TABLE OF CONTENTS
| Topics | Sections |
|---|---|
| OVERVIEW | 6.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? 6.2 What is the scope of this chapter? 6.3 What terms do you need to know to understand this chapter? 6.4 What is the overall policy? 6.5 What are the authorities for this chapter? |
| RESPONSIBILITIES | 6.6 Who is responsible for portfolio investment management? |
OVERVIEW
6.1 What is the purpose of this chapter? This chapter:
A. Ensures the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Associate Chief Information Officer (ACIO), has adequate oversight and control over the Service’s Information Management and Technology (IMT) investment portfolio as required by the Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act;
B. Establishes policy for managing the Service’s IMT investments in accordance with Federal and Department of the Interior (Department) laws, regulations, and policies to help ensure they support our mission and strategic goals;
C. Establishes requirements for those involved in the oversight and management of IMT investments, including the Service’s IMT Portfolio Manager; and
D. Describes the responsibilities of Service employees who serve as Capital Planners and Investment Managers.
6.2 What is the scope of this chapter? This chapter applies to:
A. Service employees, contractors, and other authorized agents who:
(1) Procure, develop, or otherwise manage IMT investments or the Service’s overall IMT portfolio. We use the term “employee” in this chapter as a general term to encompass those listed above; and
(2) Manage, own, and operate information systems for the Service throughout their lifecycles. This includes systems that external organizations operate on behalf of the Service.
B. This policy describes investment portfolio and investment management responsibilities. Project management requirements, including requirements for receiving approval to initiate projects, are established and described in 270 FW 2, Project Management Office (PMO) and IMT Project Management and the IMT Project Review and Approval Handbook.
6.3 What terms do you need to know to understand this chapter?
A. Folio. A web-based, Government-owned solution that Federal agencies use to support their internal portfolio management, IMT capital planning, and IMT governance processes and to meet the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) reporting requirements.
B. Incremental development. When several partial deliverables are constructed, and each deliverable has progressively more functionality.
C. Information Management and Technology (IMT). Includes the collective definitions below:
(1) Information management is the collection, organization, and control of information from one or more sources and distribution of that information to one or more audiences. The term encompasses both information itself and related resources, such as personnel, equipment, funds, and IT.
(2) IT includes, but is not limited to, any services, equipment, or interconnected systems or subsystems of equipment that we use to automatically acquire, store, analyze, evaluate, manipulate, manage, move, control, display, switch, interchange, transmit, or receive data or information.
D. IMT investment. IMT we spend funding and resources on and for which we track the total dollars as an expenditure that equates to the commitment value of IT resources we use to address mission delivery and management support. This includes all systems and projects for the development, modernization, enhancement, or maintenance of a single IMT asset or group of IMT assets with related functionality, and the subsequent operation of those assets in a production environment.
E. IMT investment management. A decision-making process, in support of agency missions and business needs, that includes analyzing, tracking, and evaluating risks, including information security and privacy risks. The process also includes analyzing the results of investments the Service makes in information systems. The process covers the life of each system and must include explicit criteria for analyzing the projected and actual costs, benefits, and risks associated with the investments.
F. IMT portfolio. A group of IMT investments and the processes by which they are selected and managed. The ACIO strategically selects IMT investments to advance the Service's organizational mission and goals.
G. IMT portfolio management. A process that involves development, oversight, and quality assessments of the procedures, methods, and technologies we use to analyze and collectively manage current or proposed investments in the context of the Service’s and the Information Resources and Technology Management (IRTM) program’s strategic and mission objectives.
H. IMT project. A temporary endeavor (with a defined start and end date) with specific objectives to develop, modernize, enhance, dispose, or maintain an IMT system or investment. A project may consist of one or more components and may involve one or more acquisition- or development-related activities.
I. IT resources. Service personnel, equipment, facilities, services, or other assets that we primarily use in the management, operation, acquisition, or other activity related to the lifecycle of IT and IT services and equipment. The term “IT resources” does not include grants that establish or support IT that the Service does not directly operate.
6.4 What is the overall policy?
A. It is Service policy to:
(1) Manage all individual investments within the context of an overall IMT portfolio;
(2) Provide the ACIO with an organization and the resources that allow for appropriate oversight of the IMT portfolio;
(3) Align IMT portfolio investments with organizational mission objectives and strategic goals;
(4) Report IMT portfolio information to the Department within their established deadlines;
(5) Reduce operational costs, mitigate duplication of efforts, and enable mission capabilities through IMT investments; and
(6) Maintain investments in the General Services Administration (GSA) Folio program in compliance with OMB Circular A-11, Section 55.
B. The Service’s IMT portfolio:
(1) Is managed by the Service’s ACIO as governed through policies established by OMB and the Department’s Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO). The ACIO conducts project and investment reviews to determine the suitability of IMT solutions prior to establishing them in the Service’s IMT portfolio by:
(a) Determining the feasibility of pursuing Servicewide initiatives,
(b) Verifying that IMT investments have the allotted resources necessary to be operational throughout their lifecycles,
(c) Establishing performance criteria,
(d) Establishing risk acceptance levels, and
(e) Establishing governance processes for the Service to evaluate potential investments.
(2) Is spearheaded by IRTM’s Investment Management Branch (IMB) Chief, who is the designated IMT Portfolio Manager. See Table 6-1 for a list of the IMT Portfolio Manager’s responsibilities.
C. The Service requires that all Service IMT investments:
(1) Are managed by an Investment Manager who can carry out the responsibilities in Table 6-1G.
(2) Are managed throughout their lifecycles as follows:
(a) Initiation: When governance processes identify a project or a system that needs to be tracked as an investment, the Requirements Management Board will inform IMB, and IMB includes the project in an existing investment or establishes it as a new investment.
(b) Operation and maintenance: During the development phase,the Investment Manager must meet all IMT investment management requirements established by the Department and Service, in addition to system-specific criteria to assist in tracking the investment(s) throughout its lifecycle. These requirements could consist of monthly, quarterly, or biannual check-ins. IMB will discuss, establish, and approve the requirements prior to the investment’s initiation and make adjustments over time. Throughout the operation of the investment, IMB must coordinate with the Investment Manager monthly and quarterly to ensure full functionality as it pertains to the Service’s mission and objectives. When improvements or enhancements are identified, IMB will work with the Investment Managers to track them and their associated funding.
(c) Decommissioning/disposal: When the IMT investment is nearing the end of its lifecycle, the Investment Manager must reach out to IMB to initiate a decommissioning plan. The Project Management Office and others involved in the IMT investment prepare for its decommissioning and disposal. We provide instructions and guidance on decommissioning in 270 FW 3, Decommissioning Information Systems and IMT Investments.
(3) Leverage incremental development that includes IMT software with improved functionality and shared resources, methodologies, tools, and techniques related to IMT portfolio management.
(4) Include a procedure to assess performance ratings/metrics set by the Department’s OCIO. The Investment Manager and IMB must review these ratings/metrics on a quarterly basis in relation to operational performance, human capital, privacy, security, and legacy systems.
6.5 What are the authorities for this chapter?
B. Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA), which is part of the Carl Levin and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113-291).
C. Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 (Clinger-Cohen Act), Division E (Public Law 104-106).
D. Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) Memorandum, “Information Technology Portfolio Management Policy,” July 13, 2022.
E. OMB Circular A-11, Preparation, Submission, and Execution of the Budget.
F. OMB Circular A-130, Managing Information as a Strategic Resource.
G. Resources, Planning, and Portfolio Management (40 U.S.C. 11319).
RESPONSIBILITIES
6.6 Who is responsible for portfolio investment management? See Table 6-1.
Table 6-1: Portfolio Management Responsibilities