Optimizing public programs through technology, process, and people

Efficient and effective government programs. That’s the goal of Pat Aguilar, our managing director of program modernization services, his team, and our clients. Pat combines an understanding of public policy and program operations with business process optimization toolsets and system modernization project management. 

With 35 years of commitment to supporting the public sector and demonstrated success in managing complex projects, Pat has led engagements for large-scale system development and technical infrastructure initiatives across a dozen states, advancing programs like Medicaid, child support, child welfare, SNAP, and TANF.

Pat’s deep understanding of both the business and technology sides of program modernization uniquely positions him to drive impactful changes for state programs.

As part of my business major in college, we had a series of classes about applying automation to processes within this new concept of computers helping with day-to-day tasks. I wanted to be part of that. I accepted a job supporting a government program eligibility system for the State of New Mexico, and it opened my eyes to the fact that computers could help automate a lot of things quickly that we were doing manually. Some of these were things that helped people learn about and access public services for their families more easily.  

After I moved into program modernization services, I started helping states standardize some of these upfront processes. I realized that families that are new to a program or haven’t needed this type of government support before need a way to understand the services, how they work, and how they can access them.

My current team works with our clients to look at all the avenues for families to access information and services. We support the process and system side of our client’s whole engagement strategy to connect people with these services.

Modernization has always been about people, process, and technology, but I do see more agency leaders turning first to systems to solve their operational challenges. That’s an opportunity for me to help them see the bigger picture, starting with an analysis of the program’s work and how work and data actually flow. Knowing exactly how long it takes to complete a work activity takes the subjectiveness out of the analysis and allows program leaders to do two things. First, visualize the work bottlenecks and activities that require tasks to be done more than once. And second, start using the data to inform their decisions.

When I share our work process analysis with agency leaders, we talk about where their processes are slowing down. This is often a light-bulb moment. The data shows that an operational challenge assumed to be in one area, is actually in another. As we resume our modernization conversation, we talk about segmenting activities based on skill sets, best optimizing staff roles, reengineering business processes, and making smart technology upgrades.

One thing I do appreciate about a technology-first mindset is the emphasis on innovation and integration for problem-solving. When a program’s challenge is influenced by workflows and work assignments, optimizing both will only make technology improvements and investments more effective.  

Many of our clients ask us to help them with the challenge of staff attrition. These complex programs, like child welfare, child support, and WIC, have people who have been working in the program for years and have valuable knowledge and experience. Over time, some of the most experienced staff leave and need to be replaced. We start by helping our clients segment their business models into workflows and staff skill levels and then provide analyses to help them make smart decisions about their staff, technology, and business processes.

For staff analysis, we bring people from our team who have done the job that the state employees are doing at that moment. Their personal understanding of what the state staff is going through really changes the whole tenor. They appreciate the hard work they observe and can really understand the time and expertise necessary to do a specific business process.

Some clients have planned for a specific number of staff, but they don't know all the skill sets they need. As we lay out the business processes, we also look at staff skills that are necessary to support the workload. If we find a set of processes that only a small number of people can do, we help the state put together a training program so other staff can gain the skills to support these processes. Our clients can start moving staff up the chain so they can start doing more and more of the business processes.

The best way to collaborate with a client or your teammates is in real time as a conversation. I don’t want anyone to miss an opportunity to ask a good question, so my number one advice for new team members is to pick up the phone or make that video call.