5 FAH-5 H-600
BENEFIT COST ANALYSIS (BCA)
5 FAH-5 H-610
USING THE BENEFIT COST ANALYSIS
(CT:ITS-4; 06-21-2012)
(Office of Origin: IRM/BMP/GRP/GP)
(Updated only to revise Office of Origin)
5 FAH-5 H-611 GENERAL
(TL:ITS-1; 02-13-2002)
a. The current laws relating to managing information technology (IT) in the Federal Government require a Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) prior to implementing an IT project.
b. The requirement for BCA comes from OMB Circular A-130, to prepare and update, as necessary, throughout the information system life cycle, for each information system. This is consistent with the methodology described in OMB Circular No. A-94, “Guidelines and Discount Rates for Benefit Cost Analysis of Federal Programs.”
c. This chapter contains instructions for preparing a BCA for an IT project in the Department of State.
5 FAH-5 H-612 APPROVAL THRESHOLDS
(TL:ITS-1; 02-13-2002)
When an information technology initiative exceeds $30M over the system life cycle, or exceeds $10M in any one year a BCA is required. In the Department of State, a BCA is required for development and/or integration and/or maintenance projects that exceed $100,000. Managers must tailor the BCA effort to the size of the project.
5 FAH-5 H-613 SIMPLIFIED BCA
(TL:ITS-1; 02-13-2002)
Use a simplified BCA when the projected cost is $10M or less. This is a scaled down version of a BCA that focuses only on those elements that the project manager deems relevant. Projects with life cycle costs below $10M may be justified using a simplified BCA.
5 FAH-5 H-614 THROUGH 5
FAH-5 H-619
UNASSIGNED
(TL:ITS-1; 02-13-2002)