People

Time to measure the White House drapes for the next occupant

A new center to support the presidential transition officially launched Jan. 20, a year ahead of the next inauguration.

Acquisition

CIOs struggle to quantify success

Watchdogs often put a price tag on failed IT projects, but what about successes? CIOs say it's tough to communicate the value of an IT project gone right.

Digital Government

Counting on innovation for census 2020

The woman leading the 2020 enumeration of the American population says well-laid plans will be the key to success.

Cybersecurity

Three more agencies hiring for cyber leader jobs

NASA, USDA's inspector general and VA are seeking to fill senior IT positions, adding to the growing list of IT job openings in government.

Acquisition

What CIOs really want from contractors

A willingness to play a small part in bigger projects is the way to win over future-thinking government IT executives.

Modernization

FedRAMP high is coming soon

The federal government's cloud authorizing program is getting set to approve services for high-impact applications and data.

Digital Government

Office etiquette? There's a bot for that.

Slackbots offer a new way for agencies to guide employees' workplace conversations, but there are limits to bots' ability to save people from uncomfortable confrontations.

People

You can never start a transition too early

The wheels are in motion for the next handoff of presidential power in 2017, and while government has plenty to do, outside partnerships are forming a key part of the "let's not mess this transition up" coalition.

People

Indie CIOs fall under FITARA's scope

A spending bill provision expands CIO budget authority to independent agencies, but whether or how agencies will actually change their operations is an open question.

People

White House joins Snapchat

The most social media-savvy U.S. president in history joined video messenger app Snapchat, but is not yet down with Peach.

Digital Government

GOP report slams the whole government on FOIA

A new report highlights how onerous the process of obtaining government documents has become, despite the advent of electronic records.

Digital Government

Getting back on the $3,500-or-less horse

18F is retrying the micro-purchase reverse auction format that netted a $1 code project last year, though the outfit plans to shake things up eventually.

Digital Government

Could an IRS tech push leave taxpayers feeling abandoned?

The IRS has an ambitious plan for customer service, but will taxpayers be able to access live human help?

Digital Government

FTC: Existing consumer laws govern big data

In a long-promised report, the Federal Trade Commission indicates that it will use its existing regulatory playbook to target firms that use big data to discriminate against consumers.

Digital Government

GSA's Citizen Services get high marks in survey, but 'ease of use' lags

A new survey alerted the Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies to weak points in their offerings – and helped them focus on keeping things easy for users.

Modernization

Patent office restores service

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has its systems back online after an outage shut down agency apps over the Christmas holiday.

Digital Government

Defense Health Agency looks to civilian side for health IT contracts

A January industry day will detail how the Defense Health Agency will tap civilian side contract vehicles to satisfy health IT requirements.

Modernization

GSA plans one-stop shop for Salesforce

Aiming to centralize government-wide professional services procurement for Salesforce support, the General Services Administration is launching a new, six-business-strong contract vehicle.

Digital Government

Patent application systems could be offline through Christmas

A power outage knocked out USPTO’s web services just ahead of the major holiday.