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Friday, August 14, 2009
Learning from best practices
Vivek Kundra, Federal CIO
On August 7, CIOs from across the Federal government gathered to share their experiences using the IT Dashboard and to discuss how to effectively manage their agency portfolios. There was vigorous debate and lots of energy in the room – and a clear message emerged: the IT Dashboard provides a powerful new tool for agency CIOs to use. However, no tool can replace good management. Ultimately, accountability for the performance of agency IT investments rests with agency CIOs.
This perspective was echoed by speakers from the Office of Management & Budget, Congress, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), and the Inspector General communities.
Looking ahead, the CIO Council is sharing best practices that enable the effective management of our IT portfolio. Recommendations will be developed in key areas such as:
- Risk Management
- Requirements Management
- Contractor Oversight
- Historical Performance
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
CIO evaluations are in
Vivek Kundra, Federal CIO
We just reached an important milestone with respect to the Agency CIOs completing their reviews of the federal government’s major IT investments. On June 30, when we launched the IT Dashboard, just 20 percent of investments were evaluated. Today, 100 percent of the government’s IT investments have been evaluated.
In 1996, the Clinger-Cohen Act established agency CIOs and called on them to “monitor the performance of information technology programs of the agency, evaluate the performance of those programs on the basis of the applicable performance measurements.” The completion of these evaluations is a significant step towards fulfilling these duties. As a result, CIOs are now better poised to advise the head of the agency regarding whether to continue, modify, or terminate a program or project.
The IT Dashboard is a powerful platform for delivering insights, but it is not a substitute for good management. On August 7, we will convene the CIO Council to share best practices and apply management approaches to improve data quality, increase transparency, and enhance project performance across the federal government. We need to adopt an evidence based approach to governance by employing platforms like the IT dashboard so we can report, analyze, monitor, and predict performance.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Evidence-based decisions
Vivek Kundra, Federal CIO
Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), under the leadership of Secretary Shinseki and VA CIO Roger Baker, announced that it will temporarily halt 45 IT projects which are either behind schedule or over budget and work to determine whether these programs should be continued. We’re not talking about a trivial sum here—the Fiscal Year 2009 combined budget for the 45 projects is approximately $200 million. The worst offender of the bunch was 110% over budget and 17 months behind schedule.
We were able to catch these contracts, in part, thanks to our new tool, the "IT Dashboard” which helped shed light on the performance of projects across the federal government.
During the next few weeks, the VA will audit these 45 projects to determine whether additional resources or new management teams can get them back on schedule. If they can’t be fixed, the projects will be canceled.
If you are just hearing about the IT Dashboard for the first time, it allows you to see which IT projects are working and on-schedule (and which are not), offer alternative approaches, and provide direct feedback to the chief information officers at federal agencies.
Given the size and complexity of the federal IT portfolio, the challenges we face are substantial and persistent. The dashboard is not a substitute for good management. Its value comes from leaders who use the information to make tough, evidence-based decisions on the future of IT investments.
The VA’s announcement is part of a broader effort by the Administration to make the federal government more transparent and to boost accountability and drive better performance. From IT accountability to personnel and contracting reforms, the administration is committed to providing better value, efficiency, and effectiveness for taxpayers’ dollars.
