As we have described in numerous  reports and testimonies, although a variety of best practice  documentation exists to guide their successful acquisition, federal IT  projects too frequently incur cost overruns and schedule slippages while  contributing little to mission-related outcomes. Seven IT Investments Were Reported as Being Successfully Acquired

According to federal department officials, the following seven investments  best achieved their respective cost, schedule, scope, and performance  goals. The Decennial  Response Integration System (DRIS) provided a system for collecting and  integrating census responses from forms and telephone interviews. The MOMentum Project has two phases. The factors most commonly identified include  active engagement of stakeholders, program staff with the necessary  knowledge and skills, and senior department and agency executive  support for the program. Officials from all seven selected investments cited active engagement  with program stakeholders—individuals or groups (including, in some  cases, end users) with an interest in the success of the acquisition—as a  critical factor to the success of those investments. Agency officials stated  that stakeholders, among other things, reviewed contractor proposals  during the procurement process, regularly attended program  management office sponsored meetings, were working members of  integrated project teams, and were notified of problems and concerns  as soon as possible. End Users Participated in Testing of System Functionality Prior to Formal End User Acceptance Testing

Officials from five of the seven selected investments identified having the  end users test and validate the system components prior to formal end  user acceptance testing for deployment as critical to the success of their  program. Program Officials Maintained Regular Communication with the Prime Contractor

Officials from four of the seven selected investments indicated that  regular communication between the program management office and the  prime contractor was critical to the success of the program. Concluding Observations

Although the critical success factors identified by the seven agencies  were cited as practices that contributed to the success of their  acquisitions, implementation of these factors will not necessarily ensure  that federal agencies will successfully acquire IT systems because many  different factors contribute to successful acquisitions. Moreover, the critical success factors in this report  also support OMB’s objective of improving the management of large- scale IT acquisitions across the federal government, and wide  dissemination of these factors and how agencies implemented them  could complement these efforts.   The Director of the NNSA’s Office of Internal Controls, responding on  behalf of the Department of Energy, provided an e-mail stating that  they agreed with the report and had no further comments. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) identify federal information technology (IT)  investments that were or are being successfully acquired and (2) identify  the critical factors that led to the successful acquisition of these  investments. Seven departments—the  Departments of Defense, Commerce, Energy, Homeland Security,  Transportation, the Treasury, and Veterans Affairs—identified successful  IT investments. Collectively, these departments accounted for 73  percent of the planned IT spending for fiscal year 2011.
Why GAO Did This Study

Planned federal information technology (IT) spending has now risen to at least $81 billion for fiscal year 2012. As GAO has previously reported, although a variety of best practices exists to guide their successful acquisition, federal IT projects too frequently incur cost overruns and schedule slippages while contributing little to mission-related outcomes. Recognizing these problems, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has launched several initiatives to improve the oversight and management of IT investments. GAO was asked to identify (1) federal IT investments that were or are being successfully acquired and (2) the critical factors that led to the successful acquisition of these investments. To do this, GAO interviewed agency officials from selected federal departments responsible for each investment. In commenting on a draft of GAO's report, three departments generally agreed with the report. OMB and the other departments either provided minor technical comments, or stated that they had no comments at all.

What GAO Found

According to federal department officials, the following seven investments were successfully acquired in that they best achieved their respective cost, schedule, scope, and performance goals: (1) Department of Commerce's Decennial Response Integration System; (2) Department of Defense's Global Combat Support System-Joint, Increment 7; (3) Department of Energy's Manufacturing Operations Management (MOMentum) Project; (4) Department of Homeland Security's Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative; (5) Department of Transportation's Integrated Terminal Weather System; (6) Department of the Treasury's Customer Account Data Engine 2 (CADE 2); and (7) Department of Veterans Affairs' Occupational Health Record-keeping System. Department officials identified nine common factors that were critical to the success of three or more of the seven investments: (1) Program officials were actively engaged with stakeholders; (2) Program staff had the necessary knowledge and skills; (3) Senior department and agency executives supported the programs; (4) End users and stakeholders were involved in the development of requirements; (5) End users participated in testing of system functionality prior to formal end user acceptance testing; (6) Government and contractor staff were stable and consistent; (7) Program staff prioritized requirements; (8) Program officials maintained regular communication with the prime contractor; and (9) Programs received sufficient funding. Officials from all seven investments cited active engagement with program stakeholders as a critical factor to the success of those investments. Agency officials stated that stakeholders regularly attended program management office sponsored meetings; were working members of integrated project teams; and were notified of problems and concerns as soon as possible. Implementation of these critical factors will not necessarily ensure that federal agencies will successfully acquire IT systems because many different factors contribute to successful acquisitions. Nonetheless, these critical factors support OMB's objective of improving the management of large-scale IT acquisitions across the federal government, and wide dissemination of these factors could complement OMB's efforts.