VA launches Open Government Web site with IT dashboard

The Veterans Affairs Department  debuts VA.gov/Open today, its new Web page that highlights ongoing VA open government initiatives to improve transparency and public engagement.

The Web page includes a link to a new VA dashboard application that shows the status of the VA Office of Information Technology projects. The dashboard lists 81 projects with nine indicators for each project, such as requirements and cost schedule. Green dots indicate “Project on Track” status, yellow dots signify “Project Slipping” and red dots indicate “Project Failing.”

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Overall, 8 percent of the indicators show a failure, and another 8 percent show slippage. The projects with the worst records are VistA Imaging and Deployment Toolkit, with four failed indicators each. The Integrated Financial Accounting System and immunization standardization each have three failures.

The new VA Open Web site has links to the White House’s Open Government directive and invites people to submit ideas for the VA’s open government plan or for any other aspect of the department's operations.

The ideas are then ranked and rated by visitors to the Web site. Ideas will be accepted until March 19. As of today, about 25 ideas had been submitted.