Best Practices: Success with a Caveat -- A Case Study of the Treasury Department's HR Connect System

This publication has been discontinued on September 9, 2011.

Introduction

Abstract

This Government Insights report takes a look at both the successes and the shortcomings of the Treasury Department' s HR Connect system, providing a detailed look at how consolidation of human resource systems can save money but spawn other challenges. Federal agencies have made significant progress toward measuring the potential for return on investment (ROI) for their major IT projects. But simply establishing a positive ROI may no longer be enough.

"HR Connect was a success on many levels because it cut costs and provided a positive ROI," said Shawn P. McCarthy, research director for Infrastructure Optimization at Government Insights. "But it was also criticized for not saving enough money and not documenting all decisions. There is a lot that other agencies can learn from an analysis of this program because it shows both what to do and what to avoid."

Table of Contents

• Government Insights Opinion
• In This Report
• Federal Guidance: LOBs First, Then Consolidation
• Situation Overview
• The Downside
• The Best Practices
• The Approach
• Step One — Are You a Client or a Service Provider?
• Business Drivers
• Management Structure
• Solution Description
• How the Program Is Structured
• The Systems Development Division
• Production Support Group
• Business Operations Enabled by HR Connect
• Available Services on HR Connect
• Selection
• Implementation
• Measuring Business Value — Some Practices
• Return on Investment — Concept Versus Reality
• Factors for Internal Customers
• ROI Calculations — A Primer
• Calculating ROI
• Factors Affecting ROI After Initial Calculations
• Lessons Learned
• Future Outlook
• Essential Guidance
• Actions to Consider
• Learn More
• Related Research
• Synopsis
• Figure: Basic ROI Calculation

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