The total forecasted spend in state and local government for 2018 is $3.25 trillion.¹ Since this massive sum largely comprises taxpayer dollars, state and local governments need to be prudent about delivering services and managing projects on time, on budget and to citizen expectations. But with information and tools distributed across multiple platforms, organizations often lack the unified view needed to perform work efficiently, make well-informed decisions, and meet service and project goals. The challenge is magnified when multiple services and projects are underway concurrently.
All of this can result in budget and time overruns. To overcome this, organizations are looking at how service requests are made and routed to improve response times and outcomes.
- An increased focus on project planning and management can drive better delivery and resource utilization. An integrated work management platform combines service management and project portfolio management into a centralized hub to help governments gain visibility; automate workflows; enhance efficiency; and ultimately provide better experiences to the public, businesses, and employees.
- Agencies are under pressure to stretch tight budgets and spend tax dollars responsibly. Given that personnel costs account for more than 40 percent of annual spending for state and local governments,² organizations need to maximize employee time by streamlining workflows, reducing manual processes and ensuring each worker is in the right role.
- Organizations need to ensure they successfully complete new projects and services. In one study, 52 percent of large government IT projects went over budget, were behind schedule or didn’t meet expectations; 41.4 percent were abandoned or had to be restarted.³
For these reasons, IT leaders are starting to move IT Service Management and Project Management together so that the full scope of work can be managed, workflows can be streamlined and end-users can benefit from having a centralized view of work assignments.
¹ Based on data from the Center for Digital Government and NASBO’s Fiscal Year 2018 Proposed and Enacted Budget
² https://www.cbpp.org/research/some-basic-facts-on-state-and-local-government-workers