Acquisition

House to vote on bill to trim federal software spend

A bill requiring agency CIOs to streamline software spending is expected to pass the House of Representatives on June 7.

People

White House looks to save billions on software

New guidance from top IT and acquisition leadership is pushing the government to stop double-spending and overspending on software.

Cybersecurity

TSA and Social Security race to Windows 10

They've hit a few snags, but the two agencies are nevertheless hoping to complete an upgrade to end all Windows upgrades within the month.

Digital Government

Health record advisory groups divided over patient data control

A pair of federal advisory committees approved privacy recommendations amid debate over whether patients or practitioners should control the sharing of health data.

Digital Government

VA edges closer to rollout of new health record platform

The Department of Veterans Affairs is set to launch its new, modular, web-based electronic health record viewer this summer.

Digital Government

Vendors cry foul on Halvorsen's Windows 10 recommendation

DOD CIO Terry Halvorsen has said he does not formally endorse the operating system, but software vendors believe his praise amounts to an endorsement.

Acquisition

How to approach post-award management of agile contracts

Steve Kelman talks with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services CIO Mark Schwartz about the practical matters of past performance evaluations and continued discourse.

Cybersecurity

DHS CIO walks back staff comments on open source

In comments on GitHub, Homeland Security CIO Luke McCormack sought to set the record straight on how the agency views open source.

Acquisition

Contracting for agile

Steve Kelman digs into just what's required by the FAR, and finds it's remarkably agile-friendly.

Modernization

House panel rips VA leadership on scheduling software pause

VA officials were grilled by lawmakers on a pause in the acquisition of a scheduling system and a possible rethink of the agency's homegrown electronic health record.

Acquisition

House bill looks to bank software savings

A new bill would require agency CIOs to inventory software licenses and report on savings and cost avoidance from improved acquisition strategies.

Cybersecurity

DHS warns on cyber risks of open source

In comments on the proposed federal government open source policy, the Department of Homeland Security cautioned that the plan could lead to the introduction of compromised code.

Modernization

Marine Corps to expedite Windows 10 upgrade

The Marine Corps Systems Command is expediting its timeline to deploy the Windows 10 operating system by January 2017.

Digital Government

Agencies dream of commercial app stores

The future of mobility lies in finding the right ways to update mobile apps securely without impeding their main selling point: speed.

Modernization

Next steps in the evolution of software development

Continuous integration/continuous delivery and deployment and DevOps promise to automate and strengthen development methodologies.

Digital Government

18F pushes for an even more open 'open source' rule

"Open source by default" ought to apply not only to code developed by government agencies, but also to virtually all code that vendors supply the government, a developer with GSA's startup urged.

Digital Government

F-35 software fixes on the way, program officer tells Congress

A senior defense official told lawmakers that a fix for a software glitch with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet will be tested next week, but delays arising from problems are inevitable.

Cybersecurity

DHS OIG slams USCIS on immigration IT

DHS Inspector General John Roth took a hard line on USCIS's lagging immigration benefits processing system in an audit that covered an 11-year cycle of IT shortcomings and agency resistance to independent examinations.

Acquisition

More federal open source appreciated, if it behaves

The tech industry welcomes more open-source software in the federal government, but with a few caveats.

Digital Government

White House wants more sharable, reusable code

Federal CIO Tony Scott is pushing out a plan to allow custom code developed by or for the government to be shared across agencies, and in some cases released to the public.