"Most of the policies, procedures and practices that are used on major IT acquisitions date back to the 1990s, 1980s or even earlier,'' according to the report from the TechAmerica Foundation. "Such an infrastructure is poorly suited to supporting the interactive, incremental and collaborative processes of agile/incremental development."
In another report released Monday, the American Council for Technology and Industry Advisory Council recommends 12- to 18-month action plans to tackle the issues of IT governance, collaboration and communication.
That includes creation of a Technology Advisory Board within the Chief Information Officers Council to inform government of emerging technologies and trends. The report also calls on the Office of Management and Budget to issue guidance for senior executives early in the development and planning for IT acquisitions.
Both reports are in response to an Obama administration crackdown on cost overruns and schedule delays plaguing large IT projects.
Last summer, Vivek Kundra, the federal chief information officer, announced the administration had temporarily halted more than two dozen IT projects. In September, the administration canceled more than $500 million worth of upgrades to financial management systems at the Small Business Administration and the Veterans Affairs Department. Twenty-six other projects were placed on a high-risk list, with managers ordered to come up with improvements plans.
Acting OMB Director Jeffrey Zients said Monday afternoon he'll present a comprehensive strategy for IT procurement reform Nov. 19 talk before the Northern Virginia Technology Council. In a post on his official blog, Zients said his recommendations will range from project management to budgeting and personnel reforms.
"I hope to discuss with the private sector there and in other venues how best we can transform federal IT," he added.
Kundra said Sunday at ACT-IAC's Executive Leadership Conference in Williamsburg, Va., that the effort is collaborative, and "it's not a question of one organization versus the other."
The TechAmerica report recommends that the government build a professional development program for IT program managers; use third-party "independent risk reviews" to assess IT projects; and promote more engagement between industry and government.
It said OMB should call on agency managers to communicate more with industry so long as it complies with the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
The TechAmerica report, titled "Improving the Acquisition of Major IT Systems for the Federal Government," was produced by the Government Technology Opportunity in the 21st Century commission, composed of 31 industry executives and academics.
ACT-IAC's report highlighted the need to deliver and show progress on projects in incremental stages.
"If industry is not getting feedback they can go too far," said Andy Robinson, IAC executive chairman in an interview. "If it gets off track for just a few months it's hard to recover."
Robinson hopes to meet with Kundra and others within the next 30 to 60 days to discuss the recommendations.
In its report, the TechAmerica commission acknowledged that its recommendations have much in common with those from earlier reviews dating back 10 years or more. The key challenge for both contractors and the government "is not so much knowing what needs to change as it is identifying how to make those changes happen."
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Sean Reilly; Nicole Blake Johnson contributed to this report.
Quelle/Source: Federal Times, 25.10.2010
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