OMB has issued guidance implementing the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act and related IT management practices, telling agencies to expect “a major push from OMB to leverage the implementation of FITARA” over the next year – including stepped up reviews of IT investments and programs.
The guidance could well become a key tool for deeper reviews and mitigation of known vulnerabilities in the wake of a recent OPM data breach that saw sensitive data on pretty much every federal employee past and present siphoned out of federal systems.
FITARA was enacted in December and sets forth requirements to increase transparency and improve risk management of IT investments, for portfolio review (including PortfolioStat sessions), expanded training and the use of IT cadres, strategic sourcing and the government-wide software purchasing program.
US CIO Tony Scott said the guidance (M-15-14) was drafted to ensure agency CIOs have significant involvement in procurement, workforce, and technology-related budget matters and positions “CIOs so that they can reasonably be held accountable for how effectively their agencies use modern digital approaches to achieve the objectives of effective and efficient programs and operations.”
