	Introduction

According to the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) Guide to the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF), the CPDF is the federal government’s central personnel automated database that contains statistically accurate demographic information on about 1.9 million federal civilian employees. Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

For this review, we had three objectives: (1) determine the extent to which selected CPDF data elements are accurate, including the data elements used by OPM’s Office of the Actuaries for estimating the government’s liability for future payments of federal retirement programs; (2) determine whether selected users of CPDF data believed CPDF products met their needs, including whether the products were current, accurate, and complete and whether the cautions OPM provided to them on the limitations associated with using the data were sufficient for them to present the CPDF data correctly; and (3) determine whether OPM has documented changes to the System and verified the System’s acceptance of those changes, as recommended in applicable federal guidance, and whether the System would implement CPDF edits as intended. We mailed the questionnaires to 247 individuals identified by OPM’s OWI as representing all the requesters of CPDF products in fiscal year 1996 who obtained data directly from OPM. On a periodic basis, however, OPM draws a governmentwide sample of CPDF records and measures CPDF data accuracy by comparing selected data in former federal employees’ official personnel folders to data in the CPDF for the same period. OPM generally makes the results of its measurements of CPDF data accuracy available to CPDF data users within OPM but not to non-OPM users. However, OPM did not make that statement for its December 1990 measurement of 1988 CPDF data. OPM officials said that OPM does not routinely inform non-OPM users of the results of its measurements of historical accuracy. OPM has not promulgated a standard for the accuracy of CPDF data. Conclusion

Most of the 28 data elements we reviewed were 99 percent or more accurate in the aggregate. USERs Generally Reported CPDF Products Met Their Needs, but Further Awareness of Cautions on CPDF Data Could Affect Use of the Data

We used a questionnaire to determine the extent to which selected CPDF users believed (1) the CPDF data they used met their needs, including whether the products were current, accurate, and complete; and (2) they received sufficient cautions about the limitations of CPDF data to use or present the CPDF data correctly. The guidance suggested that agencies document the life cycle of an automated information system from its initiation through installation and operation. OIT officials said that to their knowledge the System has not had problems processing data reliably and that the System’s owner, OPM’s OWI, concurred. Our review of 718 of the 763 computer instructions used by the CPDF showed that the System uses instructions that should implement CPDF edits as intended. OIT officials said that for OPM to accomplish its future information technology (IT) goals it will have to follow a structured approach for computer application development. In addition, the testing that was done was not done by an independent reviewer. Although OIT did not follow an SDLC approach and did not have documentation to show that the 1986 software upgrade passed acceptance tests or that subsequent modifications to the System’s software applications worked as intended, its managers said that they believe the System is reliable.
Why GAO Did This Study

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Office of Personnel Management's (OPM) database of federal civilian employees, the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF), focusing on: (1) the extent to which selected CPDF data elements are accurate, including the data elements used by OPM's Office of the Actuaries for estimating the government's liability for future payments of federal retirement programs; (2) whether selected users of CPDF data believed that CPDF products met their needs, including whether the products were current, accurate, and complete and whether the cautions OPM provided to them on the limitations associated with using the data were sufficient for them to present the CPDF data correctly; and (3) whether OPM has documented changes to the Central Personnel Data System and verified the System's acceptance of those changes, as recommended in applicable federal guidance, and whether the System would implement CPDF edits as intended.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) OPM does not have an official standard for the desired accuracy of CPDF data elements; (2) on a periodic basis, however, OPM measures CPDF data accuracy by comparing certain data found in a sample of former federal employees' official personnel folders to data in the CPDF for the same period; (3) OPM generally makes the results of its measurements of CPDF data accuracy available to users of CPDF data within OPM but not to non-OPM users; (4) although the accuracy of the CPDF data GAO reviewed varied by data element, about two-thirds of the selected CPDF data elements GAO reviewed were 99-percent or more accurate; (5) GAO surveyed all the requesters of CPDF products that OPM identified as obtaining data directly from OPM for fiscal year (FY) 1996; (6) most of these CPDF users reported that CPDF products met their needs, including the data being current, accurate, and complete; (7) the majority of surveyed users reported that they believed that the caution statements OPM provided were sufficient for them to use CPDF data correctly; (8) however, OPM did not provide these users of CPDF data with all 28 cautions that explain how CPDF limitations could affect how they present or use CPDF data; (9) although applicable federal guidance recommended that agencies document the life cycle of an automated information system from its initiation through installation and operation, OPM did not document changes that it made to the System in 1986 when it did a major redesign of the System's software; (10) OPM also did not have documentation to show that acceptance testing of those changes was done and, according to OPM, the testing was not done by an independent reviewer; (11) however, OPM officials said that to their knowledge the System has not had problems processing data reliably; (12) GAO's review of the computer instructions for most CPDF edits used by the System showed that the System uses instructions that should implement the CPDF edits reviewed as intended; (13) OPM officials acknowledged that for OPM to accomplish its future information technology goals it will have to follow an approach that includes documenting the development, modification, and management of its automated information systems and their software applications; and (14) OPM has committed to adopting this approach by no later than FY 2002.