GAO Report Analyzes Mission-Critical IT Projects Across Federal Agencies
A September 2020 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) rounded up mission critical IT modernization projects at various federal agencies. The report was created based on Congressional interest in how high-risk IT projects were faring during their implementation. The report, GAO says, is an effort to "identify essential mission- IT acquisitions across the federal government and determine their key attributes."
The report covers well known efforts such as such as the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)’s Electronic Health Record Modernization (EHRM), the Social Security Administration (SSA)’s Disability Case Processing System, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)’s Student and Exchange Visitor Information System Modernization and the Department of Justice (DOJ)’s Next Generation Identification System Terrorist Screening System, and an analysis of how they play out within these respective agencies.
The report profiles 16 critical IT acquisitions in terms of their timelines, cost estimates, scope, number of users, lifecycle costs, workforce numbers, and development methods. It also includes any challenges identified by the agencies or GAO.
The report analyzed several different agencies. It found that the cost of certain undertakings is relative to the scope and complexity of the project. For example, the report found the Department of Defense plans to spend $10.21 billion over 21 years on its health care modernization initiative, while the Department of Homeland Security intends to spend $3.19 billion over 30 years on its system supporting immigration benefits processing. 13 out of 16 acquisition profiles claimed that these projects would lead to long term costs savings by eliminating the need for physical paper processing and by improving security.
Furthermore, the report found that 11 out of 16 selected acquisitions were “rebaselined,” meaning that their performance goals, cost, or schedule were modified for a number of reasons including technical issues, budget cuts, and changes in approach to development.
Congressional requestors of this report included Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform; Rep. Gerald Connolly (D-VA), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Operations of the House Oversight and Reform Committee; Subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA); and Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX).