The General Services Administration’s (GSA) 18F organization – housed within GSA’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS) – recently updated its De-risking Government Technology Guide to help government technology projects avoid common challenges during implementation.
This marks the first update to the guide since the agency first published it in 2020. It unifies the original guide’s two parts – the State Software Budgeting Handbook and the Federal Field Guide.
“The De-risking guide is an important tool for improving Federal, state, and local government’s approach to managing technology projects,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said in a Sept. 11 blog post. “This new version incorporates recent research and makes it easier to follow principles and best practices, from asking the right questions when deciding on a software solution to building a healthy relationship with a vendor development team.”
Notably, the guide says that only 13 percent of large government technology projects succeed. The guide aims to lower the high risk of failure for tech projects, focusing on two common challenges: how to choose a software solution and how to work with a vendor to build quality custom software quickly.
GSA said the updated guide also includes a new section on vendor management to help government agencies “confidently navigate” the implementation phase of their tech projects.
“The new section on vendor management adds even more value to a guide that’s already proven to be a useful resource across Federal and state governments,” said TTS Director Ann Lewis. “Thoughtful acquisition of software requires collectively understanding existing systems, programs, and agency goals. The updated guide offers foundational knowledge that helps reduce cost, time, and risk during technology procurement, making service delivery more efficient and effective.”
The guide serves as a resource for both Federal and state agencies. GSA said an 18F team met with state employees as part of the Office of Management and Budget’s Facing a Financial Shock initiative, who expressed a need for federally written resources on how to manage technology projects.
The updated guide is a result of the 18F team’s research. It will help states that administer Federal benefit programs – such as unemployment or SNAP – leverage technology to make it easier for Americans to apply for and receive these critical benefits.
“The changes also reflect the core 18F value to iterate. The guide’s original authors hoped it would be revised over time. As we’re able, we’ll continue to do so,” 18F’s Amelia Wong wrote in a Sept. 12 blog post.
