IT Dashboard gets new look

The Obama administration’s website that aims to make federal IT investments more transparent has gotten a makeover.

In wake of a report from the Government Accountability Office that revealed how agencies failed to identify duplicative IT investments, U.S. CIO Steven VanRoekel announced upgrades to the IT Dashboard that will make it easier for agencies to spot such overlapping expenditures.

It’s the first time the administration is publicly sharing detailed IT investment information in support of Obama’s 2013 budget proposal, he wrote in a March 6 post on OMBlog.

The dashboard was launched in 2009 in a larger effort to create a more open government. It provides details on more than 700 IT investments and gives citizens “an unprecedented window into how their tax dollars were being spent,” VanRoekel wrote.

The website features general information on more than 7,000 federal IT investments and detailed data for more than 700 of those investments that agencies classify as "major."

Users can also easily view, for example, projects that are over budget or behind schedule and by how much money and time. The website not only displays contact information for the person charged with the project but it also his or her picture.

VanRoekel said improvements to the dashboard include enhancing its accessibility and featuring more data and tools. More important: It will help agencies identify and address duplication of their IT investments. Users will also be able to dissect the IT portfolios by agency, bureau, type of business supported, type of service provided, and budget account.