Part 1 of a 2-part special report
From FierceGovernmentIT | August 19, 2013
A new consensus among federal information technology managers is that the spectacular, multi-million dollar program failuresin evidence this past decade can be avoided in the future through a new development method: A modular approach.
The past was the era of “grand designs,” of multi-year efforts meticulously planned and executed according to a set of requirements gathered in advance. The result often was brittleness since adaptation to changing circumstances was difficult and costly; often enough for internal contradictions to accumulate and projects ultimately collapsing.
In December 2010, as part of a plan laying out Obama administration IT reform priorities, the Office of Management and Budget announced renewed emphasis on a modular approach that allowed for IT systems releases in cycles every 6 to 12 months and initial deployment to end users no later than 18 months after a program start.
In a new PulsePollTM, Market Connections and FierceGovernmentIT asked federal IT professionals about their agencies’ adoption of modular approaches and their IT project successes and impediments.
