TechStat
The Federal Government has spent over $600 billion on information technology (IT) over the past decade. Far too often, IT projects, especially large projects, cost hundreds of millions of dollars more than they should, take years longer than necessary to deploy, and deliver technologies that are obsolete by the time they are completed.
As a result of the state of IT projects across the Federal Government, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) launched TechStat Accountability Sessions (TechStat) in January 2010. A TechStat is a face-to-face, evidence-based accountability review of an IT investment; it enables the Federal Government to intervene to turn around, halt or terminate IT projects that are failing or are not producing results for the American people.
Since January 2010, OMB has led over 60 TechStat sessions, including 38 high priority reviews between August and December 2010. These reviews resulted in $3 billion in total cost implications and an average acceleration of deliverables from over 24 months to 8 months.
Agency TechStats
On December 9, 2010, the Federal CIO released the 25 Point Implementation Plan to Reform Federal Information Technology Management. The plan established the requirement for Federal agencies to establish TechStat sessions on troubled investments on an on-going basis at the department level by March, 2011. The plan also called on CIOs to expand those TechStat sessions to the bureau-level within agencies by June, 2012.
CIOs across the Government have held over 300 agency-led TechStats, and the results of these reviews have enabled agencies to achieve over $900 million in cost implications (e.g. cost avoidance, life cycle cost avoidance, 6 and/or reallocation of funding).
Resources
A Year In Review: Outcomes and Lessons Learned from Implementing Agency-Led TechStat Reviews Across the Federal Government (December 8, 2011)
TechStat Training Video
Browse the TechStat Toolkit
Download the TechStat Toolkit
