IT Reform at the Department of Veterans Affairs
Posted by Roger Baker
As perhaps the largest consolidated IT organization in the world, our goal at VA is to also be the best IT organization in the federal government. So we are frequent users of the words “Transformation” and “Reform.” Most importantly, we use the word “discipline” on a regular basis, because for federal IT, transformation is all about instilling the disciplines practiced by effective private sector organizations: focusing on results, measuring our performance, caring about every dollar, and making hard decisions.
VA is the second largest federal department (behind the Department of Defense), with over 314,000 employees and a budget of over $125 Billion. We serve over 10 million Veterans each year, providing them with health care, insurance, home loans, educational benefits, disability compensation, and many other services they have earned through their sacrifices for our nation. The VA IT enterprise consists of a nation-wide single, consolidated network, 314,000 desktop computers, 30,000 laptops, 18,000 blackberries and mobile devices, 200,000+ medical devices, and 448,000 email accounts. It is because of the scale of the enterprise that we have been focused on executing the 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal IT.
A fine example of our commitment and early adaptation is VA IT’s shift towards cloud computing. We are currently running a successful and comprehensive cloud program in the Post 9/11 GI Bill, as well as advancing the development for the Veterans Benefits Management System which will enable this emergent technology to aid in the elimination of the claims backlog.
As a firm champion of timely project completion and effectiveness, the VA IT Program Management Accountability System (PMAS), has proven vital to a dramatic increase in delivering IT products to our customers. Our unique PMAS project reviews are yet another great example of VA IT’s forward thinking approach, as they focus specifically on missed deliverables and how to quickly put the project back on track.
Additionally, we have already held 15 TechStats to date to review a wide range of investments. In a session on February 23, 2011, we halted the Strategic Asset Management (SAM) investment, our agency’s multi-year initiative to replace existing disparate asset management systems with an integrated, enterprise-level system. SAM development will not recommence until we finish conducting an in-depth follow-up review and determine an effective way forward. With the rest of the investments we put through the TechStat process, we were able to improve performance by identifying issues early and taking corrective actions.
Finally, we are making good progress on our agency’s data center consolidation plan. We are on track to close 6 data centers by the end of this year. Due to VA’s forward thinking, implementation of many of the initiatives outlined in the IT Reform Plan was seamless and fit within the VA structures.
We are looking forward to continued improvement in our IT project delivery and increased emphasis in customer focused outcomes. Executing the 25 Point Plan, our diligence and commitment to reform, coupled with the drive to transform VA into an innovative, 21st century organization will place us where we need to be, the best IT organization in federal government.
Roger Baker is the Chief Information Officer at the Department of Veterans Affairs.