Abstract :
A US General Services Administration (GSA) report titled Alternatives to Grand Design for Systems Modernization describes four new strategies intended to help agencies plan large systems modernization projects. GSA Information Resources Management (IRM) Service Assistant Commissioner Francis A. McDonough says the strategies are designed to provide agencies with more downsizing options and to reduce the number of failed grand design approaches. Sixteen major risk factors are identified in the report, among which are unstable policy environments, untested technologies, limited contractor experience and fragmented technical control. The four strategies are the Bounded Grand Design Strategy, the Comprehensive Information Technology Utility Strategy, the Functional/Technical Integration of Program-Specific Plans and the Incremental Investment Strategy; each is described.