Federal Data Center Consolidation Initiative. OMB neither agreed nor disagreed with our  recommendations. Agency CIOs Are to Address 36 IT Management Reporting Requirements for OMB

OMB directs agency CIOs to respond to 36 IT management reporting  requirements. In terms of reporting frequency, agency CIOs are largely required by  OMB to report on the 36 requirements on a quarterly or annual basis. Accordingly, it  is concerning that CIOs do not always see value in these reporting  requirements. Consequently, effectively addressing proposed changes  and aligning CIOs’ priorities to OMB’s (i.e., establishing a common  understanding of what the priorities are) is important to, among other  things, the success of OMB’s reforms and its goal of improving federal IT. As part of these activities, OMB uses the information  reported by agencies to inform policy decisions. Specifically,  a majority of 24 CIOs surveyed that responded reported that addressing 4  reporting requirements helped their agency to manage IT to a very great  extent or great extent and 8 helped the agency to manage their IT to a  moderate extent. According to comments from a number of CIOs, they did not always find  that these requirements were useful because addressing them did not  always clearly support departmental priorities. Although these OMB efforts aim to streamline reporting, agency  CIOs identified additional challenges with tracking what reporting  requirements are currently in place, using multiple online tools to report  required information, and using capital planning and investment reporting  requirement information to make effective investment decisions, which  are not addressed by OMB’s efforts. This is in part to the fact that OMB  has not solicited feedback in these areas because its priority has been on  streamlining reporting in other areas (e.g., changing report formatting and  others discussed below). By not addressing these CIO-identified  challenges, OMB is missing opportunities to help CIOs improve the  requirements reporting process and to improve its use of information  collected as part of this process to effectively manage IT. Recommendations for Executive Action

To improve the effectiveness of OMB streamlining efforts and ensure  agency CIOs are better able to carry out their responsibilities in managing  IT, including implementing OMB’s IT reform initiatives, we recommend the  Director of OMB direct the Federal CIO, in collaboration with agency  CIOs, to take the following four actions:
Ensure there is a common understanding with agency CIOs on the  priority of the current reporting requirements and related IT reform  initiatives. According to OMB, it chose to take no position on  the recommendations due to its concerns that: (1) our draft report’s count  of reporting requirements was not currently accurate, (2) our survey  approach did not fully support the report’s findings and recommendations,  (3) the second objective to solicit CIO views did not allow for sufficient  context setting, and (4) OMB has taken steps to solicit feedback and  streamline requirements that are not reflected in the draft report. GAO staff who made  major contributions to this report are listed in appendix V.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) identify the current information technology (IT)  reporting requirements that agency chief information officers (CIO) are to  address for the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); (2) evaluate  the extent to which OMB and agency CIOs use the required information  to manage IT, including CIOs’ views on the utility of the requirements; and  (3) assess any OMB efforts to streamline this reporting. We categorized the requirements based on their best fit in the following  areas that are typically identified as key CIO IT management  responsibilities: IT strategic planning; capital planning and investment  management; IT security; and system acquisition, development, and  integration.
Why GAO Did This Study

Federal agencies annually invest over $80 billion on IT. As part of overseeing this spending, OMB directs federal CIOs to report on their management of IT in such areas as capital planning and investment management, security, and strategic planning.
GAO was asked to review the usefulness of such CIO reporting requirements. Its objectives were to (1) identify the current IT reporting requirements that agency CIOs are to address for OMB, (2) evaluate the extent to which OMB and agency CIOs use the required information to manage IT, including CIOs' views on the utility of the requirements, and (3) assess any OMB efforts to streamline this reporting. To do so, GAO analyzed OMB memorandums and other guidance to develop a list of CIO requirements and surveyed 24 major agency CIOs on how they used the required information to manage IT. Further, it analyzed OMB documentation and interviewed officials to identify plans to streamline reporting.

What GAO Found

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) directs agency chief information officers (CIO) to respond to 36 information technology (IT) management reporting requirements, largely on a quarterly or annual basis, that address several areas key to effective IT management (see figure).
OMB uses the information reported by CIOs to help it oversee the federal government's use of IT, including implementation of OMB's IT reform initiatives such as consolidating data centers and eliminating duplication. A majority of 24 CIOs surveyed that responded reported that 24 of the 36 reporting requirements help only to some to no extent in managing IT and that meeting them took significant effort and cost approximately $150 million to $308 million annually. A number of CIOs further noted that these requirements were not always helpful because, among other things, addressing them did not support agency priorities. Nonetheless, GAO has previously emphasized the importance of OMB's reforms and their associated reporting requirements to improving federal IT management and producing savings. Thus it is concerning that CIOs do not always see value in reporting information essential to these reforms. Establishing a common understanding between OMB and CIOs on the priority of these initiatives and their related reporting requirements will help ensure their success.
OMB has taken steps to streamline CIO reporting requirements, such as changing reporting formats from narratives to performance data. Nonetheless, OMB's efforts do not address challenges identified by CIOs, such as tracking all current requirements and having to use multiple online tools to report information. This is partly because OMB has not solicited feedback in these areas, due to its focus on streamlining reporting in other areas. By not addressing these challenges, OMB is missing opportunities to help CIOs improve the requirements reporting process and its use of information collected to effectively manage and oversee federal IT.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is recommending that OMB, in collaboration with CIOs, ensure a common understanding of priority IT reforms and their reporting requirements and address proposed reporting improvements and challenges. OMB neither agreed nor disagreed with GAO's recommendations, citing concerns with, among other things, GAO's survey methodology, stating it did not fully support the report's findings and recommendations. GAO believes these concerns are largely unfounded and that its recommendations are still valid.