The White House next month will identify between 25 and 30 high-risk information technology projects that will be eliminated unless agencies can make required improvements, the government's top IT official said today.

"In order to justify future funding of these projects, agencies will need to demonstrate that these projects are actually going to be able to deliver to the American people," said Vivek Kundra, federal chief information officer, during a news conference.

The total cost of the yet-to-be-identified projects could top $30 billion, Kundra said.

Kundra said he will meet with CIOs from the 27 top agencies during the first three weeks of August to identify which of their IT projects are at the highest risk of failure. Factors used in making those determinations include significant cost overruns, failure to meet performance targets or mission objectives, and frequent revisions to initial cost estimates and schedules, Kundra wrote in a July 28 memo to agency heads detailing the review process.

Based on those meetings, Kundra will develop a list of between 25 and 30 projects that are at most risk governmentwide. That list likely will be released Aug. 23, he said.

Agencies will have to submit detailed plans for improving each of those projects within 30 days of the projects being selected. Agencies must demonstrate that they can reduce risk to acceptable levels through actions such as paring down projects, splitting them up into smaller chunks, defining clear milestones and ensuring executive-level leadership. Those projects that don't meet the test won't be continued, Kundra wrote in the memo.

"All options are on the table, whether it's halting future investments, discontinuing the project or making sure from a management perspective that agencies have the proper controls in place," Kundra said during the news conference.