Federal Times: ‘How agile development aids FITARA compliance’

Ann Dunkin, CIO of the Environmental Protection Agency, talked with Federal Times about the agency’s progress in IT acquisition reform and the shift from legacy systems to agile development.

FITARA provides CIOs with specific budget and acquisition authority that allows infrastructure projects to be managed and supported from an enterprise perspective. Dunkin shared how FITARA has affected the roles of CIOs within her agency, and how agile practices are being taught.

“We need to encourage IT project teams to be forthcoming about their needs for change and ensuring the CIOs provide the hands-on assistance needed to help.  “Agile” cannot simply become another word that is included in FITARA reviews to get an acquisition approval; it is a methodology that must be taught, modeled and demonstrate its success.  We are setting up a fellowship program at EPA to embed staff with cutting-edge user experience and agile development skills with our programs. These resources will help foster and grow those skill sets within EPA.”