Managing Computers in Large Organizations

Managing Microcomputers in Large Organizations
http://www.nap.edu/catalog/167.html
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MANAGED INNOVATION CONTROLLING END-USER COMPUTING IN THE
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
of changes and technical support to new users. More and better education tools
were required at all levels. The most obvious needs in the education area were
for better training plans, reference tools such as buyer's guides, and a
clearinghouse for information on what other people were doing.
From a broad perspective, what was needed during this transitional
learning period was an environment for growth at a pace in keeping with each
organization's ability to effectively apply a new technology. The assessment
group evolved several broad goals to underlie its management
recommendations for this transition period:
• Create a friendly but well-managed environment.
• Don't scare people with too many control systems.
• Encourage the use of technology to improve productivity.
Improved productivity must be the end result because, without the private
sector's bottom line, productivity is the only way to judge whether efforts are
truly cost-effective. Beware of the run-away train syndrome, which could result
one day in a pile of unproductive equipment and a situation that is out of control.
The group called its approach the “managed innovation program.” Its
objective was to meet the needs of a one-or two-year transition period. During
this time microcomputer users could develop an understanding of what is going
on in the marketplace, and the market itself might stabilize somewhat. There are
two parts to the managed innovation program: a set of 13 governmentwide
initiatives for which GSA is responsible and 12 individual agency initiatives.
These initiatives are summarized in Table 2.
Governmentwide initiatives fall into four categories of purpose: policy,
agency assistance, education, and in-house learning. These served as common
denominators for the recommendations and suggestions made by the assessment
group.
The group had to evolve policy not for the long term, but for the transition
period. Thus, it recognized the need for a fact-finding facility to stay current
with the activities of different departments and agencies, many of which were
quite advanced. Local data-network policy was another area that needed
consideration. An interagency group is now working to develop a deeper
understanding in this area that may evolve into policy guidelines. A final policy
area involved revision of the regulations and the
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