CASE STUDY: US FEDERAL RESERVE

In 2012, the US Federal Reserve System was at an inflection point. Its stakeholders varied widely, from school teachers to micro- and macroeconomists and world governments. Mission-critical needs were becoming increasingly challenging to meet in the emerging complexity of digital spaces. As each Federal Reserve district worked independently to innovate their digital experience technology, the resulting fragmentation was rapidly increasing System costs and cybersecurity risks. A transformational paradigm was needed to operate effectively in the public trust. Several challenges were apparent.

• Stakeholder experience and technology requirements varied across districts, each with its own business needs and architecture

• Any national transformation required a consensus proposal endorsed by business and technology executives across 12 autonomous Federal Reserve districts, national stakeholder groups, National IT executive leadership, and System governance committees, including the Federal Reserve Board of Governors

• A strategic function and methodology would be required to lead visioning, establish a shared planning methodology, and lead development of a new solution architecture, governance model, transformation roadmap, and stakeholder engagement strategies, including key technology vendors and partners

As Principal National Strategist, I used best practices in futurism and applied neuroscience to expedite a strategic transformation program that achieved the following outcomes over a five-year period:

​

• Jan 2013: Formed a strategic assessment model to examine the potential scope of transformation using environmental scans, trend analysis, risk and capabilities forecasting, and consultation with field researchers on critical capabilities

• Feb 2013: Emerging risk forecasts were validated by a widely publicized hacking event, which was used to bolster stakeholder advocacy and promote calls for System-level governance

• May 2013: After six months of stakeholder facilitation, coaching and advisory, a cross-functional vision, strategic plan, maturity model, and roadmap were approved with unprecedented first-round consensus from System governance groups and district leadership

• Sept 2013: A procurement model was approved with prioritization criteria and measures ensuring alignment with strategic goals

• May 2014: Within one year, a transformational solution stack, investment strategy and 3-year transformation timeline were approved by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors

• Dec 2014: Ahead of transformation, advisory roles were secured with key software partners via Advisory Board Membership to guide the emerging technology roadmaps

• 2015: Upon launch the transformation program surpassed target adoption goals, achieving 96% adoption of the national architecture (up from just 26% adoption of national services in 2012)

• 2018: The strategic transformation program concluded after five years of coordinated effort by hundreds of FRS professionals over hundreds of thousands of hours

• 2019- Present: The program has continued to be championed in stakeholder surveys for setting a new standard for effectiveness in System strategic planning and technology thought leadership