Not a Criticism of Healthcare.gov – a Solution

Successful Federal IT procurement and project & program management execution are all over the news with Obamacare’s latest step.  Coming out of this, President Obama called for an overhaul on this entire issue; who else has seen news focused around – not only the term, but the actual title – Why Do Government Projects Fail?

Yes, projects like Healthcare.gov (and Census.gov in 2012) had implementation issues. But what are we learning from these examples?  What are the Feds taking away for the next round of enormous IT projects? 

As many have pointed out, yes – large IT projects are difficult, and the Federal versions are even harder given OMB requirements.  But there can be a light at the end of the tunnel.  U.S. Federal Chief Information Officer Steven VanRoekel has spoken out on his 2014 priorities:

• Effectiveness – Improving the business of government to its citizens
• Efficiency – PortfolioStat 2.0 – eliminating IT overspending and reallocating smarter
• Economy – Equip citizens with Federal stats to create new businesses and embrace mobility
• People – Drastically improve Federal hiring, training, and retention processes

Let’s focus on the People aspect.  Further in the interview, VanRoekel, along with Federal CTO Todd Park, mentions cultural issues, budget issues, and ultimately – the need for significant change. 

So how will we move forward and avoid more kinks along the way?  With this Administration’s focus on making IT work for the government AND the people, and doing it in a cost-effective, maximizing results way; an obvious decision?  Better training for all – from the IT specialists to the project team to the full Program Manager.

Local training is available to Feds to avoid travel spending – let’s reinvest in the Federal workforce to equip them to handle these large-scale IT projects – there’s surely more to come.