Information Technology

VA Actions Needed to Implement Critical Reforms Gao ID: AIMD-00-226 August 16, 2000

To improve information technology (IT) investment decision-making at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), GAO recommends that the agency (1) establish and monitor deadlines for completing formal in-process reviews at key milestones in a project's life cycle, (2) provide decisionmakers with information on lessons learned from IT post-implementation reviews, and (3) develop and implement guidance to better manage IT projects. To fully addresses these provisions, VA needs to fill the position of assistant secretary for information and technology as quickly as possible, reassess its decision to delegate business process reengineering to the individual administrations, and direct the department's Chief Information Officer or designee to lead the effort to work with VA business owners to develop a logical architecture as a step toward an integrated IT architecture.

GAO noted that: (1) VA had made progress in addressing GAO's 1998 recommendations regarding its information technology efforts; (2) for example, compared with its fiscal year (FY) 1999 IT investment review process, VA's FY 2001 process provided decisionmakers with more detailed information on proposed projects; (3) however, VA's progress in addressing other key issues had been limited, such as appointing an assistant secretary for information and technology, developing an overall strategy for reengineering its business processes, and developing an integrated IT architecture; (4) further, VA faced challenges in developing and implementing three key IT projects--the Master Veteran Record, the Veterans Benefits Administration's information systems modernization (Veterans Service Network), and the Veterans Health Administration's decision support system; (5) taken together, these remaining issues will need to be successfully addressed if VA is to realize its goal of "One VA" and meet the provisions of the Clinger-Cohen Act; and (6) sustained top management support and leadership will also be required.

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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