VA Trying to Shake Off IT problems, CIO Says

Not too long ago, the Department of Veterans Affairs weathered a series of scandals caused by data breaches and mismanaged programs. Seeking a new way forward, the department brought on Roger Baker as CIO in early 2009 with a mandate to transform VA's management of its information technology systems.

Two years later, Baker said at a recent industry event, the department has made progress.

One key area of improvement has been customer service. Over the last 21 months, VA has moved from only meeting 30 percent of its IT-related milestones to an 80 percent success rate, Baker said. The VA is using an online measurement system to track and meet its customer-service goals, which has been a big help in improving outcomes.