Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) Version 1

NEW! ACT-IAC Recently Published Updates to this Model. View Version 2 Here.

Summary

ACT-IAC FITARA Implementation Project team completes final phases of the IT Management Maturity Model (Version 1)

In December 2014 the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform ACT (FITARA) was enacted as Section 831 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113-291).  The purpose of this legislation is to improve the acquisition and management of Federal information technology assets.

Purpose of the project (what did we do?)

Recognizing that the law imposes new requirements on Federal agencies and that each agency is different, ACT-IAC undertook a project to support OMB and Agencies in their efforts to successfully implement FITARA through:

  • Delivery of an IT management maturity model to help agencies with their FITARA implementation efforts
  • Delivery of policies, processes, tools, and other artifacts that represent proven IT management practices garnered from public and private sector that can help Agencies more rapidly mature their ability to effectively manage IT
  • Develop evaluation criteria to help OMB and the Agencies measure the impact of FITARA over time

ACT-IAC assembled a working group of more than 50 experienced executives and analysts from government and industry to support this project.  The project executed three phases.  During Phase I, the team developed an IT management maturity model around 5 core functional areas that agencies can use to support their FITARA implementation efforts.  OMB, Inspector Generals (IGs), and GAO can also use the maturity model to assess areas that can be improved by Agencies.   Phase II expanded on the maturity model to provide proven tools and techniques --which Agencies can quickly implement to support their IT management improvement efforts.  Also during Phase II, the team developed evaluation criteria and benchmarks to provide a means to measure the impact of FITARA over time.  Phase III, assessed the impact of FITARA to date, and provides updates to the IT Management Maturity Model.

Phase I was completed in early September with the release of the IT Management Maturity Model.  Phase II provided agency proven practices as showcased at the FITARA forum April 13, 2016.  Phase III – provides the measures of impact of FITARA over time.

Why did we do it?

The mission of ACT-IAC is to facilitate the use of technology to improve the mission of government.  This project provides a direct opportunity to influence best practices across federal agencies in development of a common baseline for roles, responsibilities and authorities of the agency CIO and the other applicable Senior Agency Officials in managing IT as a strategic resource.  ACT-IAC is uniquely qualified to assist on this project as its membership includes government and industry executives who have experience in the day-to-day management of government technology resources.

What does it mean to government?

The Federal government spends over $80 billion annually on general purpose information technology assets.  Today, every government organization and program depends upon the effective and efficient use of these assets to deliver services to the citizens and manage internal operations.  FITARA was enacted to clarify executive responsibilities and establish accountability for the acquisition and management of these resources.  Successful implementation of FITARA should lead to more effective management of IT assets and will, in turn, improve government's ability to serve citizens.  It should also increase the number of successful Federal technology programs and lead to more innovation.

Further Information

ACT-IAC Recently Published Updates to this Model. View Version 2 Here.