Capital Planning and Investment Control

Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) is a systematic approach to selecting, managing, and evaluating information technology investments.

Optimizing the Performance of IT Investments

Capital Planning and Investment Control (CPIC) is a systematic approach to selecting, managing, and evaluating information technology investments.

CPIC is mandated by the Clinger Cohen Act of 1996 which requires federal agencies to focus on the results produced by IT investments.

Here’s how we guide our clients through the CPIC lifecycle:

Pre-Select Phase—Executive decision-makers assess each proposed investment’s support of USDA’s strategic and mission needs. Project managers compile the information necessary for supporting a detailed investment proposal.

Select Phase—Investment analyses are conducted and the members of the E-Board choose the IT projects that best support USDA’s mission and enterprise architecture.

Control Phase—USDA ensures, through timely oversight, quality control, and executive review, that IT investments are executed or developed in a disciplined, well-managed, and consistent manner.

Evaluate Phase—Actual results of the implemented projects are compared to planned results to assess investment performance. This is done to assess the project’s impact on mission performance and to identify any project changes or modifications that may be needed to revise the investment management process based on lessons learned.

Steady-State Phase—Mature investments are assessed to ascertain their continued effectiveness in supporting mission requirements, to evaluate the cost of continued maintenance support, to assess potential technology opportunities, and to consider retirement or replacement options.