	Background

If done correctly, investments in IT have the potential to make  organizations more efficient in fulfilling their missions. In January 2010, OMB began conducting TechStats to enable the federal  government to intervene to turnaround, halt, or terminate IT projects that  are failing or are not producing results. OMB agreed with our recommendations to complete action items and  provide deadlines, but disagreed with our recommendation to establish  performance measures. OMB and Selected Agencies Have Held Multiple TechStats on a Diverse Set of IT Investments, but Other At-Risk Investments Have Not Yet Been Assessed

OMB and the four selected agencies have held multiple TechStats on IT  investments that varied in terms of function, significance, amount spent to  date, and risk level. Specifically, from January 2010 through April 2013,  OMB reported leading 79 TechStat sessions, which focused on 55 IT  investments at 23 federal agencies. For the 21 major  investments, about 76 percent of the agency-led TechStats were on  investments that had a CIO rating of medium- to high-risk. Specifically, the number of  TechStats held to date is relatively small compared to the total number of  medium- and high-risk IT investments. Selected Agencies are Generally Conducting TechStats in Accordance with OMB Guidance, but Areas for Improvement Exist

The four selected agencies are generally conducting TechStats in  accordance with OMB guidance. These documents include 15 key requirements,  including when TechStats should be implemented by the agencies, what  participants should be included, how at-risk investments should be  chosen, and how outcomes should be tracked and reported. Agency officials noted several reasons for not fully implementing OMB’s  guidance. Fully implementing OMB’s TechStat guidance  could better position the agencies to realize the benefits of the TechStat  initiative—including strengthening overall IT governance and oversight,  and proactively identifying and resolving problems before investments  experience delays or cost overruns. OMB and the four agencies we reviewed have tracked and reported  positive results from TechStats, with most resulting in improved  governance or accelerated deliveries. Until OMB and agencies develop plans and schedules for addressing  these at-risk investments, the investments will likely remain at risk. Until OMB requires agencies to  report on what they did to validate cost savings data and shares this  information, neither Congress nor the public can be assured that  TechStats are as effective as reported. Specifically, we recommend that the Director  of the Office of Management and Budget direct the Federal Chief  Information Officer to  require agencies to conduct TechStats for each IT investment rated  with a moderately high- or high-risk CIO rating on the IT Dashboard,  unless there is a clear reason for not doing so; require agencies to report to OMB on efforts to validate the outcomes,  cost savings, and cost avoidances resulting from TechStat   sessions; this information should be summarized when OMB reports  on governmentwide outcomes; and direct the Federal CIO Council to track the outcome of TechStat  sessions and to support OMB’s efforts to validate the resulting cost  savings it reports to Congress. DHS declined to provide comments. However, part of a sound process  for ensuring validity involves documenting the procedures used to  verify or validate the data; as such, we were unable to validate  OMB’s reported outcomes and almost $4 billion in cost  implications from 2010 and 2011 because OMB did not provide  documentation on any steps that it or the agencies took to ensure  the validity of the agencies’ outcome and cost data. Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

Our objectives were to (1) identify key characteristics of TechStat  Accountability Sessions (TechStats) conducted by the Office of  Management and Budget (OMB) and selected agencies, (2) evaluate  whether selected agencies are conducting TechStats in accordance with  OMB guidance, and (3) analyze the extent to which reported results from  TechStat review sessions are documented, tracked, and validated. We also interviewed OMB,  Agriculture, Commerce, DHS, and HHS officials regarding the TechStat  sessions.
Why GAO Did This Study

While IT investments have the potential to make organizations more efficient, many federal IT projects experience cost overruns, schedule delays, and performance shortfalls. To help address these shortfalls, OMB established TechStats--face-to-face meetings to terminate or turnaround IT investments that are failing or are not producing results.
GAO was asked to evaluate the implementation of TechStats. GAO's objectives were to (1) identify key characteristics of TechStats held to date; (2) evaluate whether selected agencies are conducting TechStats in accordance with OMB guidance, and (3) analyze the extent to which reported TechStat results are tracked and validated. To do so, GAO selected four agencies--Agriculture, Commerce, HHS, and DHS--because these were the agencies with the highest number of at-risk investments. GAO analyzed OMB and agency documentation, compared agency processes to TechStat guidance, compared efforts to validate reported outcomes to leading practices, and interviewed OMB and agency officials.

What GAO Found

Since January 2010, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and selected agencies have held multiple TechStat Accountability Sessions (TechStats) on information technology (IT) investments that varied in terms of function, significance, and risk. As of April 2013, OMB reported conducting 79 TechStats, which focused on 55 investments at 23 federal agencies. The four agencies conducted 37 TechStats covering 28 investments. About 70 percent of the OMB- and 76 percent of agency-led TechStats on major investments were considered medium- to high-risk at the time of the TechStat. However, the number of at-risk TechStats held to date is relatively small compared to the current number of medium- and high-risk IT investments. Until OMB and agencies develop plans to address these investments, the investments will likely remain at risk.
The selected agencies are generally conducting TechStats in accordance with OMB guidance. OMB's TechStat guidance includes 15 key requirements, such as when TechStats should be implemented, what participants should be included, and how outcomes should be tracked and reported. DHS implemented all of the TechStat requirements. Commerce, HHS, and Agriculture implemented a majority of the requirements, but each had shortcomings. For example, these agencies did not consistently create memorandums with responsible parties and due dates for action items. Fully implementing OMB's guidance could better position agencies to effectively manage and resolve problems on IT investments.
OMB and selected agencies have tracked and reported positive results from TechStats, with most resulting in improved governance. OMB also reported in 2011 that federal agencies achieved almost $4 billion in life-cycle cost savings as a result of TechStat sessions. However, GAO was unable to validate OMB's reported results because OMB did not provide artifacts showing that it ensured the results were valid. From GAO's selected agencies, three investments had cost implications. Agencies provided supporting documentation for about $22.2 million in cost savings and avoidances. Until OMB obtains and shares information on the methods used to validate reported results, it will be difficult for the results to be independently validated and for OMB to provide assurance to Congress and the public that TechStats are achieving their intended impact.

What GAO Recommends

GAO is making recommendations to OMB to require agencies to address high-risk investments and to report on how they validated the outcomes. GAO is also making recommendations to selected agencies to address weaknesses in following OMB's TechStat guidance. OMB and Commerce officials generally agreed with GAO's recommendations. Agriculture partially agreed with GAO's assessment; neither it nor HHS commented on the recommendations.