25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal Information Technology Management

Citation

Vivek Kundra, U.S. Chief Information Officer, 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal Information Technology Management (Dec. 9, 2010) (full-text).

Overview

This action plan (also referred to as the IT Reform Plan) will provide for IT reform in the areas of operational efficiency and large-scale IT program management. These actions had been planned over the next 18 months and place ownership with OMB and agency operational centers, as appropriate. While the 25 points may not solve all Federal IT challenges, they will address many of the most pressing, persistent challenges. This plan requires a focus on execution and is designed to establish some early wins to garner momentum for our continued efforts. Active involvement from agency leadership is critical to the success of these reforms. As such, the Federal CIO will work with the President’s Management Council to successfully implement this plan.

Some highlights of the implementation plan include:

• Turnaround or terminate at least one-third of underperforming projects in IT portfolio within the next 18 months
• Shift to “Cloud First” policy. Each agency will identify three “must move” services within three months, and move one of those services to the cloud within 12 month and the remaining two within 18 months.
• Reduce the number of Federal data centers by at least 800 by 2015.
• Only approve funding of major IT programs that:
  • Have a dedicated program manager and a fully staffed integrated program team.
  • Use a modular approach with usable functionality delivered every six months.
  • Use specialized IT acquisition professionals.
• Work with Congress to:
  • Consolidate commodity IT funding under the Agency CIOs, and
  • Develop flexible budget models that align with modular development.
• Launch an interactive platform for pre-RFP, agency-industry collaboration.

This plan is divided into two sections: Achieving Operational Efficiency and Managing Large-Scale IT Programs Effectively. The first section outlines the steps being taken to adopt cloud solutions and leverage shared services. The second section covers the structural areas that impact the success rates of large IT programs across government.