VistA Project

1.     Is VistA a system that could be deployed to a wider community? If yes, what is the most appropriate deployment model: open source code; cloud computing; business process/methodology; other?

2.     If VistA is deployed and used by other government agencies or private sector entities, what organizational and management structure should be developed? Possible questions include:

a.     Which organization(s) should have responsibility for maintaining the system?

b.     Should VistA be established as a national standard? What are the implications of this action?

3.     What is an appropriate strategy for modernizing VistA and transitioning it to a more current and innovative architecture? The strategy should result in an appropriate, creative and agile acquisition and development plan. (NOTE: The project will establish the general guidance and principles for this strategy and will not be involved in matters pertaining to any actual acquisition.)

4.     What are the opportunities and impact of modernizing and deploying VistA upon private industry, the healthcare community and other key groups?

5.     Based on the above, what principles and best practices should be documented and distributed for use by other government agencies considering similar issues?

As part of the assessment, IAC was asked to consider whether there are principles or strategies that would be applicable to other legacy systems currently operated by the government such as those driving Social Security and Medicare.

Deploying and Modernizing VistA– A Case Study for Legacy System Transition

In response to the request from VA, the Industry Advisory Council (IAC) invited participation from the IAC membership.  Forty-two companies volunteered and one representative was accepted from each company.  To protect the objectivity and integrity of the process, a set of operating principles were established.  In addition to complying with all ACT-IAC principles, working group participants were expected to work towards a consensus-based position and to participate on a continuing and regular basis.  Members who failed to comply with these principles were removed from the project.

The final report represents the unanimous recommendatinos of the working group.  The report was submitted to VA on May 4, 2010.  VA has made a commitment to consider the recommnendations as part of its deliberations regarding the future of VistA.  In the meantime, ACT-IAC is distributing the report to other interested organizations in the government IT community.  In addition to addressing VistA, the report's recommendations may have value for other agencies grappling with the issue of modernizing legacy systems.

The individuals who worked on this project did so as volunteers -- and spent many hours of their personal and professional time.  ACT-IAC is grateful to the individuals -- and their employers -- for their support of this project. 

This project demonstrates the value of ACT-IAC's unique collaborative forum.  ACT-IAC looks forward to providing similar assistance on other high priority government IT issues.