project management

Federal IT Dashboard data compiled exclusively for Federal News Radio shows the average time it takes an agency to complete an IT program to is 1,018 days and the average cost is $23.2 million per program. Both of these data points demonstrate the need to change how CIOs and mission owners measure project success.

NASA doesn’t quite measure up on the project management front, according to the Government Accountability Office. Christina Chaplain, GAO’s director of acquisition and sourcing management, fills in Federal Drive with Tom Temin on all the details.

The Energy secretary is shaking up the department to improve accountability. Project managers will assume more responsibility and face harsher consequences if they fail to meet major targets. Some contractors already have felt the difference, and it isn’t pretty.

Rebecca Halstead, president of the local chapter of the International Institute of Business Analysis and David Pradko, vice president of Finance for the IIBA, will how their organization can help your agency with its software development projects. September 9, 2014

The Defense and Homeland Security departments are pushing project managers to test technology or weapons systems earlier in the acquisition lifecycle to understand and solve potential roadblocks sooner. DoD submitted recommendations to Senate leaders for how to better integrate testing and evaluation into the acquisition lifecycle.

Jordon Sims, director of Organization Relations and Programs for the Project Management Institute, contends OFPP needs to look at existing pockets of excellence to raise the level of program and project management across the government.

A new memo from OFPP Administrator Joe Jordan outlines eight changes since 2007. Among the major changes is the requirement for program and project managers to meet all the certification prerequisites.

The Veterans Affairs Department is creating an acquisition cadre to work on complex projects. Glenn Haggstrom, VA’s principal executive director of the Office of Acquisition, Logistics, and Construction, said the goal is to match experts with the needs across the department.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee approved the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) with little debate and no amendments. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), the bill’s author and chairman of the committee, said the provisions to give CIOs more budget control and the IT project and program management improvements will have a big impact on how agencies spend money on technology.

The National Records and Archives Administration will modify its Electronic Records System for the first time since it went into the operations and maintenance phase. Mike Wash, NARA’s CIO, said the use of Technical Direction Letters is one of the key lessons learned from the TechStat session ERA went through in 2010.