Development and Implementation of VBMS Is Ongoing; Activities Can Benefit from Increased Management Attention

Our September 2015 report noted that, since completing rollout of the  initial version of VBMS at all regional offices in June 2013, VBA has  continued developing and implementing additional system functionality  and enhancements that support the electronic processing of disability  compensation claims. As a result, 95 percent of records related to  veterans’ disability claims are electronic and reside in the system. However, while the Under Secretary for Benefits stated in March 2013  that the development of the system was expected to be completed in  2015, implementation of functionality to fully support electronic claims  processing was delayed until beyond 2015. VBA’s progress toward developing and implementing appeals processing  capabilities in VBMS also has been limited. In the Director’s view, the fact that VBMS requires additional development  beyond 2015 does not reflect a delay in completing the system’s  development. Nevertheless, due to the department’s incremental approach to  developing and implementing VBMS, VBA has not yet produced a plan  that identifies when VBMS will be completed and can be expected to fully  support disability and pension claims processing and appeals. Thus, it will  be difficult for the department to hold its managers accountable for  meeting the time frame and for demonstrating progress. Further, without a reliable estimate of the total costs  associated with completing work on VBMS, stakeholders will have a  limited view of VBMS’s future resource needs and the program is at risk  of not being able to secure appropriate funding to fully develop and  implement the system. VBA Has Made Progress toward Improving VBMS Operation, but Does Not Have Key System Performance Goals

Our and other federal IT guidance recognize the importance of defining  program goals and related performance targets, and using such targets to  assess progress in achieving the goals. Performance targets  and goals for VBMS response times would provide users with an  expectation of the system response times they should anticipate, and  management with an indication of how well the system is performing  relative to performance goals. Continuing to deploy  system releases with defects that impact system functionality increases  the risk that these defects will diminish users’ ability to process disability  claims in an efficient manner. Accordingly, we recommended that VA  reduce the incidence of high and medium severity level defects that are  present at the time of future VBMS releases. The department agreed with  this recommendation. Nevertheless, while VA has taken these various steps to obtain feedback  on the performance and implementation of VBMS, it has not established  goals to define user satisfaction that can be used as a basis for gauging  the success of its efforts to promote satisfaction with the system. In addition, VBA has not employed a customer  satisfaction survey of claims processing employees who use the system  on a daily basis to process disability claims. Such a survey could provide  a more comprehensive picture of overall customer satisfaction and help  identify areas where the system’s development and implementation  efforts might need additional attention. Most Types of Users Reported Satisfaction with VBMS, but Decision Review Officers Were Generally Dissatisfied

In response to a statistical survey that we administered, most of the  VBMS users reported that they were satisfied with the system that had  been implemented at the time of the survey. The department concurred with this recommendation. Further, in the absence of a plan that identifies when and at  what cost the system can be expected to fully support disability  compensation and pension claims processing and appeals, holding VA  management accountable for meeting a schedule, while ensuring  sufficient program funding, will be difficult. Also, without goals for system  response times, users do not have an expectation of the response times  they can anticipate, and management lacks an indication of how well the  system is performing. Lastly, although the results of our survey provide VBA with  useful data about users’ satisfaction with VBMS (e.g., the majority of  users are satisfied), without having goals to define user satisfaction, VBA  does not have a basis for gauging the success of its efforts to improve the  system. As we stressed in our report, attention to these issues can  improve VA’s efforts to effectively complete the development and  implementation of VBMS.
Why GAO Did This Study

VBA pays disability benefits for conditions incurred or aggravated while in military service, and pension benefits for low-income veterans who are either elderly or have disabilities unrelated to military service. In fiscal year 2014, the department paid about $58 billion in disability compensation and about $5 billion in pension claims.
The disability claims process has been the subject of attention by Congress and others, due in part to long waits for processing claims and a large backlog of claims. To process disability and pension claims more efficiently, VA began development and implementation of an electronic, paperless system—VBMS—in 2009.
This statement summarizes GAO's September 2015 report ( GAO-15-582 ) on (1) VA's progress toward completing the development and implementation of VBMS and (2) the extent to which users report satisfaction with the system.

What GAO Found

As GAO reported in September 2015, the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has made progress in developing and implementing the Veterans Benefits Management System (VBMS), with deployment of the initial version of the system to all of its regional offices as of June 2013. Since then, VBA has continued developing and implementing additional system functionality and enhancements that support the electronic processing of disability compensation claims. As a result, 95 percent of records related to veterans' disability claims are electronic and reside in the system. However, VBMS is not yet able to fully support disability and pension claims, as well as appeals processing. Nevertheless, while the Under Secretary for Benefits stated in March 2013 that the development of VBMS was expected to be completed in 2015, implementation of functionality to fully support electronic claims processing has been delayed beyond 2015. In addition, VBA has not yet produced a plan that identifies when the system will be completed. Accordingly, holding VA management accountable for meeting a time frame and for demonstrating progress will be difficult.
As VA continues its efforts to complete development and implementation of VBMS, three areas could benefit from increased management attention.
Cost estimating: The program office does not have a reliable estimate of the cost for completing the system. Without such an estimate, VA management and the department's stakeholders have a limited view of the system's future resource needs, and the program risks not having sufficient funding to complete development and implementation of the system.
System availability: Although VBA has improved its performance regarding system availability to users, it has not established system response time goals. Without such goals, users do not have an expectation of the system response times they can anticipate and management does not have an indication of how well the system is performing relative to performance goals.
System defects : While the program has actively managed system defects, a recent system release included unresolved defects that impacted system performance and users' experiences. Continuing to deploy releases with large numbers of defects that reduce system functionality could adversely affect users' ability to process disability claims in an efficient manner.
VA has not conducted a customer satisfaction survey that would allow the department to compile data on how users view the system's performance, and ultimately, to develop goals for improving the system. GAO's survey of VBMS users found that a majority of them were satisfied with the system, but decision review officers were considerably less satisfied. Although the results of GAO's survey provide VBA with data about users' satisfaction with VBMS, the absence of user satisfaction goals limits the utility of survey results. Specifically, without having established goals to define user satisfaction, VBA does not have a basis for gauging the success of its efforts to promote satisfaction with the system, or for identifying areas where its efforts to complete development and implementation of the system might need attention.

What GAO Recommends

In its September 2015 report, GAO recommended that VA develop a plan with a time frame and a reliable cost estimate for completing VBMS, establish goals for system response time, minimize the incidence of high and medium severity system defects for future VBMS releases, assess user satisfaction, and establish satisfaction goals to promote improvement. VA concurred with GAO's recommendations.