Case Study: IRS Business System Modernization Process Improvement
Abstract
Recognizing the limitations of its decades-old legacy information technology systems, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service began an effort to modernize. In 1998, after two initial efforts to modernize achieved limited results, the IRS established a partnership with the private sector and awarded a contract to the PRIME Alliance, which was slated to assume the development and integration role. At that time, the IRS Business Systems Modernization Office (BSMO) was established to manage the program. However, as with past modernization efforts, the BSMO had difficulties in developing the discipline to efficiently and effectively manage the acquisition aspects of this modernization effort. The General Accounting Office suggested that the BSM program instill this discipline by improving a number of management process areas, including its acquisition processes. This suggestion included application of the Software Acquisition Capability Maturity Model (SA-CMM) as guidance on how to improve. This paper provides an overview of applying the SA-CMM to the IRS modernization effort to establish and implement more effective acquisition management processes and practices. The experience includes the process improvement planning stages of first selecting the SA-CMM as a framework for process improvement, through to completion of the final assessment where a maturity level 2 rating was achieved against the SA-CMM.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 01, 2004
- Accession Number
- ADA455620
Entities
People
- Jon Gross
- Lloyd Anderson
- Matt Fisher
Organizations
- Carnegie Mellon University