GAO identifies the most important federal IT acquisitions in the areas of national security, public health and the economy
In an effort to improve the management of IT acquisitions the Government Accountability Office produced a report identifying 16 federal government technology projects particularly critical to missions ranging from national security, public health and the economy.
The report also provides an excellent snapshot of how much each project is budgeted for over the next several years.
For example, the Department of Defense plans to spend $10.21 billion over 21 years on its health care modernization initiative, and the Department of Homeland Security intends to spend $3.19 billion over 30 years on its system supporting immigration benefits processing.
The report is titled, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY: Key Attributes of Essential Federal Mission-Critical Acquisitions
According to the 78 page report, while the federal government has undertaken numerous initiatives to better manage the billions of dollars that federal agencies annually invest in IT, these investments have too frequently failed or incurred cost overruns and schedule slippages, and contributed little to mission-related outcomes. These failed investments often suffered from a lack of disciplined and effective management, such as project planning, requirements definition, and program oversight and governance.
In the report GAO identified 16 of acquisitions as particularly critical. GAO has previously reported on these acquisitions and the programs they support, and has made numerous recommendations to agencies for improvement.
Ten of the acquisitions relate to an additional programmatic area that GAO has designated high risk.
- Department of Agriculture Modernize and Innovate the Delivery of Agricultural Systems
- Department of Commerce 2020 Decennial Census
- Department of Defense Defense Healthcare Management System Modernization Global Combat Support System-Army
- Department of Homeland Security Student and Exchange Visitor Information System Modernization
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Transformation
- Department of the Interior Automated Fluid Minerals Support System II
- Department of Justice Next Generation Identification System Terrorist Screening System
- Department of State Consular System Modernization
- Department of Transportation Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast
- Department of the Treasury Customer Account Data Engine 2 Integrated Enterprise Portal
- Department of Veterans Affairs Electronic Health Record Modernization
- Small Business Administration Application Standard Investment
- Social Security Administration Disability Case Processing System 2
Read more HERE.
