Parker could not comment on what form the new IT hierarchy would take, because it has not been finalized. But management expert David Osborne, president of The Public Strategies Group Inc. of St. Paul, Minn., conducted a review of HUD's reinvention efforts earlier this year and said it represents one of the most ambitious, fundamental and exciting reinvention plans in the recent history of the federal government. Parker said HUD's year 2000 work is closer to completion than she once thought. OMB recently praised HUD's year 2000 management team and said the department has made good progress on date exchange issues, embedded technologies and telecommunications issues. HUD has completed assessment of its 35 mission-critical systems.
Some systems are in more than one category.
OMB criticized the department, however, for failing to validate its work. HUD halted routine maintenance on five of its largest systems so IT workers can devote their efforts to year 2000 fixes. HUD officials said the maintenance work will resume after March 1999, the OMB deadline for year 2000 repairs. HUD is also using its Web site to collect housing discrimination complaints, Cuomo said. We are taking our battle against housing discrimination into cyberspace.