science

Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996

Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 rather than just read about it. In short: The Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 is a United States federal law, designed to improve the way the federal government acquires, uses and disposes information technology (IT). It was passed as Division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996.

Key takeaways

Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 is a United States federal law, designed to improve the way the federal government acquires, uses and disposes information technology (IT). It was passed as Division E of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996. Together with the Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1996, it is known as the Clinger–Cohen Act. The Clinger–Cohen Act supplements the information resources management policies by establishing a comprehensive approach for executive agencies to improve the acquisition and management of their information resources, by:

focusing information resource planning to support their strategic missions; implementing a capital planning and investment control process that links to budget formulation and execution; and rethinking and restructuring the way they do their work before investing in information systems. The act directed the development and maintenance of Information Technology Architectures (ITAs) by federal agencies to maximize the benefits of information technology (IT) within the Government. In subsequent guidance on implementing the Act, the Office of Management and Budget stipulated that agency ITA's "...should be consistent with Federal, agency, and bureau information architectures.." In keeping with this mandate, in 1999 the US Federal CIO Council initiated the Federal Enterprise Architecture, essentially a federal-wide ITA that would "... develop, maintain, and facilitate the implementation of the top-level enterprise architecture for the Federal Enterprise."

Overview In February 1996, Congress enacted the Clinger–Cohen Act to reform and improve the way Federal agencies acquire and manage IT resources. Central to implementing these reforms is the need to establish effective IT leadership within each agency. The law requires each agency head to establish clear accountability for IT management activities by appointing an agency chief information officer (CIO) with the visibility and management responsibilities necessary to carry out the specific provisions of the Act. The CIO plays a critical leadership role in driving reforms to:

help control system development risks; better manage technology spending; and succeed in achieving real, measurable improvements in agency performance. The act provides that the government information technology shop be operated as an efficient and profitable business would be operated. Acquisition, planning and management of technology must be treated as a "capital investment." While the law is complex, all consumers of hardware and software in the department should be aware of the chief information officer's leadership in implementing this statute. The act emphasizes an integrated framework of technology aimed at efficiently performing the business of the department. Just as few businesses can turn a profit by allowing their employees to purchase anything they want to do any project they want, the department also cannot operate efficiently with hardware and software systems purchased on an "impulse purchase" basis and installed without an overall plan. All facets of capital planning are taken into consideration just as they would be in private industry. The act assigns the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) responsibility for improving the acquisition, use, and disposal of information technology by the federal government. The Director should aim to improve the productivity, efficiency, and effectiveness of federal programs, including through dissemination of public information and the reduction of information collection burdens on the public. The Act supplements the information resources management (IRM) policies contained in the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) by establishing a comprehensive approach to improving the acquisition and management of agency information systems through work process redesign, and by linking planning and investment strategies to the budget process.

History The "Information Technology Management Reform Act" of 1996 was later renamed "Clinger-Cohen Act" for its co-sponsors, Rep. William Clinger, R-PA., and Senator William Cohen, R-ME. To provide agencies with guidance on implementing the Clinger–Cohen Act, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in April 2000 distributed an "OMB Circular A-130" about the management of Federal Information Resources. This circular incorporated some other memoranda:

M–96–20, "Implementation of the Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996" M–97–02, "Funding Information Systems Investments" M–97–16, "Information Technology Architecture", as well as new material including;

M-15-14 "Management and Oversight of Federal Information Technology"

Clinger-Cohen Act topics

National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996 This "Information Technology Management Reform Act" was part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1996, which is organized in five divisions:

(1) Division A — Department of Defense Authorizations. (2) Division B — Military Construction Authorizations. (3) Division C — Department of Energy National Security Authorizations and Other Authorizations. (4) Division D — Federal Acquisition Reform. (5) Division E — Information Technology Management This public law was intended to authorize appropriations for fiscal year 1996 for military activities of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe personnel strengths for such fiscal year for the Armed Forces, to reform acquisition laws and information technology management of the Federal Government, and for other purposes.

Definitions In the Act, some terms have been explicitly defined:

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Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996

In research: Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Acts of the 104th United States Congress, Enterprise architecture, United States Office of Management and Budget, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
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Frequently asked questions

What is Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 in simple terms?

Why does Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996.