USDA Restructuring

Refocus Info Share Program on Business Processes Rather Than Technology Gao ID: AIMD-94-156 August 5, 1994

Info Share, the biggest and most challenging modernization effort in the Agriculture Department's (USDA) history, is intended to improve delivery of services to customers of the farm service and rural development agencies. The magnitude of this effort is considerable--USDA has been delegated procurement authority of $2.6 billion for Info Share. GAO found that USDA managers are not performing key business process reengineering steps under Info Share necessary to fundamentally improve the way these agencies do business. Instead, USDA is managing Info Share basically as a way to acquire new information technology rather than as an opportunity to fundamentally improve business processes. As a result, USDA will probably spend hundreds of millions of dollars of scarce resources to automate the current way these agencies do business rather than to reinvent USDA. At the same time, USDA may need to replace some of its aging and outdated computers so that these farm service and rural development agencies can continue to operate and provide services while the Department reengineers business processes. However, the Department has not identified its technology needs for this interim period or the most cost-effective option for meeting these needs.

GAO found that: (1) USDA is attempting to revitalize and improve its operations and plans to establish one-stop field office service centers that incorporate new business processes to improve service to farm service and rural development agencies' customers; (2) USDA managers have not performed the key business process reengineering steps necessary to improve the way these agencies conduct business; (3) USDA manages Info Share primarily to acquire new information technology rather than to fundamentally improve business processes; (4) although USDA will probably spend significant funds to automate its business practices, these actions may not achieve the Secretary's vision of a reinvented USDA; (5) USDA may need to replace some of its aging and outdated computer technology so that its farm service and rural development agencies can continue to operate while USDA reengineers its business processes; and (6) USDA has not identified its technology needs for the interim period or the most cost-effective option for meeting its interim needs.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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