Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Chief Information Officer Anh Selissen, who was named 2023’s CIO of the year by Government Technology,* spoke at an Industry Insider — Texasbriefing on Thursday, detailing the agency’s strategic plan, its use of AI, modernization efforts and upcoming procurement requests.
Selissen emphasized to vendors her agency’s strong preference for simple, proven solutions rather than “the coolest thing that’s on the market.”
“Is there a clear mission-critical business reason that we’re doing it?” she said. “Who wants it? What are we trying to achieve? And then how long will it take to implement? If you’ve got a technology that needs high customization, it’s going to take me years to actually see some tangible results, you will probably not get it approved through me.”
The CIO described TxDOT as having a “very positive culture” regarding AI, with the technology being implemented in her agency to streamline manual processes, such as access management assignments.
“We’re really driving more AI and data technology innovation from an overall business process improvement perspective,” said Selissen. “We have a strong CIO Advisory Board that is made up of leadership across the agency, district personnel as well as division personnel, that really helped me make decisions on where I prioritize work. And so we really worked to modernize a lot of the systems across TxDOT.”
Regarding modernization, Selissen clued members present at the briefing on a number of upcoming procurement requests, including a request for offers (RFO) for a managed data services program, moving TxDOT’s systems from on-premises to the cloud and contract work for scrum teams.
The department’s need for a vendor capable of migrating TxDOT’s systems to the cloud are driven by its strong security posture after suffering a ransomware attack in 2020.
Selissen noted the need for scrum teams stems from TxDOT’s commitment to staff augmentation, particularly in its need for more deliverables-based project governance.
*Government Technology is Industry Insider — Texas’ sister publication.
TxDOT CIO Talks Strategy, AI and Upcoming Procurements
While the agency has implemented artificial intelligence in streamlining manual tasks, the TxDOT chief information officer emphasized a commitment to simple, proven solutions.
