The diminished state of Defense IT acquisition and how to fix it

"According to the Government Accountability Office, large federal IT investments - including those at DOD - historically fail to meet cost, schedule or performance objectives more than 80% of the time. What makes this failure rate especially troubling is that the system enabling it remains largely unchanged. System engineering and technical advisory teams that presided over failed programs often continue to profit from those same efforts."

"Past initiatives - including the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996, CICA, OMB Circular A-130, Sections 804 and 809 of the FY2009 NDAA and the Federal IT Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) - were well intentioned but ultimately produced limited results due to weak training, misaligned incentives and minimal accountability. Despite decades of documented failure, meaningful consequences remain rare. No senior leaders are removed for repeated IT program collapses."

The Department of Defense increasingly relies on commercial information technology for mission-critical operations, yet most major IT programs consistently fail to meet cost, schedule, and performance objectives. The Government Accountability Office reports that large federal IT investments fail more than 80% of the time. This persistent failure stems from systemic issues including conflicts of interest where system engineering teams profit from failed programs they oversee, weak training, misaligned incentives, and minimal accountability. Previous reform initiatives including the Clinger-Cohen Act, FITARA, and others produced limited results. Senior leaders face rare consequences for repeated IT program collapses. Executive Order 14265 represents renewed commitment to addressing these structural problems that decades of GAO reviews and congressional hearings have consistently identified.

Read at Nextgov.com