California prepares to launch IT vendor rating program
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The California Department of Technology plans to launch a pilot program next year that allows state officials to rate their IT vendors’ work on a project.
Called the Contractor Performance Evaluation Scorecard, the program’s objective is to improve performance and accountability on vendor projects, said Carlos Ramos, the state chief information officer and director of the department. He said the scorecard will promote communications between state officials and vendors, and will allow the department to address problems with vendors as they happen.
“We want to find out ahead of time — are there any fatal flaws in here or is there anything that needs to be tweaked?” Ramos said. “We’re going to pilot it and probably make some more adjustments and then start using it on a pretty regular basis moving forward.”
The scorecard will measure several key performance indicators — scope, scheduling, quality and timeliness — and include an appeals process. Ratings will be published for 36 months after they are received.
“The Contractor Performance Evaluation Scorecard was created to strengthen state accountability, IT project governance and to increase overall the likelihood of IT project success for the State of California,” said Marnell Voss, deputy director of statewide technology procurement.
