The General Accountability Office (GAO) www.gao.gov on May 18, 2016 released the report “Information Technology: OMB and Agencies Need to Focus Continued Attention on Implementing Reform Law” www.gao.gov/assets/680/677290.pdf.
The Federal government plans to invest more than $89 billion for IT in FY 2017. So far, much of the IT investment has either failed, incurred cost overruns, schedule slippages, or contributed little to mission-related outcomes. The report points out that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has taken steps to improve federal IT through a series of initiatives, but further actions are needed.
To rectify the problem, OMB wants to see the consolidation of data centers. Recently, GAO reported that agencies have closed 3,125 of the 10,584 data centers and achieved $2.8 billion in cost savings. Agencies are planning a total of about $8.2 billion in savings and avoidance through FY 2019.
The next goal should be to improve transparency. OMB’s IT Dashboard provides detailed information on major investments at federal agencies and includes ratings from Chief Information Officers (CIO) that should reflect the level of risk facing an investment. In a draft report, GAOs assessments of the risk ratings showed more risk than the associated CIO ratings.
The reason attributed to an increase in GAO’s risk ratings is that these ratings are not being updated frequently and therefore, GAO is recommending that agencies improve the quality and frequency of their risk ratings.
In addition, OMB has emphasized the need to deliver investments in smaller parts or increments in order to reduce risk and deliver capabilities more quickly. GAO identified significant differences in the percentage of software projects being delivered every six months as reported as compared to what was reported on the IT Dashboard. This difference is due in part to agencies having different interpretations of OMBs guidance on reporting software development projects.