OPM has released an IT strategic plan describing a more centralized IT governance structure with top-down leadership strategy and decisions supported by bottom-up innovation and partnership from program offices. This includes all business unit activities and is reportedly designed to align CIO planning and execution with agency priorities and available resources.
According to the plan, aligning internal IT governance boards and establishing clear processes for prioritizing requirements and reporting will enable OPM to better hold program offices accountable. OPM wants to hold them accountable for collaborating to achieve the level of interoperability needed to share lifecycle HR data across the agency, throughout the federal sector and with the public, from strategy to separation.
OPM said it would manage IT investments with better testing, risk management, earned value management and cost accounting – and with greater transparency, accountability, and responsibility. That includes aligning all IT functions and adhering to the federal open data policy, which provides a framework for managing information as an asset throughout its lifecycle (something that underpins OPM’s approach to an HR lifecycle IT framework).
In Phase 1 of the plan, set for June, OPM plans to institutionalize an Investment Review Board and supporting governance structure, including the revision of charters for continuing IT boards and “sunsetting” of other boards, to improve acquisition and fiscal management accountability.
In Phase 2 – September 2014 – OPM says it will establish a centralized technical project management office to provide oversight for all IT projects using standard review and reporting procedures such as PortfolioStat and TechStat to measure the performance and compliance of projects.
In Phase 3 – December 2014, OPM will baseline and begin reporting on project performance, including compliance with federal-wide requirements such as the digital government strategy, according to the plan.
