While investments in IT have the potential to improve lives and  organizations, some federally funded IT projects can—and have— become risky, costly, unproductive mistakes. Federal IT Reform Plan Strives to Address Persistent Challenges

After assessing the most persistent challenges in acquiring, managing,  and operating IT systems, in December 2010, the Federal CIO  established a 25-point IT Reform Plan designed to address challenges in  IT acquisition, improve operational efficiencies, and deliver more IT value  to the American taxpayer. OMB and Key Federal Agencies Have Made Progress on IT Reform Action Items, But Much Remains to Be Done

OMB and key federal agencies have made progress on selected action  items identified in the IT Reform Plan, but there are several areas where  more remains to be done. Of the 10 key action items we reviewed, 3 were  completed and the other 7 were partially completed by December 2011. The agency reported  that of the 10 action items, 7 were completed and 3 were partially  completed. They noted  that work will continue on all of the initiatives even after OMB declares the  related action items to be completed under the IT Reform Plan. We  disagree with this approach. In prematurely declaring the action items to  be completed, OMB risks losing momentum on the progress it has made  to date. Until OMB and the agencies complete the action items called for in the IT  Reform Plan, the benefits of the reform initiatives—including increased  operational efficiencies and more effective management of large-scale IT  programs—may be delayed. OMB and the agencies have plans for addressing all seven  of the action items that we identified as behind schedule, but lack time  frames for completing five of them. OMB officials stated that it plans  to propose new authorities as part of the 2013 President’s Budget,  and intends to work with congressional committees throughout the  budget rollout process. OMB is behind  schedule in consolidating commodity IT spending under agency CIOs. However, there is no time frame for completing this activity. Until OMB and the agencies establish time frames for completing  corrective actions, they increase the risk that key actions will not be  effectively managed to closure. However, OMB has not established performance measures for 6 of the 10  action items we reviewed. OMB has not established performance measures for gauging the success  of most of its reform initiatives. For example, while OMB is tracking the  number of services that agencies move to a cloud computing environment  and the number of data center closures, it is not tracking the usefulness  of its efforts to develop a best practices collaboration portal or a cadre of  IT acquisition professionals. Specifically we are recommending that the  Director of the Office of Management and Budget direct the Federal Chief  Information Officer to ensure that the action items called for in the IT Reform Plan are  completed by the responsible parties prior to the completion of the IT  Reform Plan’s 18 month deadline of June 2012, or if the June 2012  deadline cannot be met, by another clearly defined deadline; provide clear time frames for addressing the shortfalls associated with  the IT Reform Plan action items; accurately characterize the status of the IT Reform Plan action items  in the upcoming progress report in order to keep momentum going on  action items that are not yet completed; and establish outcome-oriented measures for each applicable action item  in the IT Reform Plan. OMB considers these action items to be  completed. Thus, we believe that our recommendation to  OMB to accurately characterize the status of IT Reform action  items is valid. Until OMB establishes and tracks  measureable, outcome-oriented performance measures for each  of the action items in the IT Reform Plan, the agency will be  limited in its ability to evaluate progress that has been made and  whether or not the initiative is achieving its goals. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) evaluate the progress the Office of  Management and Budget (OMB) and key federal agencies have made on  selected action items in the Information Technology (IT) Reform Plan, (2)  assess the plans for addressing any action items that are behind  schedule, and (3) assess the extent to which sound measures are in  place to evaluate the success of the IT reform initiatives.
Why GAO Did This Study

While investments in IT have the potential to improve lives and organizations, federal IT projects too often experience cost overruns, schedule slippages, and performance shortfalls. To address acquisition challenges, improve operational efficiencies, and deliver more value to the American taxpayer, in December 2010, OMBs Federal CIO issued a 25-point IT Reform Plan.
GAO was asked to (1) evaluate the progress OMB and key federal agencies have made on selected action items in the IT Reform Plan, (2) assess the plans for addressing action items that are behind schedule, and (3) assess the extent to which sound measures are in place to evaluate the success of the IT reform initiatives. To do so, GAO selected 10 of the 25 action items from the IT Reform Plan, focusing on the more important activities due to be completed by December 2011; analyzed agency documentation; and interviewed agency officials.

What GAO Found

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and key federal agencies have made progress on action items in the Information Technology (IT) Reform Plan, but there are several areas where more remains to be done. Of the 10 key action items GAO reviewed, 3 were completed and 7 were partially completed by December 2011, in part because the initiatives are complex. OMB reported greater progress than GAO determined, stating that 7 of the 10 action items were completed and that 3 were partially completed. While OMB officials acknowledge that there is more to do in each of the topic areas, they consider the key action items to be completed because the IT Reform Plan has served its purpose as a catalyst for a set of broader initiatives. They explained that work will continue on all of the initiatives even after OMB declares that the related action items are completed under the IT Reform Plan. We disagree with this approach. In prematurely declaring the action items to be completed, OMB risks losing momentum on the progress it has made to date. Until OMB and the agencies complete the action items, the benefits of the reform initiativesincluding increased operational efficiencies and more effective management of large-scale IT programswill likely be delayed.
OMB and key agencies plan to continue efforts to address the seven items that GAO identified as behind schedule, but lack time frames for completing most of them. For example, OMB plans to work with congressional committees during the fiscal year 2013 budget process to assist in exploring legislative proposals to establish flexible budget models and to consolidate certain routine IT purchases under agency chief information officers (CIO). However, OMB has not established time frames for completing five of the seven IT Reform Plan action items that are behind schedule. Until OMB and the agencies establish time frames for completing these corrective actions, they increase the risk that key action items will not be completed or effectively managed to closure. Further, they diminish the likelihood of achieving the full benefits of IT reform.
OMB has not established performance measures for evaluating the results of most of the IT reform initiatives GAO reviewed. Specifically, OMB has established performance measures for 4 of the 10 action items, including data center consolidation and cloud computing. However, no performance measures exist for 6 other action items, including establishing the best practices collaboration platform and developing a cadre of IT acquisition professionals. Until outcome-oriented performance measures are in place for each of the action items, OMB will be limited in its ability to evaluate progress that has been made and to determine whether or not the initiative is achieving its intended results.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making recommendations to three agencies to complete key IT Reform action items; the agencies generally concurred. GAO is also making recommendations to OMB to complete key action items, accurately characterize the items status, and establish measures for IT reform initiatives. OMB agreed to complete key action items, but disagreed with the latter recommendations, noting that the agency believes it is characterizing the items status correctly and that measures are not warranted. GAO maintains that its recommendations are valid.