VA expands plan for troubled IT projects to all system development efforts

The Veterans Affairs Department announced on Tuesday that it will apply a strict development program that was originally designed for only information technology projects that are severely behind schedule and over budget to all of its IT programs.

The program management and accountability system, which initially was applied to 45 underperforming projects now will address the department's entire IT portfolio of 282 projects.

"We will end projects that don't work, streamline those that do, and focus on the responsibility we have for achieving maximum value for our veterans," said VA Secretary Eric Shinseki.

The department's fiscal 2011 budget request noted an analysis of IT programs showed many exhibited "at least one characteristic that could indicate a failing program." Those traits include significant schedule delays, budget overruns and poor product quality.

In June 2009, VA Chief Information Officer Roger Baker launched PMAS, which requires managers of troubled IT projects to deliver systems and applications incrementally and to report regularly on their progress, among other things. The system halted 45 problem projects, including an eight-year, $167 million effort to develop a patient scheduling system for VA hospitals, to fix problems.

The suspensions saved the department $52 million in its fiscal 2010 IT budget, and Baker eventually restarted 32 of the projects. But "the real saving is in the increased probability of success for the projects we changed and restarted," he said.

VA officials said in their budget that problem IT projects "will be paused and required to create an incremental development plan" with clearly defined milestones.

"Holding each project accountable for regularly delivering value is key to getting the most out of our IT budget," Baker said. "While much work remains to be done, PMAS has shown what can be achieved by forcing measured demonstrations of performance."