Tag Archives: FITARA

FITARA 8.0 – No News is Good News

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In place since 2014, the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) has aimed to provide guidance and checkpoints for agencies' modernization efforts. Over the years, the compliance status of the agencies has had its ups and downs.

The latest report card, issued in June 2019 showed fairly steady performance when it comes to meeting FITARA goals and mandates. This 8.0 report card was the first to include a cybersecurity score that focused on FISMA (Federal Information Security Modernization Act) compliance. This report also took out the score for Data Center Optimization Initiative (DCOI) as the majority of agencies are holding steady on that score and/or it is complicated by technology interdependencies.

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FITARA Has a Bounce Back Semester

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The last time we wrote about FITARA, the news was pretty grim. The 6th check-in since the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) was enacted in December 2014 found that many agencies were backsliding regarding their ability to show progress against FITARA goals of Data Center Consolidation, IT Portfolio Review Savings, Incremental Development, and Risk Assessment Transparency. This was a bit surprising given that the introduction of the Modernizing Government Technology (MGT) Act was expected to help improve FITARA scores. While compliance with MGT is still slow, some other areas picked up momentum helping propel the FITARA scores upward.

The seventh version of the FITARA scorecard showed progress at many agencies over the six months between reports. No agencies saw their grades drop. Additionally, for the first time, there were no Fs on the report. Now, getting excited about no Fs may be setting the bar a bit low, but the DoD, due in part to sheer size and complexity, has struggled with the scorecard, and this cycle earned a D+. Other agencies making notable progress were the VA moving from a C+ to a B+, HHS from C- to B+, and Small Business Administration moving from a D+ to a B+. Continue reading →

Are We There Yet? Achieving IT Reform in the Federal Government

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In this post, we provided an overview of The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) and the various other Acts that have been passed to help streamline the procurement and use of IT for a modern government. Even with all of this focus on improving IT infrastructure, compliance with FITARA has been slow. Grades on the self-assessment scorecards are stagnating, and compliance with other related acts has been just as slow. It's easy to agree that government IT needs a boost to meet the expectations of citizens, so why, with all of these incentives and compliance checks in place, is progress so slow?[Tweet "Are We There Yet? Achieving IT Reform in the Federal Government. #GovEventsBlog"]

In an IT and "business" environment as complex as the federal government, there are many reasons for the slow improvement toward FITARA goals. Here are just a few of the challenges agencies are facing in meeting what seems to be "no-brainer" directives: Continue reading →

FITARA and Friends

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The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) was enacted in December 2014 with a goal of promoting IT modernization and workforce development for the employees who will work with and manage that modernized IT.

FITARA is focused on four key areas:

  • Data Center Consolidation
  • IT Portfolio Review Savings
  • Incremental Development
  • Risk Assessment Transparency

[Tweet "The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act is focused on 4 key areas. #GovEventsBlog"]The overarching goals of this Act are more effective use of technology financially (through government-wide purchasing where applicable) as well as better security and usability.  The Act also aims to give more authority to Chief Information Officers (CIOs) in making strategic and budget decision regarding technology use and purchase.[Tweet "FITARA and Friends: Modernizing Government IT. #GovEventsBlog"]

To help speed along progress, Congress has passed a number of other Acts that support these goals. Continue reading →