OMB sets deadline for agencies to submit joint IT business cases

Agencies have until Aug. 21 to submit lists of IT projects that could be candidates for joint business cases with other agencies for fiscal 2004, according to a memo from Mark Forman, the Office of Management and Budget's associate director for IT and e-government.From that inventory, OMB will issue a catalog of IT initiatives for which it will expect agencies to develop joint business cases. The catalog will be published Aug. 23, and agencies will have until Sept. 9 to submit plans to OMB.The process is another step by OMB to push agencies toward reducing the number of redundant systems. It follows Forman's call to buy technology once and use it many times."Submitting the joint business cases is an enabler for us to collaborate better," said Laura Callahan, the Labor Department's deputy CIO. "Our big challenge is to learn how to work across traditional boundaries, and the business cases will help us have the discussions we need to have."The memo, which was sent to CIOs and agency IT investment review boards, tells agencies to use the recently released business reference model to focus on five areas to decrease duplicative spending. It directs agencies to submit joint business cases on projects that:"The fiscal 2004 budget process will give priority consideration to multiagency IT investments that ensure operational objectives are met, utilize technology that improves decision making, support the Federal Enterprise Architecture Business Reference Model and ensure that system and information are secure," Forman said in the memo. "All ongoing projects must undergo an e-government strategy review as part of the agency's capital planning process."Forman also said collaboration would improve agency e-government ratings under the President's Management Agenda scorecard.