“The Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act of 2015 (PMIAA), if enacted, will enable extraordinary improvements to program and project management policy and bolster workforce development across the US federal government. It will help ensure that the US is fully prepared for future transformative initiatives. It will also support an approach centered around the management of benefits realization, which would ultimately ensure that benefits are delivered to the most important stakeholders of all … the citizens.
Projects are the stepping stones to change and transformation. Regardless of whether organizations are in the public or private sector and based anywhere in the world, it’s critical to establish a baseline and nurture a sustained culture of project and program management, one that will make it easier to proactively address challenges before they become unmanageable, instead of relying on the ability to react when a challenge cannot be ignored”. – Jordan Sims for Federal Times.
H.R. 2144 Program Management Improvement and Accountability Act of 2015
Establishes as additional functions of the Deputy Director for Management of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirements to:
- adopt and oversee government-wide standards, policies, and guidelines for program and project management for executive agencies;
- chair the Program Management Policy Council (established by this Act);
- issue regulations and establish standards and policies for executive agencies in accordance with nationally accredited standards for program and project management planning and delivery issues;
- engage with the private sector;
- conduct portfolio reviews to address programs identified as high risk by the Government Accountability Office;
- conduct portfolio reviews of agency programs at least annually; and
- establish a five-year strategic plan for program and project management.
Requires the head of each federal agency that is required to have a Chief Financial Officer to designate a Program Management Improvement Officer to implement agency program management policies and develop a written strategy for enhancing the role of program managers within the agency.
Establishes the Program Management Policy Council within OMB to act as the principal interagency forum for improving agency practices related to program and project management.
Requires the Office of Personnel Management to issue regulations that: (1) identify key skills and competencies needed for an agency program and project manager, (2) establish a new job series for program and project management within an agency, and (3) establish a new career path for program and project managers.