But they must also be very, very realistic about the willingness and ability of staff, as well as the resources and technical infrastructure that are needed to change the status quo. Projects that depend on sharing information across state and local governments, for example, have to take into account the fact that local governments vary tremendously in size, technical sophistication, political philosophy, and operating practices. Even in a single organization, you must prepare for significant changes in the way work is done. CTG s guide to building effective state-local information systems, Tying a Sensible Knot, offers both advice and examples of how agencies are designing systems that take these existing factors into account. Another guide, Developing and Delivering Government Services on the World Wide Web , outlines the operational and cultural differences between Web-based services and traditional ones, and suggests ways to manage the transition from one to the other.
Technology is the one component of information-based strategies that is likely to change soon.
It isn t always easy to make the technology choice that meets your needs today but won t limit the choices you can make tomorrow. Open systems, we ve come to find, are in the eye of the vendor. To protect your future options, look for technologies that have a track record of successful integration into existing infrastructures and that don t lock you into unexpected dependencies. You must also anticipate the future in terms of upcoming legislative cycles or budget processes whose decisions will provide the authority or resources to proceed. The stakeholder and organizational analyses should give you insight into related initiatives that may affect or be affected by yours.