A report released by the Government Accountability Office Oct. 21, 2011 summarized a series of best practices in the successful acquisition of federal government IT projects.

The practices included:

• Program staff had the necessary knowledge and skills.
• Senior department and agency executives supported the programs.
• End users and stakeholders were involved in the development of requirements.
• End users participated in testing of system functionality prior to formal end user acceptance testing.
• Government and contractor staff were stable and consistent.
• Program staff prioritized requirements.
• Program officials maintained regular communication with the prime contractor.
• Programs received sufficient funding.

According to report, federal department officials had deemed the following seven investments to have been successfully acquired, based on the degree to which they achieved their respective cost, schedule, scope, and performance goals:

• Commerce Decennial Response Integration System
• Defense Global Combat Support System-Joint, Increment 7
• Energy Manufacturing Operations Management (MOMentum) Project
• Homeland Security Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative
• Transportation Integrated Terminal Weather System
• Treasury Customer Account Data Engine 2 (CADE 2)
• Veterans Affairs Occupational Health Record-keeping System