Adapting to the New Information Technology Directives: A Guide for Federal Government CIOs

Federal Government IT performance has been poor. Despite spending hundreds of millions of dollars on information technology over the past decade, the Federal Government has achieved just a small portion of the productivity improvements realized by private industry on similar investments. In response, the Chief Information Officer of the Federal Government has mandated dramatic changes in the way IT systems are developed and deployed. These changes are substantial and far reaching, unlike anything Federal Government CIOs have seen before.

Complying with these mandates requires a new way of thinking and very different approaches to IT system development. This paper provides an overview of the new directives and introduces a set of operating principles that will enable CIOs and their teams to deliver a better return for the US tax payer.