“SSA www.ssa.gov has plans to modernize the SSA IT environment” according to Robert Klopp Deputy Commissioner of Systems CIO for the Social Security Administration (SSA) testifying before the House http://waysandmeans.house.gov/Subcommittee/social-security on SSA’s progress and future IT plans.
He told the House Subcommittee on Social Security about SSA’s new IT Investment Process plan (ITIP) that will improve the way that IT is managed and how the agency invests in IT. ITIP is going to focus on up-front project planning with outcomes tied to specific agency goals.
Improved project planning will enable SSA to better assess project costs, risks, and timelines with greater accuracy. As a result, the agency is going to be able to deliver the right project on time and within budget. Lastly, the new process will include formal post implementation reviews that look at the IT implementation process and the ongoing return-on-investment.
The plan is to address the complexity and pre-modern design of the oldest systems. SSA is exploring different options including whether it is better to buy as opposed to build. The agency is also aggressively moving to modernize the agency’s software engineering tools and skills and has developed an intensive training program for the staff.
One of the biggest goals is to modernize the infrastructure so SSA is deploying a modern business intelligence eco-system in the cloud. Right now, the agency is working to develop a cloud environment on the premises and then plans to provide for a hybrid cloud environment to enable SSA to take advantage of the economics of cloud computing.
SSA has also established a Modern Development Environment (MDE) in the Amazon Web Services cloud. MDE is a suite of tools and engineering practices for supporting modern software development.