[LINK] US to release IT Dashboard software as Open Source!

[Marghanita da Cruz]

We launched the IT Dashboard and the TechStat Accountability 
Sessions to improve IT transparency and accountability 
across the Federal Government. The Dashboard has helped us 
shine a light on IT projects, providing performance data to 
fuel TechStat reviews, which have led to over $3 billion in 
cost reductions.

Today we are releasing the software code of the IT Dashboard 
and the TechStat toolkit to the public for two reasons. 
First, to take the platform to the next level, we want to 
tap into the collective talents and ingenuity of the 
American people, to enhance functionality, improve the code 
and address existing challenges such as those identified by 
David Powner and his team at GAO.  Second, CIOs from across 
the country and around the world such as Maarten Hillenaar 
of the Netherlands, Kyle Schafer in West Virginia  and Jason 
DeHaan of the City of Chicago are all interested in 
implementing these platforms in their respective organizations.

The IT Dashboard has helped the Federal Government to better 
manage its IT investments, and now that its code is freely 
available— through a format known as ‘open source’— it can 
help any organization do the same. Software developers will 
be able to collaborate, identify errors, develop 
enhancements, and recommend improvements to the Dashboard, 
and find new uses for it that we have not even imagined. 
The TechStat Toolkit provides a comprehensive guide for 
organizations to establish their own TechStats to improve 
line-of-sight between project teams and senior executives, 
increase the precision of ongoing measurement of IT program 
health, and boost the quality and timing of interventions to 
keep projects on track.

Opening up the inner workings of the Dashboard by releasing 
the code and the TechStat toolkit is only a first step. We 
recognize that the Federal Government does not have a 
monopoly on the best ideas, which is why we are working with 
organizations such as Civic Commons to help share technology 
for the public good and are asking the public for continuous 
input to help us improve how we manage taxpayer dollars.

If you have ideas, recommendations or other contributions to 
the IT Dashboard, we urge you to join the discussion here. 
To access and download source code for the IT Dashboard and 
the TechStat toolkit, please visit www.cio.gov/tools.

Vivek Kundra is the U.S. Chief Information Officer
<http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/03/31/open-sourcing-it-dashboard-techstat-process>
-- 
Marghanita da Cruz
http://ramin.com.au
Tel: 0414-869202