Khan A 2011 Apr 13 IT bill would hold CIOs accountable step

Khan, A. (2011, Apr 13). IT bill would hold CIOs accountable, step up oversight. Federal Computer Week Retrieved from http://fcw.com/articles/2011/04/13/carper-it-investment-management-act-2011.aspx?s=fcwdaily_140411

Comment on the 20 percent deviation from baseline cost. Is 20% reasonable? Is 20% too high or too low? Search the Internet for other examples of project oversight (good or bad). Summarize your findings.

Solution

The bill states that agency CIOs would have to review an IT project if it deviates 20% or more from the baseline, codify the Office of Management and Budget’s Federal IT Dashboard.

The quantum of cost overruns and deviations depends on the type of IT project being implemented and scale of the project.

If the cost includes the project management activities such as project communications, meetings, workshops etc. then the 20% deviation can be accepted. However, if the 20% deviation does not include the project management activities then the deviation is too high and will not be acceptable.

Other examples of project oversight are underestimating certain negative trends in the project, bad governance, poor monitoring, improper vetting of the plan in terms of developing estimates and contingencies.

References: https://www.projectsmart.co.uk/controlling-project-scope.php

http://www.ethier.ca/library_docs/Project_Oversight_Management.pdf