During a discussion with three "New Voices in Federal IT" hosted by the Association for Federal Information Resources Management (AFFIRM) on Feb. 19, the panelists were asked to identify the one aspect of federal IT they would fix if given a "magic wand."
Budget
"We can't get money when we need money. I'm still waiting on the release of my funds for this year – and that's for the program office, that's not for building an IT program. If we can get the budget figured out by congress and get them to actually pass a budget and get us our money in a timely manner so we can spend it and actually do it, that would fix the vast majority of problems." — Matt Goodrich, FedRAMP director
Process
"Duplication and the levels of bureaucracy that you have to go through to get things approved. Those things take time – there are middle men to the middle men. So getting things through the process is a timely endeavor. I'd lessen some of those constraints." — Tim Cox, acting chief of correspondence, congressional and intergovernmental operations for ASD-PPM, OI&T at Veterans Affairs
Politics
"I would get rid of all the politics of IT. I'm an engineer by degree – we want to solve problems. You spend most of your time worrying about the politics of you fixing the problem. 'If I fix the problem it will offend this person or this…' Realize I can't fix the problem because of all the politics." — Richard Young, CIO of USDA Foreign Agriculture Service
Do you agree? What one thing would you change if given the power? Join the conversation on LinkedIn.
Aaron Boyd is an awarding-winning journalist currently serving as editor of Federal Times — a Washington, D.C. institution covering federal workforce and contracting for more than 50 years — and Fifth Domain — a news and information hub focused on cybersecurity and cyberwar from a civilian, military and international perspective.
