President-elect Barack Obama announced yesterday that Nancy Killefer will be appointed as his Chief Performance Officer, a new position Obama has created to make federal programs more efficient and more responsive to those they serve and to help eliminate or modify programs that aren't well. Killefer has experience working for the Treasury Department during the Clinton administration on fiscal management issues and has served on the IRS Oversight Board during the Bush administration. She currently is a senior partner at the consulting firm McKinsey and Co.

Killefer will be balancing two different roles in the Obama administration - that of the Chief Performance Officer, but also she will be helping to run the management agenda at the Office of Management and Budget. Killefer will also be serving in one of the top roles at the OMB, that of Deputy Director for Management, according to the National Journal.

To her credit, Killefer seems to understand the challenges that await her in this position, stating at a news conference with Obama that "Most of the operational issues that the government faces today have developed over decades and will take time to address." Killefer also seems to approach this position with an open mind and understanding that she needs to engage a variety of stakeholders and work to win the trust of mid-level program managers and other federal employees in order to be successful. Killefer said she is committed to "engaging and drawing on the talents of the federal workforce in order to deliver on our promise of a new more efficient and effective government."

There is still a lot to learn about how Killefer will approach this position and how big-ticket items like PART and GPRA will be addressed. But her initial statements are encouraging that her review and assessment work will be more transparent and accessible than those used during the Bush administration. Let's hope she retains that approach as she navigates a complex federal bureaucracy and overlapping and at times inadequate systems the government currently uses to assess the performance of programs.