§8172 Management of major information technology projects

Summary

The Secretary must send Congress a report, through the Department’s Chief Information Officer, on the cost, schedule, and performance of every major IT project that starts after the Joseph Maxwell Cleland and Robert Joseph Dole Memorial Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2022 became law. The report, made before the project starts and created by the project’s business owner, must give cost estimates, a timeline with key milestones and when the project will begin and finish, and the main business and performance goals. The Secretary must use that report as the baseline to measure changes during the project. The baseline must be updated every year and put into the Department’s budget documents submitted with the President’s budget under section 1105 of title 31. If costs change by 10% or more, schedules slip by 180 days or more, or a key goal is not met or likely won’t be met, the Chief Information Officer must notify Congress within 60 days and explain why. Each major project must be led by a team that includes a project manager certified at level three (by the Department, the Federal Acquisition Institute under section 1201 of title 41, the Department of Defense under section 1701a of title 10, or an approved private cert), a functional lead from the project’s home office, a technical lead from the Office of Information and Technology, a contracting officer, and other needed staff.