OPM's Central Personnel Data File

Each year, hundreds of federal personnel offices process millions of personnel actions, such as pay adjustments and promotions, that affect about 1.9 million federal workers. The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) collects data on these personnel actions and processes them through its Central Personnel Data System for entry into its personnel database, the Central Personnel Data File (CPDF). Policymakers use that database to obtain statistics on federal employees, ensure agencies' compliance with governmentwide policies, and make decisions on federal personnel policy. Researchers also use the data in studies of the federal workforce. Despite these important uses, the data have not been independently evaluated. This report determines (1) the extent to which selected CPDF data elements are accurate, including the data elements used by OPM's Office of the Actuaries for estimating the government's liability for future payments of federal retirement programs; (2) whether users of CPDF data believed that CPDF products met their needs; and (3) whether OPM has documented changes to the System and verified the System's acceptance of those changes, as recommended in applicable federal guidance, and whether the System would implement the CPDF edits as intended.

GAO noted that: (1) OPM does not have an official standard for the desired accuracy of CPDF data elements; (2) on a periodic basis, however, OPM measures CPDF data accuracy by comparing certain data found in a sample of former federal employees' official personnel folders to data in the CPDF for the same period; (3) OPM generally makes the results of its measurements of CPDF data accuracy available to users of CPDF data within OPM but not to non-OPM users; (4) although the accuracy of the CPDF data GAO reviewed varied by data element, about two-thirds of the selected CPDF data elements GAO reviewed were 99-percent or more accurate; (5) GAO surveyed all the requesters of CPDF products that OPM identified as obtaining data directly from OPM for fiscal year (FY) 1996; (6) most of these CPDF users reported that CPDF products met their needs, including the data being current, accurate, and complete; (7) the majority of surveyed users reported that they believed that the caution statements OPM provided were sufficient for them to use CPDF data correctly; (8) however, OPM did not provide these users of CPDF data with all 28 cautions that explain how CPDF limitations could affect how they present or use CPDF data; (9) although applicable federal guidance recommended that agencies document the life cycle of an automated information system from its initiation through installation and operation, OPM did not document changes that it made to the System in 1986 when it did a major redesign of the System's software; (10) OPM also did not have documentation to show that acceptance testing of those changes was done and, according to OPM, the testing was not done by an independent reviewer; (11) however, OPM officials said that to their knowledge the System has not had problems processing data reliably; (12) GAO's review of the computer instructions for most CPDF edits used by the System showed that the System uses instructions that should implement the CPDF edits reviewed as intended; (13) OPM officials acknowledged that for OPM to accomplish its future information technology goals it will have to follow an approach that includes documenting the development, modification, and management of its automated information systems and their software applications; and (14) OPM has committed to adopting this approach by no later than FY 2002.

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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