§8172 Management of Major Information Technology Projects

Summary

Require the Secretary, through the Department’s Chief Information Officer, to send the right congressional committees a report before any major IT project that starts after the Joseph Maxwell Cleland and Robert Joseph Dole Memorial Veterans Benefits and Health Care Improvement Act of 2022 becomes law. The report must give estimated acquisition, implementation, and life cycle costs; a schedule with major milestones and when the project will first and fully operate or finish; and the main business, functional, and performance goals. That report becomes the baseline used to measure changes over the project’s life. The Secretary must update that baseline every year and put the updated baseline in the Department’s budget details sent with the President’s budget under section 1105 of title 31. If the Secretary finds a change from the baseline, the Chief Information Officer must notify the congressional committees within 60 days and explain the change. A reportable change is any cost increase of 10 percent or more, any schedule delay of 180 days or more, or any failure (or expected failure) to meet a key objective. Each major project must be run by a team that includes a project manager with a level three project management certification (from the Department, the Federal Acquisition Institute under section 1201 of title 41, the Department of Defense under section 1701a of title 10, or an equivalent private certification) who works for the Office of Information and Technology or the part of the Department that started the project; a functional lead from the originating part; a technical lead from the Office of Information and Technology; a contracting officer; and enough other management, technical, and procurement staff as needed.