Letter to the editor

Following is a response to an FCW.com poll question that asked: "Does the federal IT budget have enough money for the work you are doing?"

I voted "yes" because I think there is enough funding for the projects that really need to be done—IF a rigorous, enterprisewide investment review process is followed.

Such review should be done at two levels: (1) program and system managers who run daily operations and (2) senior executives who make the final decision.

If business cases pay exhaustive attention to dependencies with concurrent projects, processes and risks, and if proposed solutions involve open, best-in-business technologies, one is halfway there.

With rigorous, careful project management, unintended consequences and cost overruns can be kept to a minimum. The result is something that the agency and the public alike can admire.

If we can't all operate like that, our projects shouldn't get the funding in the first place.

Name withheld by request