Despite Slow Start, the District Is Acting to Address the Year 2000 Problem

Until June 1998, the District had made very little progress in addressing the Year 2000 problem. For example, to improve program management, the District has hired a new chief technology officer, appointed a full-time Year 2000 program manager, established a Year 2000 program office, and continued to use its chief technology officer council to help coordinate and prioritize efforts. The District also contracted with an information technology firm to assist in completing the remediation effort. To accomplish this in the short time remaining, the District and the contractor plan to concurrently (1) remediate and test system applications, (2) assess and fix the information technology (IT) infrastructure, including the data centers, hardware, operating systems, and telecommunications equipment, (3) assess and correct noninformation technology assets, and (4) develop contingency plans. So far, the District has done the following. Developed an inventory of information technology applications. Initiated pilot remediation and test efforts with the pension and payroll system. Adopted a contingency planning methodology that it is now piloting on the 911 system, the water and sewer system, and the lottery board system. Developed a strategy for remediating non-IT assets that is now being tested on the water and sewer system. The District Is Still Significantly Behind in Addressing the Year 2000 Problem

The District’s recent actions reflect a commitment on the part of the city to address the Year 2000 problem and to make up for the lack of progress. For example, it has not identified all of its essential business functions that must continue to operate, finished assessing its IT infrastructure and its non-IT assets, provided guidance to its agencies on testing, and identified resources that will be needed to complete remediation and testing. Until the District completes the assessment phase, it will not have reliable estimates of how long it will take to renovate and test mission-critical systems and processes and to develop business continuity and contingency plans. Essential Steps Needed to Mitigate Increased Risks

District officials acknowledge that the city is not able to provide assurance that all critical systems will be remediated on time. Therefore, to minimize disruptions to vital city services, it will be essential for the District to effectively manage risks over the next 15 months.
Why GAO Did This Study

GAO discussed the year 2000 risks facing the District of Columbia, focusing on: (1) its progress to date in fixing its systems; and (2) the District's remediation strategy.

What GAO Found

GAO noted that: (1) until June 1998, the District had made very little progress in addressing the year 2000 problem; (2) to compensate for its late start, the District has hired a new chief technology officer, appointed a full-time year 2000 program manager, established a year 2000 program office, and continued to use its chief technology officer council to help coordinate and prioritize efforts; (3) the District also contracted with an information technology firm to assist in completing the remediation effort; (4) to accomplish this in the short time remaining, the District and the contractor plan to concurrently: (a) remediate and test system applications; (b) assess and fix the information technology (IT) infrastructure, including the data centers, hardware, operating systems, and telecommunications equipment; (c) assess and correct noninformation technology assets; and (d) develop contingency plans; (5) the District has done the following: (a) developed an inventory of information technology applications; (b) initiated pilot remediation and test efforts with the pension and payroll system; (c) adopted a contingency planning methodology which it is now piloting on the 911 system, the water and sewer system, and the lottery board system; and (d) developed a strategy for remediating non-IT assets which is now being tested on the water and sewer system; (6) the District's recent actions reflect a commitment on the part of the city to address the year 2000 problem and to make up for the lack of progress; (7) however, the District is still significantly behind in addressing the problem; (8) the District has not: (a) identified all of its essential business functions that must continue to operate; (b) finished assessing its IT infrastructure and its non-information technology assets; (c) provided guidance to its agencies on testing; and (d) identified resources that will be needed to complete remediation and testing; (9) until the District completes the assessment phase, it will not have reliable estimates on how long it will take to renovate and test mission-critical systems and processes and to develop business continuity and contingency plans; (10) District officials acknowledge that the city is not able to provide assurance that all critical systems will be remediated on time; and (11) therefore, to minimize disruptions to vital city services, it will be essential for the District to effectively manage risks over the next 15 months.