OCIO publishes 3rd Quarterly Best Practices Summary for 2021

The state Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) has published its third Quarterly Best Practices Summary of IT projects for 2021.

The report summarizes key activities and accomplishments of the OCIO project management partners and shares selected best practices with state agencies. This quarter’s report highlights best practices executive sponsorship, vendor relationship management, use of schedule and budget contingency reserves and leveraging peer networking and a community of practice.

This report also includes a list of selected new lessons learned added to the online IT Project Lessons Learned Repository, July through September 2021. This repository is a tool for project managers to learn from the experiences of others to reduce project risk and reinforce positive outcomes. It is searchable by project type, project phase and lessons learned category, and is updated quarterly.

In addition to the quarterly report, the OCIO and the project management partners sponsor a Project Management Community of Practice (PM CoP) for all state agency project managers. The purpose of the community is to foster the exchange of best practices and lessons learned, share helpful resources, tools, and templates, and establish a peer network of support to transform IT project delivery in Washington state. Webinar presentations and other helpful project management resources are published on the OCIO website, located under Project Resources.

The PM CoP continues to gain momentum, increasing in state staff membership to approximately 170 members, representing 39 agencies and establishing an agency-represented advisory board. State employees wishing to join the PM CoP can email the OCIO project management partners.  

For more information, please contact Nicole Simpkinson, Assistant Director, OCIO, at 360-407-8735 or email Nicole.Simpkinson@ocio.wa.gov.