CIO Accountability and Stemming Waste on IT Projects

ISSUE

CIOs do not have detailed performance measures and therefore cannot be held accountable when IT projects go south.

RECOMMENDATION

Develop detailed performance criteria for all CIOs regarding the success of IT projects and how it ties into their yearly bonus. Have CIOs report the progress of their projects on a monthly basis to OMB. Examples of criteria: project must be within 5% of budget, project may not be over schedule by more than 2 weeks, detailed requirements were captured prior to the start of development, functionality delivered is correct and operating per requirements.

ISSUE

Many projects are too massive and complex which results in a high failure rate, costing hundreds of millions of dollars and lengthy delays.

RECOMMENDATION

Every successful complex system started as a successful simple system. Deliver only the functionality required to be successful. This allows people to be productive in a short period of time. Require projects be broken down into modular units that can be delivered in 6-12 months. Provide criteria, based on private sector best practices, on what constitutes a modular unit.

ISSUE

Agencies have improved their efficiency by using the systems of other agencies via the various government Lines of Business (LOBs) such as payroll and travel systems. However, outside of the LOBs, agencies do not have any motivation for researching whether other agencies have a solution that may also work for them. This results in money and resources which could have been better spent.

RECOMMENDATION

Develop a government-wide website and require all agencies to post a description of the functionality of all of their IT systems, not just the purpose. This gives agencies a central source of information to research a solution that solves at least 80% of their problem. By posting the system functionality, out of the box thinkers will be able to see systems they could use for other purposes. All agencies should be required to demonstrate to OMB they’ve done their homework before they are allowed to buildsystems from scratch. This will force the agencies to put more forethought into planning, reduce costs, implement solutions more quickly, and improve efficiency.

ISSUE

Mark Forman, a previous administrator of the E-Government & Information Technology Office at OMB, identified the fact that 30% or more of IT dollars are spent on:

Systems that are adjuncts to existing systems that don’t provide the data needed by managers to perform their jobs

Ill conceived systems that are buried in the business cases of existing larger systems to escape detection and scrutiny

Poorly designed systems with a low enough dollar threshold so as not to require a business case

RECOMMENDATION

Have OMB improve their definition of the types of systems that require a business case to help prevent the burying of systems within the business case of larger systems. Hire more IT personnel at OMB to review the business cases to identify these situations. OMB should conduct a government-wide survey where people can anonymously report adjunct systems. This would identify the systems that have not delivered functionality as promised and warrant further investigation to ascertain whether they should continue to be funded or not.

ISSUE

Many Employees have knowledge of systems that are over budget, way past schedule, and have not delivered the promised functionality. They may also know when the Earned Value Management numbers are being manipulated to show the project is not more than 10% over budget. However, their agency management isn’t listening and there is no outside office to report it to.

RECOMMENDATION

Establish an office associated with the Whitehouse where employees can report this information while having their identies protected.