletins, agency
    directives, Comptroller General decisions, and court opinions
    governing the agency's management processes

##### Information Technology

Accountants utilize financial systems to record financial transactions,
research data anomalies, prepare reports, and perform numerous other
tasks. In addition, accountants are increasingly involved with
designing, developing, operating, or inspecting cost accounting systems.
To perform these tasks, accountants should have an understanding of the
following IT concepts:

-   basic personal computer applications and internet

-   automated data processing concepts, tools, and systems

-   financial management system functionality

-   automated data systems development, documentation, and data
    administration policies, concepts, tools, and standards

-   user requirements, testing, training, system reconciliation, and
    system design

##### General Management

Mid- and senior-level accountants that serve in management capacities
must be skilled in the following general management areas:

-   basic techniques of financial management, economic analysis,
    management controls, auditing, and program evaluation

-   performance measures and analysis

-   generally accepted management principles and practices

-   organizational development concepts and organizational analysis
    techniques, performance effectiveness concepts, productivity
    measurement, and measurements system

-   federal procurement, contract management, and grant management

-   productivity improvement systems and business reengineering
    processes

-   project planning

-   resource Management

#### Program Managers

Program managers are responsible for the management of agency programs
including policy development, regulatory guidance, and financial
management of resources appropriated to their organization by Congress.
Because Congress expects performance-based planning and budgeting,
program managers must increase their knowledge of financial management
and be able to communicate their information and data requirements to
financial management staff. The following competencies are essential for
program managers to manage more effectively and to prepare for
performance planning and budgeting: Planning, Budget Formulation
Activities, Execution, and Evaluation.

The sections below provide more detail on the competencies required for
program managers. More details on the specific skills and knowledge
required for program managers in each of these competencies can be found
in the JFMIP Core Competencies in Financial Management for Program
Managers document.[^17]

##### Planning

GPRA requires that program managers use strategic planning knowledge to
develop program and resource plans and to develop budgets and program
performance measures. To satisfy GPRA requirements, program managers
should possess the following planning skills and knowledge:

-   Understand GPRA requirements and application within the agency.

-   Analyze political and economic environment in which agency programs
    will operate.

-   Be flexible and able to react to changes in the planning
    environment.

-   Manage the planning process.

-   Understand steps involved in developing strategic, performance, and
    resource plans.

-   Understand reengineering and alternative methods of providing
    programs and services.

-   Develop objective program performance measures.

-   Understand cost accounting and cost distribution principles.

##### Budget Formulation

Program managers must possess the following understanding of budget
formulation concepts to develop and execute program budgets, identify
potential funding risks and opportunities, and ensure budgets present
the resources necessary to accomplish the program's strategic and
operational goals:

-   Understand Federal budget process.

-   Understand impact of appropriation law on program financing.

-   Identify limits of flexibility under existing appropriation levels.

-   Identify reprogramming opportunities to improve operations and meet
    program goals and objectives.

-   Read and understand financial reports produced by the agency
    financial management system.

-   Analyze financial reports to identify financial implications of
    operational issues.

-   Establish working relationship with key agency finance directors and
    budget officers.

-   Experience preparing OMB Exhibit 300 Business Cases.

##### Budget Execution

After the performance plans have been submitted and approved and the
budget levels have been established, the program manager is responsible
for the execution of the budget and enactment of controls to protect
against the mismanagement of funds. Program managers should understand
the following areas of execution:

-   internal agency administrative control of funds activities

-   flow and purpose of internal agency documents

-   financial management reports

-   actual spending versus projected spending

-   earned Value Management principles (or other analytical tools) to
    assess program effectiveness

-   legislation and appropriations process that affects program and
    financial management

-   basic concepts of cost accounting, accrued expenditures, direct and
    indirect costs, and overhead allocation

-   agency accounting systems

-   transactions and timing for adjustments to program and/or financial
    management systems

-   implication of appropriations to programs

##### Evaluation

A program manager must have the following skills to evaluate the program
performance against performance plans objectives as required by GPRA:

-   Analyze agency programs to determine if they are meeting intended
    goals and objectives.

-   Identify financial management system needs.

-   Understand importance of program audits conducted by internal agency
    management and resolve problems to correct program deficiencies.

-   Identify techniques for determining customer satisfaction.

-   Benchmark delivery of goods and services to improve agency
    responsiveness.

#### Budget Analysts

Budget Analysts are responsible for the analytical, technical, and
administrative duties related to various phases of the budgetary
process. They may be involved in budget formulation, budget
presentation/enactment, and/or budget execution. To perform these
duties, budget analysts must possess knowledge in the following
competencies: Budgeting Concepts, Budget Processes, and
Agency-Specific/Business Expertise. [^18]

The sections below provide more information regarding the budget analyst
competencies. Specific details regarding knowledge budget analysts
should have in each of these competencies can be found in *JFMIP Core
Competencies for Budget Analysts*.[^19]

##### Budgeting Concepts

To prepare and execute budgets, budget analysts should have knowledge of
the following budgeting concepts:

-   budget, accounting, and program concepts as they apply in financial
    management systems

-   appropriation and fund structures as they fit into the agency's
    mission

-   internal and partner agencies' accounting and budget structures

-   agency and financial management system obligation and expenditures
    process

-   legislation regarding appropriation and revolving funds

##### Budget Processes

Budget Analysts may perform duties in one or all phases of the budget
processes (e.g. formulation, justification, presentation, and
execution).[^20] To perform these duties, they should have knowledge or
experience in the following areas:

-   proficiency in the federal budget preparation process

-   general knowledge of the Congressional budget and appropriations
    process

-   experience in preparing budget narratives for OMB and Congress

-   knowledge of legislative and regulatory requirements and ability to
    interpret for stakeholders and customers

-   experience in performing analysis of agency budgets, economic
    factors, and finances

-   experience in integrating Government Performance Results Act (GPRA)
    into the budget process

-   analytical skills to determine relationships between budget numbers
    and performance results

##### General Knowledge/Business Expertise

Budget analysts should possess the following general knowledge and
business expertise to successfully perform their work duties:

-   written and oral skills to communicate and present budget
    information to internal and external groups

-   external contacts and personal networks to support the
    organization's information needs

-   ability to work with upper management to provide program information
    and to develop program support

-   understanding of agency programs, performance, and budget needs

-   working knowledge of the impact that external agencies (OMB, OPM,
    GSA, etc) have on agency operations

#### Financial Managers

Financial managers are integral to an agency's core financial operations
as they develop and carry out the agency's financial policies,
procedures, and plans. Financial managers serve as financial advisors to
top agency officials by providing financial management advice required
to make decisions, manage the organization, and establish organizational
goals. They analyze financial and management data to determine the
financial results of agency operations and report on program
accomplishments in financial terms.[^21] To perform these duties,
financial managers must have 22 skills under the following four
competencies: Strategic Vision, Resource and Program Management, People
Management, and General.

The sections below provide more detail regarding the required
competencies for financial managers. More details regarding the core
competencies for financial managers can be found in the JFMIP Core
Competencies for Financial Managers document.[^22]

##### Strategic Vision

Financial managers must be knowledgeable of strategic planning and the
impact it has on financial operations. They should also be knowledgeable
of the agency's strategic objectives and seek to improve operations to
meet these objectives. To accomplish these goals, Financial Managers
should have the following strategic skills and knowledge:

-   knowledge of legislative and regulatory requirements and the effect
    on stakeholders and customers

-   knowledge of strategic planning's effect on the budget formulation
    process

-   ability to generate creative and innovative solutions to complex
    financial management system issues (finance, budget, program
    management)

-   ability to identify potential financial management issues, provide
    leadership and facilitate others through potential solutions

-   knowledge of legislative and regulatory requirements needed to
    define resource management for internal and external organizations
    and operations

##### Resource and Program Management

The financial manager develops and executes financial policy, examines
work progress, and reports program accomplishments in financial terms.
The financial manager also manages the agency's finances by utilizing
accounting and fund control systems to maintain appropriate fund
balances[^23]. Performing these duties require the following resource
and program management skills:

-   knowledge of the appropriation and funds structures and impact of
    funds management on programs

-   knowledge of risk management to support quality assurance, audit
    findings, and program improvement

-   knowledge of performance measures and cost accounting measures used
    in management and evaluation systems

-   ability to compile and analyze financial data across internal and
    external stakeholders

-   knowledge of reporting requirements needed by stakeholders and
    ability to establish controls to provide consistent information

-   ability to prepare budget submissions to meet official format
    requirements

-   knowledge of the relationship between budget activities and program
    goals

-   knowledge of financial management system principles, methods, and
    techniques to improve customer service and program effectiveness

-   ability to assess customers' needs and satisfaction to improve and
    enhance customer service

##### People Management

Financial managers supervise accounting and budgeting operations. They
must ensure that these operations are staffed adequately and manage the
personnel in these operations. To perform these tasks, financial
managers should have the following people management skills and
knowledge:

-   knowledge of the agency's human capital policies and their effect on
    agency operations

-   ability to manage the human capital planning, recruitment and
    staffing to support agency and customer needs

-   knowledge of and ability to apply team building principles to foster
    cooperation with internal and external teams

-   ability to motivate and develop workforce potential to meet agency's
    strategic vision

##### General

Financial managers should have the following general skills:

-   ability to present information to internal and external groups

-   ability to develop external contacts and personal networks to
    support the organization's information needs

-   ability to work with upper management to provide program information
    and to develop program support

#### Financial Systems Analysts

Financial systems analysts work with IT personnel to develop, implement,
and maintain agency financial systems. Financial systems analysts may
develop a thorough understanding of manual and automated financial
processes, define and write requirements, develop and execute test
scripts, review and update system documentation, update standard
operating procedures, and conduct training sessions. To perform these
duties, financial system analysts should have the following
competencies: Financial Management and Accounting Principles and
Practices, Federal Financial System Requirements, Financial Management
Controls, Business Process Analysis and Redesign, Knowledge of System
and Information Technology, Project Management, Specialized Financial
Subsystem Knowledge, and General Skills.

The sections below provide more details on the core competencies
required for financial system analysts. For more information on these
competencies see JFMIP Core Competencies for Financial Systems
Analysts.[^24]

##### Financial Management and Accounting Principles and Practices

To gather requirements and design financial systems, financial systems
analysts should have knowledge of the following financial management and
accounting principles and practices:

-   knowledge of accounting principles

-   knowledge and general understanding of federal accounting concepts,
    standards, funds control, and reporting

-   understanding of agency and partner agency accounting principles

-   knowledge of partner agencies' missions and processes

##### Federal Financial System Requirements

Financial systems analysts may be tasked with performing analysis to
assist management in selecting a financial software package. They may
also be required to analyze software capabilities against the federal
financial system requirements. To perform these tasks, financial systems
analysts should be knowledgeable in the following areas:

-   knowledge of FSIO and OMB requirements for financial management
    systems

-   knowledge of and ability to apply legislative changes to financial
    system requirements

-   working knowledge of or ability to acquire functional processes of
    supported financial systems

-   understand general financial management systems architecture and
    acquire knowledge of functional system integration

##### Financial management controls

A reliable financial system must have a strong system of management
controls. In order to implement financial management controls in the
agency's financial system, financial analysts should have the following
knowledge/skills:

-   knowledge of management concepts and principles

-   ability to establish strong financial controls that meet the OMB
    A-130 and A-133 circulars' requirements

-   ability to assess, improve, and correct financial management
    controls as necessary

##### Business process analysis and redesign

Financial systems analysts must be able to analyze the agency's business
process to determine if the agency's requirements are met by a financial
system software package. They may also be required to redesign the
agency's business process to meet the software design and minimize
software customization. Performing these tasks requires the following
knowledge in business process analysis and redesign:

-   knowledge of agency's mission and function

-   knowledge of agency's strategic plan and strategy for change

-   ability to evaluate financial processes and systems

-   knowledge of process reengineering to improve processes and system

##### Knowledge of system and information technology

Financial systems analysts participate in all phases of the system
development lifecycle and software maintenance by executing tasks such
as requirements analysis, design, and testing and by communicating user
needs to the IT staff. These duties require the following knowledge and
skills in system and information technology:

-   ability to test and analyze COTS products

-   general knowledge of system development life cycle

-   knowledge of data management concepts and principles

-   knowledge of financial system architecture

-   knowledge of functional security requirements for financial
    management systems

-   familiarity with backup and recovery concepts

##### Project Management

Mid- and senior-level financial systems analyst may be charged with
leading a team in a financial system implementation or the maintenance
of an existing financial system and reporting team progress to
stakeholders. Mid- and senior-level financial systems analysts should
possess the following project management skills:

-   knowledge of basic project planning skills and project management

-   knowledge of project life cycle management and monitoring of
    activities and tasks

-   knowledge of contract management of services, goods, and resources

-   knowledge of systems testing strategy, methods, and evaluation

-   team-building skills

-   change management skills

##### Specialized Financial Subsystem Knowledge

Financial systems analysts participating in the design and development
of financial management systems may require specific knowledge related
to one of the financial system's subsystems (e.g. Acquisition, Budget
Formulation, Travel, and Inventory). The specific knowledge required for
financial systems analysts in these financial subsystems can be found in
the Specialized Knowledge Required for Financial Management Sub-Systems
matrix in the JFMIP Core Competencies for Financial Systems Analysts in
the Federal Government document.[^25]

#### Information Technology Personnel Implementing Financial Systems 

Information Technology personnel implementing financial systems in the
Federal Government are responsible for the development, implementation,
migration, conversion, and maintenance of federal financial systems. IT
personnel must possess a deep understanding of information technology
and a working knowledge of financial management to perform these tasks.
IT personnel must understand financial management concepts to establish
greater cooperation with financial systems analysts in all phases of the
system development lifecycle. Entry- and mid-level IT personnel must
have the following competencies: Accounting; Financial Systems; Legal,
Procedural, and Regulatory; Financial Systems Oversight and Management
Controls; Agency/Organization Specific; General Business, Communication,
and Leadership; and Acquisition and Contract Management. In addition
entry and mid-level IT personnel, senior IT managers and supervisors
must have the following competencies: Agency, Budgeting, and Resource
Management; and IT Solutions.

The sections below provide more detail regarding the competencies for IT
personnel. For more information regarding the level of competency
knowledge for each skill level see JFMIP Core Competencies in Financial
Management for Information Technology Personnel Implementing Financial
Systems in the Federal Government.[^26]

##### Accounting Competencies

IT personnel implementing financial systems should have a basic
understanding of accounting to communicate effectively with other
financial system stakeholders in the federal government. IT personnel
should have the following skills in accounting:

-   understanding of basic accounting concepts and principles (knowledge
    required depends on employee skill level)

-   knowledge of federal accounting concepts and principles

-   understanding of accounting internal controls and automated data
    procession controls

##### Financial Systems Competencies

Entry-, mid-, and senior-level IT personnel must possess knowledge in
the following financial system areas to ensure a successful financial
system implementation:

-   understanding of the organization's financial system functionalities

-   understanding of the agency's financial requirements and the ability
    to identify IT solutions to support those requirements

-   understanding of legislative, administrative, and regulatory
    financial system requirements and the ability to identify IT
    solutions to support those requirements

-   knowledge of government standards for financial information exchange
    (senior-level)

-   ability to define oversight roles and responsibilities within and
    outside the agency (senior-level)

##### Legal, Procedural, and Regulatory Competencies

Entry-, mid-, and senior-level IT personnel must have a general
understanding of the following legal, procedural, and regulatory
concepts:

-   understanding of legislative and regulatory requirements for
    financial systems and practices

-   knowledge of relevant laws and regulations and the impacts within
    the agency

-   knowledge of FSIO guidance and understanding of FSIO requirements

-   understanding of Information Technology Management Reform Act
    (ITMRA) of 1996 (Clinger-Cohen Act),

-   understanding of Congressional and OMB appropriation process and how
    the agency formulates its budget

-   understanding of sources of funding and terminology in the
    appropriation process

-   ability to analyze legislation and oversee agencies' directives to
    identify planning requirements (senior-level)

##### Financial Systems Oversight and Management Controls Competencies

Both mid- and senior-level IT personnel must be skilled in managing the
financial systems implementation. They should have the following
financial systems oversight and management control skills:

-   ability to work with financial systems analysts and auditors to
    audit financial systems, respond to findings, and improve systems
    when necessary (mid-level)

-   ability to identify financial system improvements through the audits
    and strengthen the system by applying technological solutions
    (senior-level)

-   ability to apply business process re-engineering concepts to the
    financial operation to minimize financial system customization

##### Agency Specific/Business Expertise Competencies

IT personnel implementing financial systems should have the following
agency specific and business expertise skills to assist financial and
program staff in establishing or reengineering financial management
systems and applying appropriate processes to the financial systems they
support:

-   understanding of agency's mission, strategic plan, structure,
    function

-   understanding of agency's financial system operations business
    practices

-   knowledge of business process re-engineering and analysis

##### People Management Competencies

Mid- and senior-level IT personnel must understand the agency's business
process, communicate with staff, and lead their employees during a
financial system implementation. Mid-level IT personnel, senior IT
managers, and IT supervisors should have the following general
management and business expertise skills:

-   ability to communicate with financial staff, program staff, and
    other end users to determine their financial management needs

-   ability to apply team building skills to create teams for various
    functional disciplines

-   ability to establish and build relationships with financial software
    providers, financial system analysts, IT personnel, program
    managers, and financial managers (senior-level)

##### Acquisition and Contract Management Competencies

Mid-level and senior IT managers may be responsible for IT procurement
related activities. Therefore, these managers should have the following
skills in acquisition and contract management:

-   working knowledge of acquisition models and COTR requirements

-   thorough understanding of IT acquisition best practices and IT
    contract management models and methods (senior level)

-   ability to apply knowledge of alternative acquisition models such as
    performance-based contracting, contracting out, and franchising
    (senior level)

-   ability to act as COTR of IT contracts and be responsible for
    budgeting, performance monitoring, invoice verification and payment,
    funding allocation, and issue resolution (senior level)

-   understanding of the procurement process for purchasing technology
    (senior-level)

##### Agency, Budget, and Resource Management Competencies

Senior IT managers and supervisors implementing financial systems must
have a thorough understanding of the agency and be able to plan and
manage budget and resources throughout the system implementation. To
perform these tasks, senior IT personnel should have the following
knowledge/abilities in the area of agency, budget, and resource
management:

-   thorough understanding of strategic planning concepts

-   ability to identify priorities within the organization and relate
    them to budget and resource allocation

-   ability to develop and monitor development/implementation plans for
    financial software solutions

##### IT Solutions Competencies

The final competency required for senior IT personnel is knowledge of
the following areas in IT solutions:

-   understanding of current technologies

-   understanding of financial software technology concepts and
    cross-servicing, outsourcing, and franchising concepts and
    techniques

-   understanding of software and organization needs evaluation

-   knowledge of proposed IT solutions evaluation and impacts of these
    solutions on the organization

-   knowledge of financial system design, security, change management,
    backup and recover procedures, and updated documentation procedures

#### Financial Management Analysts and Financial Specialists

Financial management analysts and financial specialists play an
important role in financial management for government agencies.
Financial management analysts typically perform functions requiring
coordination, analysis, and program reviews[^27] ranging from executing
financial reviews and identifying trends to serving as technical
advisors on financial management policy issues depending on their skill
level and the needs of the federal agency. Financial specialists provide
technical assistance to financial operations[^28] by performing tasks
such as maintaining, analyzing, and reconciling accounting records or
preparing financial statements depending on their skill level and the
federal agency needs. Both financial management analysts and financial
specialists must have competencies in the following areas: Basic
Government Operations; Planning, Budgeting, and Accountability; and
General Management. Because financial management analysts and financial
specialists perform a wide variety of duties, these competencies and the
skills within each competency may not be relevant to every management
analyst or financial specialist.

The sections below provide more detail on the basic government
operations; planning, budgeting, and accountability; and general
management competencies. The level of knowledge in each of these
competencies depends on the employee's skill level. More information on
knowledge essential for entry-, mid-, and senior-level employees in each
of these competencies can be found in JFMIP Core Competencies in
Financial Management for Management Analysts and Financial
Specialists.[^29]

##### Basic Government Operations

Financial management analysts and financial specialists must understand
the following basic government operations to perform their daily work
activities:

-   basic missions, functions, and organizational structure of agency
    and operations

-   roles central agencies such as OMB, Treasury, GSA, and OPM play in
    government operations

-   public laws, executive orders, OMB circulars, bulletins, agency
    directives, Comptroller General decisions, and court opinions
    governing the agency's management processes

##### Planning, Budgeting, and Accountability

Financial management analysts and financial specialists will need to
understand the following aspects of planning, budgeting, and
accountability to perform their work duties:

-   strategic planning process

-   basic budgeting, accounting, and program concepts and principles

-   agency budget procedures and financial management system(s)

-   structure of appropriations and other funds that support the
    agency's mission

-   agency's budget operations and processes and how obligations and
    expenditures are incurred for assigned program areas

-   current program, budget, and accounting issues and state-of-the-art
    developments in resources management field

-   areas outside of the budget which have financial importance to the
    programs of the agency

-   congressional appropriations and Federal budget preparation
    processes as they apply to the agency

##### General Management/Business Expertise

Finally, financial management analysts and financial specialists, in
particular mid- and senior-level personnel, must have general management
competencies. Financial management analysts and financial specialists
must also have business specific knowledge and skills to provide
management with information to make decisions. Financial management
analysts and financial specialists should have the following general
management skills:

-   basic techniques of financial management, economic analysis,
    internal controls, auditing, and program evaluation

-   performance measures, cost accounting and analysis

-   generally accepted management principles and practices

-   organizational development concepts and organizational analysis
    techniques, performance effectiveness concepts, productivity
    measurement and measurements system

-   federal procurement, contract management and grants management

-   productivity improvement systems and business reengineering
    processes

#### Project Managers Implementing Financial Systems

Project managers implementing financial systems are responsible for
managing the financial system implementation from project initiation
through migration. Any successful financial system implementation in the
Federal Government is dependent on a project manager with the right mix
of skills to lead this effort. A project manager implementing financial
systems in the federal government must possess soft skills such as being
able to read individual managers and knowing the unwritten rules of how
to get things done within the organization. In addition to these skills,
it is crucial that a financial system implementation project manager
have financial management/business expertise, technical, project
management, and people management competencies.

The sections below provide more details on the financial
management/business expertise, technical, project management, and people
management competencies. More information regarding these competencies
can be found in JFMIP Core Competencies for Project Managers
Implementing Financial Systems in the Federal Government[^30] and the
OPM Interpretive Guidance for Project Manager Positions[^31].

##### Financial Management/Business Expertise

A thorough understanding of the following financial management concepts
is necessary for any project manager to ensure that the financial system
meets the government accounting standards and agency-specific business
needs:

-   knowledge of financial management/accounting principles and
    practices

-   knowledge of federal financial system requirements

-   knowledge of financial management control

-   experience in business process analysis and redesign of financial
    management processes

-   experience with or knowledge of the system being implemented[^32]

-   knowledge of government regulations, executive orders, and agency
    rules

##### Technical Competence

Project managers have an understanding of the following technical
concepts to effectively lead the implementation and minimize potential
risks:

-   software development lifecycle (SDLC) including time and skill level
    to perform various tasks in the SDLC

-   IT implementation management

-   configuration management processes and software baseline management

-   computer security

-   data management

-   systems integration

##### Project Management Competence

To ensure that a financial system is implemented on time and within
budget, that the system meets stakeholder expectations, and that the
system meets the agency's business requirements, a successful project
manager must understand the following tenets of effective project
management:

-   project integration management

-   scope management

-   time management

-   cost management

-   quality management

-   risk management

-   communications management (both internal and external)

-   procurement management

-   planning and critical path management[^33]

-   business process reengineering

-   capital planning and investment analysis

-   cost-benefit analysis

-   requirements analysis

-   financial management

-   planning and evaluating

##### People Management 

A project manager in a system implementation must be able to effectively
manage, lead, and communicate with various people throughout the
organization. The following skills are critical for project managers in
the people management competency:

-   customer service

-   change management

-   influencing/negotiating Skills

    A comprehensive list of people management skills can be found in the
    *General Core Competencies* section of this document.

## Current Workforce Assessment

After determining the organization's future workforce needs, the
organization must determine the competencies of its current workforce.
The organization should create a list of tasks that it performs as part
of its financial system operations, the type and number of personnel
performing these tasks, and the corresponding competencies required for
the position. Each competency should be rated on its importance to the
financial management task. It may also be useful to review existing
documentation that describes the work that is performed on the job. Such
materials include

-   position descriptions

-   classification standards

-   performance standards

-   occupational studies

In addition to reviewing workforce documentation, agencies may wish to
seek the input of a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in the financial
management area, survey other financial management personnel, and review
employee performance measures. The SME and other financial management
personnel can provide input on the actual work being performed in a
financial management area to compliment the existing documentation. The
performance measures can give the agency an indication of whether the
current workforce has the skills to meet the current organizational
needs and whether current position descriptions accurately depict the
current workforce's skills. The agency can then compile the survey
information, documentation, and performance measures and compare actual
work tasks and skills to the documented skills and competencies. This
exercise will enable the agency to have a big picture of the following:

-   types of financial management employees

-   number of financial management employees in each task area

-   average skills of financial management employees in each task area

-   competencies required in the current financial management
    environment

-   whether the current workforce meets the current financial management
    competencies

## Gap Analysis

After the organization completes its needs and self assessments, it will
be easier to identify and address gaps in the organization's human
capital. Agencies may identify the following gaps between organizational
financial management needs and the current workforce competencies. These
gaps, along with the strategies to address the gaps, should then be
documented in a human capital action plan.

-   Gaps between current number of financial management resources and
    the number of financial management resources required in the shared
    service provider model. The number of financial resources required
    will vary between the Migrating Agency and SSP. At the Migrating
    Agency, if both system and operational processes are migrated to an
    SSP, there may be a decreased need for financial systems analysts,
    IT personnel implementing financial systems, financial management
    analysts, financial specialists, and project managers implementing
    financial systems, and an increased need for accountants, budget
    analysts and financial managers. The SSP may have a greater need for
    accountants, budget analysts, financial systems analysts, IT
    personnel implementing financial systems, management analysts,
    financial specialists, and project managers implementing financial
    systems.

-   Gaps between the current financial management personnel competencies
    and the financial management competencies required in the shared
    service provider model. Even if the Migrating Agency and SSP
    determine that they have the appropriate resource levels for the
    shared service provider model, the resources may not have the skills
    required. At the Migrating Agency, there may be a decreased need for
    systems level competencies and an increased need for some of the
    more strategic and analytical competencies. For example, although
    the Migrating Agency may have less need for financial management
    analysts, the future skills of the financial management analyst
    personnel the agency will require may be different than what exists
    currently at the Migrating Agency. The SSP may see an increase in
    the need for systems and technical competencies. This SSP's need for
    systems and technical competencies will likely be greater than the
    migrating agencies decrease in need for these competencies.

-   Gaps between current skills/skill level within each competency and
    the competency skills/skill level required for financial management
    personnel in the shared service model. Both the Migrating Agency and
    the SSP may find that they have the appropriate resources with
    needed competencies, but that their skills within these competencies
    are deficient. For example, an agency may find that a project
    manager implementing financial systems has management competency,
    but is deficient in a technical competency skill such as
    configuration management. The skill level of the positions that
    remain at the Migrating Agency may be more senior. The personnel
    will most likely be performing more evaluative and issue resolution
    tasks, and not the day-to-day tasks associated with system
    transactions.

-   Gaps in agency specific knowledge. The SSP may have a knowledge gap
    in some of the Migrating Agency's specific transaction models and
    will require training or some type of modeling experience.

### Workforce Strategies to Close Human Capital Gaps

After identifying the gaps between the skills the organization needs to
succeed and the skills of the current workforce, agencies must develop a
plan to mitigate these gaps. Agencies that migrate their transaction
processing to an SSP may need to retrain their personnel to perform more
decision-based and analytical tasks as opposed to transaction-based
tasks. The SSPs may require more personnel with system and financial
knowledge especially specific knowledge of the Migrating Agency's
business processes. Agencies and SSPs will need to mitigate the
workforce competency gaps by developing a human capital plan includes

-   recruitment of quality personnel

-   retention of qualified personnel

-   workforce development to train personnel for shifting financial
    management roles

The sections below provide more details on the types of activities
agencies should perform in each of the areas of emphasis.

#### Recruitment of quality personnel

It is essential that agencies and SSPs recruit personnel knowledgeable
in the areas of performance management, financial systems operations and
control, and systems development as well as employees with analytical,
critical thinking, and oral and written communication skills. In the
short-term, organizations may rely heavily on recruiting qualified
personnel until existing personnel become proficient in the core
competencies associated with their roles. Federal agencies must often
compete with private sector businesses in recruiting workers with these
skills. To recruit quality personnel in the new financial management
environment, agencies can perform the following tasks:

-   simplify the hiring process

-   utilize recruitment and relocation bonuses and retention allowances

-   utilize expanded authority to repay student loans

-   develop a database of available project management resources

-   provide ongoing training assignments

-   work with OPM in establishing a special salary rate for critical
    staff positions

-   utilize marketing and branding to establish a positive agency image

-   pay referral bonuses to employees

-   promote public service

-   develop relationships with former or retired military personnel,
    private sector, colleges and universities, certification programs,
    and professional associations to tap into new talent pools

-   establish a two-track system using expected appointments with
    market-based pay, full benefits, bonus options, promotions, and pay
    increases based on competencies and performance

-   offer internship opportunities to attract students in undergraduate
    and graduate programs

-   the SSPs may want to partner with migrating agencies to absorb some
    of the financial management personnel with agency specific expertise
    that are no longer needed at the Migrating Agency

The recruiting suggestions listed above are just a subset of actions
agencies can perform to attract new talent. For additional information
on recruitment strategies for senior project managers, financial system
analysts, accountants, IT personnel, and others involved in financial
management system implementation, see the "Building the Work Force
Capacity to Successfully Implement Financial Systems document"[^34].

#### Retention of Qualified Personnel

Key to maintaining a workforce able to succeed in the current and future
financial management environment is not only recruiting and training
workers, but retaining them. The government can encourage project
managers and other financial management employees seeking new
opportunities to move from agency to agency instead of leaving the
Federal government. This approach would enable the financial management
employees' skills to be leveraged across government agencies while
enabling the employees to build and expand on current skills. To retain
qualified personnel in the federal government, agencies can perform the
following:

-   Utilize group retention allowances, awards, and recognition
    programs.

-   Create better work environments and create challenging work
    assignments.

-   Utilize financial incentives to encourage employees to build
    professional competencies.

-   Compensate employees for designated professional certifications.

More details on retention strategies can be found in the "Building the
Work Force Capacity to Successfully Implement Financial Systems"
document[^35].

#### Workforce Development

Perhaps the most important key to mitigating the gaps between
organizational competency needs and current workforce competencies is
workforce development. This strategy will serve as a long-term solution
to align the workforce with the agency's mission and strategy. In
addition, the workforce development plan will assist agencies in
minimizing the impact of any future workforce competency gaps. Not only
will this strategy improve skills for existing employees in meeting
operational objectives, but it will also assist in recruiting and
retaining key personnel. Workforce development will become increasingly
important in agencies migrating financial operations to SSPs. Personnel
in financial management positions that are less needed in the Migrating
Agency can be retrained and reassigned if they are provided with
adequate training. There are several workforce development strategies
for improving financial management personnel core competencies including
the following:

-   creating individual development plans for financial management
    personnel

-   training

-   emphasizing continuing education

-   performance management

These workforce development strategies are detailed in the sections
below.

##### Creating Individual Development Plans

Agencies can utilize individual development plans to mitigate identified
workforce competency gaps and improve the current workforce's overall
financial management skills. Financial management personnel and their
supervisors will work together to create an Individual Development Plan
which will identify the core competencies and knowledge required for the
employee's position. Agencies would then seek to develop employees in
the core competencies and skills by identifying a combination of
developmental activities such as training courses, on the job training,
readings, or other self development activities that would assist the
employee in developing the designated competencies and knowledge. The
core competencies in this document and the core competencies, learning
objectives, and developmental activities in the JFMIP Core Competencies
documents can provide agencies with a starting point for creating
Individual Development Plans for their financial management personnel. A
sample individual development plan can be found in Appendix E of the
JFMIP Core Competencies for Project Managers Implementing Financial
Systems in the Federal Government.[^36]

##### Training

Training is an important human capital investment that can be utilized
to minimize the impact of identified competency gaps. In addition to
minimizing competency gaps, the availability of training can serve as a
benefit when attracting and recruiting new staff. Training can consist
of on the job training and work experiences, mentoring, and classroom or
computer based training. Agencies may implement the following training
strategies to improve competencies in the financial management staff:

-   Encourage professional development by setting aside part of the
    organization's budget for training.

-   Develop agency-specific courses for financial management, systems
    implementation, budgeting, or any other identified areas of
    knowledge deficiency.

-   Enact an on the job training program that rotates personnel through
    various business functions to gain an operational view of the
    agency's mission.

-   Encourage senior managers or recently retired project managers
    mentor junior employees.

-   Provide employees with tools and resources such as knowledge
    management systems, process documentation and FAQs for continued
    learning opportunities.

-   Require continued professional education (CPE) hours

-   Establish a career development program

Many of the JFMIP Core Competencies documents provide courses and work
experiences that employees may utilize to develop each core
competency[^37]. Agencies can use the developmental activities in the
JFMIP documents along with the strategies above to develop a training
strategy for financial management personnel.

##### Emphasizing Training and Continuing Education

Agencies may provide scholarship opportunities to financial management
staff to pursue degree programs and professional certifications.
Agencies may also emphasize continuing education by encouraging
employees to obtain professional certifications in designated
disciplines. Agencies may encourage project managers to obtain Project
Management Institute (PMI) certification and Financial Managers to
obtain Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM) certification by
offering financial incentives or bonuses or providing reimbursement to
cover the cost of the training courses and exams.

Providing the opportunities to continue education and encouraging
financial management personnel to take advantage of these opportunities
will equip financial management employees with the skills needed to
succeed in the future financial management workforce. These
opportunities will also serve as a marketing tool for agencies during
recruiting.

##### Performance Management

While an essential component to an organization's future success is
qualified employees, the organization's success depends on employee
performance as much as it depends on employee qualification and
training. Performance management assists the organization in developing
workers with skills that align with the organization's strategic goals
and in determining employee areas of weakness that require training.
Organizations should perform the follow items as part of their
performance management plan:

-   Develop employee performance plans that align with organization
    strategic goals.

-   Assign quantifiable and measurable objectives for employee
    performance.

-   Measure employee actual performance against performance objectives
    and goals in the performance plan.

-   Recognize and reward high performers.

-   Identify areas of improvement and work with employees to develop
    necessary skills through the Individual Development Plan.

Performance management does not serve only as a workforce development
tool. By recognizing and rewarding high performers and working with
employees to improve their performance, performance management can serve
as a recruiting and retention tool as well.

# Stakeholder and Communications Management

This stakeholder and communications management section provides a
framework for organizations to conduct a Stakeholder Analysis and create
a migration Communications Plan.

## Introduction

### What is stakeholder and communications management?

Stakeholder and communications management involves identifying and
analyzing stakeholder characteristics and needs and employing continuous
and effective communication approaches to advance stakeholder
understanding and organizational commitment.

A stakeholder analysis is typically performed as a foundation for
overall communications planning to determine the specific stakeholders
or stakeholder groups, their level of influence on the implementation,
their current attitudes toward the change, and their transition and
communication needs.

### The Need for Communications

With any type of large-scale change initiative, stakeholders begin in
different stages of understanding and commitment. The goal of a
communications strategy is to provide all stakeholders, both internal
and external, with the appropriate messages and information that will
allow stakeholders at all levels to feel engaged, thus paving the way
for involvement and adoption.

![](media/image3.png){width="4.435416666666667in" height="2.9625in"}

Source: SRA Touchstone Consulting. Copyright 2005[^38]

Effective communications is designed to lead stakeholders through a
logical progression of comprehension to get them to action, instead of
assuming that the stakeholder immediately will have the context and
buy-in to get to action. The diagram below depicts the stages of
understanding that a communications plan must address to ensure
successful change.

![](media/image4.wmf){width="5.416666666666667in"
height="1.8888888888888888in"}

Source: SRA Touchstone Consulting. Copyright 2005[^39]

## What do Stakeholder Analysis and Communications Management Entail? 

Stakeholder analysis and communications management begin with a clearly
articulated strategic vision, and include identifying the stakeholder
population and strategy for addressing the needs of each stakeholder
group. This must be followed by a comprehensive communications plan
including timely execution, monitoring of results and adjustments to the
plan.

-   Identify and analyze stakeholder audience. Identify stakeholders or
    groups of stakeholders affected by the effort. Analyze their current
    relationship to the effort, their influence and their communication
    needs in order to support the change.

-   Lay out a communications plan. Develop a plan that is well-defined,
    supported by all involved, and tied to an overall FMLoB migration
    strategy.

-   Execute the plan. A communications plan is useless without timely
    execution. Execute the communications plan with a detailed schedule
    appropriate media vehicles. Communications must be ongoing, timely,
    and relevant in order to drive cultural change. Interviewees of the
    AGA Research Paper [Financial Management Shared Services: *A Guide
    for Federal Users*]{.underline}[^40]*,* indicated that "Agencies
    need to do 10 times more communications than they do;" and "Get the
    right information to the right people at the right time."

-   Monitor and measure results. Monitor and measure results by
    conducting formal surveys and informal observations to evaluate
    stakeholder behavior throughout all stages of the project lifecycle,
    and preferably after each major communications effort. The effort of
    monitoring and measuring results may seem time-intensive, but
    sampling key stakeholders' reactions to communications is vital. It
    is rare that people hear exactly what is intended in a message the
    first time. As indicated in the diagram above, understanding is
    built over time and repetition.

## Stakeholder Analysis Overview

The purpose of the Stakeholder Analysis is to identify all stakeholders,
both internal and external, to the migration effort and to understand
their relationship to, their level of influence over, and their
communication needs in relation to, the migration effort. The
stakeholder analysis is typically included in the communications plan
and can be used to develop the objectives of the communications plan.
This analysis consists of three tasks:

-   Define the stakeholders. Identify stakeholders and determining how
    they will be grouped into audiences for the purposes of
    communications

-   Conducting a stakeholder audience quick assessment. Assess the
    audience's current opinions and views on the migration

-   Conducting a target needs and risk evaluation. Identify the
    appropriate communications needs for the various audiences, the
    risks associated with not meeting the audiences' needs, and general
    vehicles for delivering communications that will meet the needs.

#### Defining the Stakeholders 

The migration team should identify the stakeholders of the agency's
FMLoB migration. Stakeholders are those with an interest in project
information. They may be person(s) and/or organizations, such as
customers, sponsors, performing organization, vendors, Congress, and the
public, that are actively involved in the project or whose interests may
be positively or negatively affected by execution or completion of the
project. While not all stakeholder audiences are a part of the
decision-making process, some may provide input into or have influence
over decision-making, and all are involved in the receiving of
information and providing feedback on decisions made.

The diagram below shows the types of stakeholders that can be found
during any change effort.

![](media/image5.jpeg){width="6.652777777777778in"
height="3.370833333333333in"}

The stakeholder audiences being targeted in the FMLoB Migration
Communication Plan may include:

-   agency top leadership, such as the Secretary or Administrator, and
    Deputy Secretary or Deputy Administrator

-   program office leadership

-   partner office leadership, such as the Office of the CIO, Office of
    Budget (if not within the Office of the CFO)

-   agency employees

-   Office of the CFO

-   Office of the CIO

-   Office of Budget

-   program offices

-   partner agencies and other lines of business

-   other partners or contractors, such as commercial,
    quasi-governmental, or non-for-profit entities

-   OMB

-   Congress

-   GAO

-   citizens

The migration team must define the organizational level in which it
needs to identify audiences. For example, if the Office of the CFO has
an Office of Policy and an Office of Financial Operations -- the
migration team must define whether these are the same stakeholder
audience or two distinct audiences. Another example would be whether the
migration team should distinguish between the Departmental
Secretary/Agency Administrator and the Departmental Deputy
Secretary/Agency Administrator.

#### Conducting a Stakeholder Audience Quick Assessment 

Once the migration team has defined its audience, it should conduct an
analysis of each audience group. This analysis should include mapping
the current and targeted level of buy-in for each audience group during
the migration to an SSP. For simplicity, this type of analysis
categorizes each stakeholder audience into one of three groups; blocker,
neutral, or champion.

1)  Blockers - The characteristics of the blocker group are reluctance
    to change, lack of confidence in the migration project, and/or lack
    of support for the project. Typical reasons an audience may be a
    blocker include:

-   FMLoB deadlines are not being met and/or are being pushed back and
    these audiences are not receiving information.

-   Audience does not understanding the benefits of the migration.

-   Audience is not receiving its typical FM system outputs and does not
    know when it will receive these outputs or why it are not receiving
    the outputs.

-   Audience is not seeing results.

2)  Neutral - The main characteristic of the neutral group is belief in
    the agency's FMLoB migration project but doubt about the
    sustainability of the project. Typical reasons an audience may be
    neutral include:

-   Project is moving but workload is increasing proportionately,
    therefore, ground is being made up slowly.

-   Project has a lot of problems and there are not a lot of immediate
    answers.

3)  Champions - The main characteristic of the champion group is a high
    level of belief in the purpose and success of the agency's FMLoB
    migration project. Typical reasons an audience may be a champion
    include:

-   Audience is highly invested in FMLoB.

-   Audience has access to all or most communications regarding the
    migration effort.

-   Audience receives information on project status on a regular basis.

Proper identification of stakeholder buy-in gives an organization an
understanding of people's attitudes and confidence level in the
migration effort and operations. Achieving the desired level of buy-in
will align audiences, which will assist with the successful migration
effort.

A sample Stakeholder Audience Quick Assessment is depicted in Section
3.2 Communications Plan Template.

#### Conducting a Stakeholder Audience Needs Analysis and Risk Evaluation 

After a Stakeholder Audience Quick Assessment has been completed, the
next step is to conduct an analysis of stakeholder audience needs and
risk. By understanding the array of feelings towards the migration
effort, especially those of a personal nature, the migration team will
be better able to define the appropriate communications for each
audience.

Without a needs analysis and risk evaluation, the migration team risks
communicating inappropriately, resulting in stakeholder conflicts and
uncertainty. Stakeholder Audience Analysis is especially imperative for
those audiences who have been identified as "blockers" in the
Stakeholder Audience Assessment. Without understanding their
motivations, needs, and expectations, it is impossible to move a
"blocker" out of that category and they will continue to be
confrontational and cause conflict throughout the migration process.

The Stakeholder Audience Needs and Risk Assessment table in Section 3.2,
which is arranged by audience, serves as a guide to ensure that the
needs and expectations of each audience member are met. The following
columns are included in the chart outlined in Section 3.2:

-   Priorities -- What are the priorities of this audience member? What
    is the priority of the migration in relation to their other
    priorities? What things are pressing for them at this time? What
    personal timelines and commitments have they made?

-   Impact/Recourse -- How will this migration impact this audience
    member? What type of recourse will they see on their daily activity?
    If applicable, how will those that they supervise respond?

-   Desired Outcome -- What does this audience member want to get out of
    the migration? What are their expectations?

-   Concerns -- What are this audience's top concerns regarding the
    migration? Are these concerns valid? How can the Communication's
    Plan help to alleviate some of those concerns?

-   Risks -- If this audience member is not a champion of the migration
    effort, what are the risks to the migration associated with this
    audience?

-   Influenced By -- By whom is this stakeholder influenced ?

-   Message -- What is the general message the migration team should be
    sending to this audience? Will this audience respond better to
    messages of benefit or messages that highlight the mandatory nature
    of this effort?

-   Entry Point and Vehicle -- What is the entry point to begin
    communication with this audience or audience member? Do they have an
    assistant that must be copied on communications? If information
    needs to reach this person, who else needs to be contacted (i.e. a
    chief of staff)? What vehicles work best -- email, a phone call, or
    a meeting?

The remainder of this Stakeholder Analysis and Communications Management
section is devoted to developing a Communications Plan.

## Communications Plan Overview

The purpose of the communications plan is to provide a roadmap for the
migration team and senior management to keep employees and stakeholders
informed about the benefits of migration to an SSP, and the anticipated
and actual changes that will occur to the current financial management
system and business processes.

Used in conjunction with other documents provided in the FMLoB Migration
Plan, a communications plan will ensure the successful agency-wide
transition to the FMLoB system and enable CFOs to effectively
communicate their chosen SSP's benefits inside their agency.

### Organization of the Communications Plan

The attached Communication Plan Template includes the following
sections:

-   communication objectives - the phases and principles of a
    communications plan

-   stakeholder audience - incorporates the information collected during
    the Stakeholder Analysis

-   communication process - includes the phases of deployment and an
    examples from potential vehicles chart

## Description of the Communications Plan Template

The following subsection offers explanations for each section of the
attached communications plan template. The template itself includes
sample text.

### Purpose of the document

This section of the communications plan should outline the importance of
the plan, and what is being provided in the plan. This communications
plan acts as a *how-to-guide* to define the message, method of delivery,
audience, and frequency of the migration communications strategy. Sample
text is included in the Communications Plan Template.

### Project background

The project background section of the communications plan should explain
how the project came into existence, its importance, and the authorities
who established the project. It is also helpful to include dates to
establish a timeline for completion and any relevant legislation that
has authorized the project. Sample text is included in the
Communications Plan Template.

### Communications Roles and Responsibilities 

Critical to the success of the communications plan is establishing how
the communications life cycle will be governed. The communications plan
should establish the individuals within the migration team responsible
for communications. A communications project team should include, at a
minimum, the following individuals:

-   *Communications lead*: Oversees the entire communications process.
    This person should sit on the larger migration project team, but
    should be entirely dedicated to the communications efforts.

-   *Point-of-Contact*: Handles all the solicitation, receipt of, and
    response to all feedback. This individual should be the contact name
    provided for all communications. When numerous contact names are
    given, people are often confused and communications become
    inconsistent.

-   *Spokesperson*: The official disseminator of all major
    communications. It is preferable if this role is filled by a known
    leader in the agency, such as the CFO or CIO to establish
    credibility.

Sample text and a responsibilities chart are included in the
Communications Plan Template.

### Communications Approach

The purpose of the communications approach section is to lay the ground
work for the subsequent communications decisions regarding frequency,
style, approach, and more. Sample text for each section is included in
the Communications Plan Template.

#### Objectives

The migration team should identify objectives that outline the
overarching goals of the overall communications strategy. Sample text is
included in the Communications Plan Template.

#### Principles

The migration team should identify the principles by which all
communications will abide. The Principles section outlines the
guideposts for how all communications should be conducted to ensure
consistency. Sample text is included in the Communications Plan
Template.

#### Key Messages

The purpose of this section is to identify the key messages that the
migration team would like to share with its stakeholders.

### Stakeholder Audience

The purpose of this section is to identify the different stakeholder
audiences with whom the migration team must communicate and engage, and
to analyze each audience's attitudes towards the migration efforts. This
will ensure that effective communication tools can be applied to each
audience based on their current knowledge and attitude towards the
migration. The information in this section should be obtained from the
Stakeholder Analysis section above.

### Communications Process

The purpose of this section is to create the final step in the
communications planning process, the Potential Vehicles by Stakeholder
Audience chart that will be used to execute the communications plan.
This process outlines the phases of communications planning in
conjunction with the migration planning phases to create a comprehensive
Migration Plan. It is in this phase that an agency will decide what
specific communications tools and vehicles will be used to reach each
audience defined in the previous phase.

These phases should be linked to the migration planning phases for
concurrent and successful execution.

For communications to be effective, it must satisfy the specific needs
of each stakeholder group throughout the entire life cycle of the
migration project, from the initial concept (prior to any solicitation
or competitive process) through the go-live date.

An individual's or group's needs vary over time, and so must the
communications. A successful communications plan helps Agency leadership
and the migration team craft a powerful and convincing message by
determining the appropriate messenger, matching the messenger with the
right audience, and determining the message form and timing.

The following table outlines how perceptions may change throughout the
course of a migration effort, and how the communication objectives may
adjust with each phase.

+----+-------------------+-------------------+-----------------------+
|    | **1.Pre-migration | **2.Solicitation  | **3. During Migration |
|    | Planning &        | & Migration       | and Post Go-Live**    |
|    | Preparation**     | Planning, and     |                       |
|    |                   | During            |                       |
|    |                   | Migration**       |                       |
+====+===================+===================+=======================+
| *  | -   Unclear about | -   Realization   | -   Impatient about   |
| *A |     the           |     of FMLoB's    |     outcome           |
| nt |     implications  |     shared        |                       |
| ic |     of FMLoB      |     service       | -   Apprehensive      |
| ip |                   |     provider      |     because things    |
| at | -   Unrealistic   |     limitations   |     are not perfect   |
| ed |     benefit       |                   |     for the first     |
| Au |     expectations  | -   Staff concern |     time              |
| di |                   |     over personal |                       |
| en | -   Confused as   |     impact        | -   Learning new      |
| ce |     to role in    |                   |     skills            |
| A  |     effort and    | -   Uncertain of  |                       |
| re |     level of      |     new skill     | -   Recognition of    |
| as |     change        |     requirements  |     personal benefits |
| of |                   |                   |                       |
| C  |                   | -   Rising        | -   Business benefits |
| on |                   |     negativity    |     understood        |
| ce |                   |     due to        |                       |
| rn |                   |     "failures"    | -   Fear of business  |
| or |                   |     and amount of |     impact            |
| In |                   |     work ahead    |                       |
| te |                   |                   | -   Relief as "it     |
| re |                   | -   Need for      |     works" is         |
| st |                   |     details about |     perceived         |
| ** |                   |                   |     following initial |
|    |                   |    implementation |     FMLoB rollout     |
|    |                   |     and what it   |                       |
|    |                   |     means for     |                       |
|    |                   |     their area    |                       |
+----+-------------------+-------------------+-----------------------+
| *  | -   Share project | -   Share FMLoB   | -   Share migration   |
| *C |     progress      |     project       |     progress          |
| om |                   |     progress      |                       |
| mu | -   Set           |                   | -   Set realistic     |
| ni |     expectations  | -   Set the       |     expectations for  |
| ca |     for what is   |     expectation   |     change            |
| ti |     to come       |     for work      |                       |
| on |                   |     ahead         | -   Seek and act on   |
| G  | -   Seek and act  |                   |     feedback from     |
| oa |     on feedback   | -   Seek and act  |     stakeholder       |
| ls |     from          |     on feedback   |     audiences         |
| ** |     stakeholder   |     from          |                       |
|    |     audiences     |     stakeholder   | -   Focus on          |
|    |                   |     audiences     |     successes         |
|    | -   Develop       |                   |                       |
|    |                   | -   Motivate      | -   Continue to       |
|    |    communications |     towards the   |     communicate       |
|    |     vehicles      |     end goal      |     implementation    |
|    |                   |                   |     timeline          |
|    | -   Communicate   | -   Celebrate the |                       |
|    |     vision for    |     current       | -   Assess the        |
|    |     the future    |     successes     |     preparedness of   |
|    |                   |                   |     the               |
|    | -   Define the    | -   Provide more  |     implementation    |
|    |     parameters of |     detail on     |     sites             |
|    |     change and    |     what change   |                       |
|    |     project scope |     will mean to  | -   Provide training  |
|    |                   |     the different |     on the tools and  |
|    | -   Articulate    |     stakeholder   |     methodologies     |
|    |     FMLoB         |     audiences     |     that will be used |
|    |     timeline      |                   |     throughout the    |
|    |                   | -   Provide       |     project           |
|    | -   State the     |     updates on    |                       |
|    |     compelling    |     barriers and  | -   Share lessons     |
|    |     reasons for   |     enablers      |     learned           |
|    |     change        |                   |                       |
|    |                   |                   |                       |
|    | -   Enlist        |                   |                       |
|    |     support of    |                   |                       |
|    |     project team  |                   |                       |
+----+-------------------+-------------------+-----------------------+

#### Vehicles/Tools by Audience 

The Potential Vehicles by Audience table identifies various types of
communication vehicles that can be used throughout the communication
process. The migration team should also review current communications
vehicles in place within their own agency and add those to the chart for
a more comprehensive and agency-specific communications plan. The actual
method of communication used will vary depending on the type of
information being communicated and the targeted stakeholder audience.
Once a chart similar to the Potential Vehicles by Audience chart has
been completed, the migration team should be ready to begin executing
the plan.

When looking at communication vehicles, it is imperative that the type,
frequency and content of information communicated is never static, and
as new communication opportunities develop, the migration team should
take advantage of them.

The following outlines possible communications vehicles that can be used
to meet the migration team's communications objectives:

-   posters

-   meetings

-   staff meetings

-   presentations and briefings

-   teleconferences

-   videoconference

-   external agency newsletters

-   e-mail

-   memos

-   surveys

-   conversation and word of mouth

-   internal team website used for collaboration and that stores
    documents including:

-   white papers

-   project plans

-   internal newsletter(s)

-   fact sheet

-   questions and answers

-   public website used for information sharing and marketing,
    including:

-   white papers and reports

-   fact sheet

-   questions and answers

-   marketing material

-   questions and answers

-   marketing materials

[^1]: In each migration effort there is an element of customization of
    process design. In this case, it is recommended that standard
    financial management processes be adopted whenever possible and that
    software customizations and modifications be limited and/or
    eliminated. Therefore, it is critical to enlist the support of
    prospective end users in determining how best to adapt agency
    processes to accommodate these new standards.

[^2]: It is a best practice in the commercial sector for the SSP to own
    the system hardware and software. However, software ownership will
    depend on the governance and requirements of the migrating agency.
    Migrating agencies and SSPs will need to work out the specifics of
    ownership and the potential for a transfer of ownership over time as
    this will impact costing and responsibilities as part of the
    solicitation process.

[^3]: Security will be the responsibility of both the SSP and the
    Migrating Agency. Security at the SSP site will be the
    responsibility of the SSP. Securing workstations that access the FM
    software at the SSP site will be the responsibility of the Migrating
    Agency, typically the CIO of the Migrating Agency.

[^4]: While the migration of business/transaction processing activities
    to a services provider is not a current FMLoB mandate, this is a
    common practice in the commercial sector and many agencies have
    already expressed an interest in pursuing this. In order to be
    comprehensive and anticipate this need, this Human Capital
    subsection assumes the migration of IT hosting, application
    management, and business/transaction process activities to an SSP.

[^5]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies in Financial Management for Program Managers in the
    Federal Government]{.underline}.
    (<http://www.fsio.gov/fsio/fsio_corecomp.shtml>). Please note that
    JFMIP was renamed to the Financial Systems Integration Office
    (FSIO).

[^6]: Linda Combs, Comptroller. Executive Office of the President Office
    of Management and [Budget Memorandum for Chief Financial Officers:
    Update on the Financial Management Line of Business and the
    Financial Systems Integration Office]{.underline}, December 16,
    2005.

[^7]: The graphic depicts that, currently, CFO organizations have a high
    number of highly transaction-based roles (40% transaction
    processing, 20% reporting, 30% control, and 10 % decision making.
    Business partnering through migration offers the opportunity for CFO
    organizations to transform. Through role transformation, process
    re-design, value added services, and integrated systems, a CFO
    organization could transition the majority of its roles to be more
    decision-based (20% transaction processing, 10% reporting, 10%
    control, and 60 % decision making).

[^8]: [The CFO of the Future: The Changing Role of the Financial
    Manager]{.underline}. Presentation to the 7th Annual Government CFO
    Council Retreat. PriceWaterHouseCoopers, 2000.

[^9]: [CFO Survey: Current state and future direction]{.underline}. An
    IBM Institute for Business Value executive brief. IBM Global
    Services, 2003.

[^10]: [Human Capital Framework: Human Capital Standards]{.underline}.
    Office of Personnel Management.
    \<<http://apps.opm.gov/HumanCapital/standards/index.cfm>\>

[^11]: ^Based\ on\ JFMIP\ Core\ Competencies\ document\ series.\<\<\ http://www.fsio.gov/fsio/fsio_corecomp.shtml\>\>^

[^12]: [Executive Core Qualifications]{.underline}. Office of Personnel
    Management \<<http://www.opm.gov/ses/competencies.asp>\>

[^13]: JFMIP Core Competencies document
    series.[\<http://www.fsio.gov/fsio/fsio_corecomp.shtml\>](../%3Chttp://www.fsio.gov/fsio/fsio_corecomp.shtml%3E)

[^14]: Karen S. Evans, Administrator. Office of Management and Budget
    Memorandum for Chief Information Officers Deputy Chief Information
    Officers: [Information Technology (IT) Project Manager (PM)
    Qualification Guidance]{.underline}, July 21, 2004.

[^15]: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. [Job Family position
    classification standard for processional and administrative work in
    the accounting and budget group, GS-0500]{.underline}, December
    2000.

[^16]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies: Accountants in the Federal Government]{.underline}.
    JFMIP-ET-99-8.

[^17]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies in Financial Management for Program Managers in the
    Federal Government]{.underline}.\<\<
    http://www.fsio.gov/fsio/fsio_corecomp.shtml\>\>

[^18]: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. [Job Family position
    classification standard for processional and administrative work in
    the accounting and budget group, GS-0500]{.underline}, December
    2000.

[^19]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies: Budget Analysts in the Federal
    Government]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-99-14.

[^20]: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. [Job Family position
    classification standard for processional and administrative work in
    the accounting and budget group, GS-0500]{.underline}, December
    2000.

[^21]: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. [Position Classification
    Standard for Financial Management Series, GS-]{.underline}0505,
    TS-81 August 1969, TS-46 June 1963.

[^22]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies: Financial Managers in the Federal
    Government]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-99-11.

[^23]: U.S. Office of Personnel Management. [Position Classification
    Standard for Financial Management Series, GS-]{.underline}0505,
    TS-81 August 1969, TS-46 June 1963.

[^24]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies for Financial Systems Analysts in the Federal
    Government]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-98-1.

[^25]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies for Financial Systems Analysts in the Federal
    Government]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-98-1.

[^26]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies in Financial Management for Information Technology
    Personnel Implementing Financial Systems in the Federal
    Government]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-98-2.

[^27]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies in Financial Management for Management Analysts and
    Financial Specialists]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-98-3.

[^28]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies in Financial Management for Management Analysts and
    Financial Specialists]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-98-3.

[^29]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies in Financial Management for Management Analysts and
    Financial Specialists]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-98-3.

[^30]: A Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies: Project Managers Implementing Financial Systems in the
    Federal Government]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-01-01.

[^31]: Karen S. Evans, Administrator. Executive Office of the President
    Office of Management and Budget [Memorandum for Chief Information
    Officers Deputy Chief Information Officers: Information Technology
    (IT) Project Manager (PM) Qualification Guidance]{.underline}, July
    21, 2004.

[^32]: Building the Work Force Capacity to Successfully Implement
    Systems. Chief Financial Officers Council and Joint Financial
    Management Improvement Program. 2002

[^33]: Building the Work Force Capacity to Successfully Implement
    Systems. Chief Financial Officers Council and Joint Financial
    Management Improvement Program. 2002

[^34]: Chief Financial Officers Council and Joint Financial Management
    Improvement Program. [Building the Work Force Capacity to
    Successfully Implement Financial Systems]{.underline}, 2002.

[^35]: Chief Financial Officers Council and Joint Financial Management
    Improvement Program. [Building the Work Force Capacity to
    Successfully Implement Financial Systems]{.underline}, 2002.

[^36]: Joint Project of the Chief Financial Officers Council and the
    Joint Financial Management Improvement Program. [JFMIP Core
    Competencies: Project Managers Implementing Financial Systems in the
    Federal Government]{.underline}. JFMIP-ET-01-01.

[^37]: See JFMIP Core Competencies document series*. \<
    http://www.fsio.gov/fsio/fsio_corecomp.shtml*\>

[^38]: The graphic depicts a two by two matrix. The X-axis shows
    "Awareness" from Low to High with the first half as "Is Not Aware"
    and the second half as "Is Aware". The Y-axis shows "Commitment"
    from Low to High with the bottom half as "Does Not Commit" and the
    top half as "Commits". The bottom left quadrant represents
    "Disengaged, Skeptical, Distrustful" needing to move to the upper
    right quadrant. The bottom right quadrant represents "Keen Awareness
    with little Commitment" needing to move to the upper right quadrant.
    The upper left quadrant represents "Excited and Uninformed" needing
    to move to the upper right quadrant. The upper right quadrant
    represents "The Ideal, High Awareness and High Commitment"

[^39]: The graphic depicts the following: A successful communications
    plan builds buy-in by providing sufficient context to stakeholders
    and leading them through awareness (define as "I see it"),
    understanding (defined as "I get it"), engagement (defined as "I
    support it"), and action (defined as "I'll do it").  A
    communications plan that attempts to move stakeholders from
    awareness to action without sufficient context leaves stakeholders
    feeling as if change is abrupt and not properly communicated.

[^40]: [Financial Management Shared Services: *A Guide for Federal
    Users*]{.underline}. Association for Government Accountants. AGA
    CPAG Research Series. July 2005.