a

GAO

United States Government Accountability Office

Report to Congressional Committees

August 2006 ELECTRONIC 

RECORDS ARCHIVES

The National Archives 

and Records 

Administration’s 

Fiscal Year 2006 

Expenditure Plan

GAO-06-906
What GAO Found

United States Government Accountability Office

Why GAO Did This Study

Highlights

Accountability Integrity Reliability

August 2006

ELECTRONIC RECORDS ARCHIVES

The National Archives and Records 

Administration’s Fiscal Year 2006 

Expenditure Plan Highlights of GAO-06-906, a report to 

congressional committees 

Since 2001, the National Archives 

and Records Administration 

(NARA) has been working to 

acquire the Electronic Records 

Archives (ERA) system, which is 

intended to address critical issues

in the creation, management, and 

use of federal electronic records. 

As required by law, the agency

submitted its fiscal year 2006

expenditure plan to the

congressional appropriations 

committees, seeking the release of

about $22 million for the 

development of the system. 

GAO’s objectives in reviewing the 

expenditure plan were to (1)

determine the extent to which the

expenditure plan satisfied the

legislative conditions specified in

the appropriations act; (2) 

determine the extent to which 

NARA has implemented GAO’s 

prior recommendations; and (3) 

provide any other observations

about the expenditure plan and the 

ERA acquisition. We reviewed the

expenditure plan and analyzed it

against the legislative conditions 

and assessed NARA’s progress in 

addressing prior recommendations.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that the 

Archivist of the United States

ensure that future expenditure

plans include a sufficient level and 

scope of information for Congress 

to effectively oversee the program. 

In commenting on a draft of this 

report, the Archivist of the United

States agreed with the results and

recommendation. 

NARA’s fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan fully satisfies three of the six 

legislative conditions and partially satisfies the remaining conditions (see 

table). 

Fiscal Year 2006 Expenditure Plan: Compliance with Legislative Conditions 

Legislative conditions Status 

1. Meet OMB capital planning and investment control review requirements Partially satisfied

2. Comply with NARA’s enterprise architecture Partially satisfied

3. Conform to NARA’s enterprise life cycle methodology Partially satisfied

4. Comply with acquisition rules, requirements, guidelines, and system 

acquisition management practices of the federal government Satisfied

5. Approval by NARA and OMB Satisfied

6. Review by GAO Satisfied

Source: GAO.

The agency continues to make progress in addressing prior GAO 

recommendations: the agency has fully implemented three of five and has 

partially implemented the remaining two. The agency has (1) strengthened 

information security by developing a program that includes agencywide

assessments of information security risks; (2) developed and implemented a 

document review process to ensure that recommendations from reviewers

are addressed and incorporated into acquisition policies and plans; and (3) 

improved federal records management by implementing strategies to raise 

agencies’ awareness of records management principles, functions, and 

programs. However, while NARA has completed the development of an 

enterprise architecture, it lacks an agencywide board for reviewing 

information technology projects for conformance to the architecture, 

including projects that are interdependent with ERA. In addition, the agency

revised four out of five key policies and plans to comply with industry 

standards. At the time of our briefing, the Risk Management Plan was under 

revision. It was completed in July 2006. Until the agency fully addresses all

prior recommendations, risks remain to the successful implementation of 

the system.

NARA’s expenditure plan does not contain the level and scope of

information needed by Congress to understand the agency’s plans and 

commitments relative to system capabilities, benefits, schedules, and costs. 

For example, it does not fully describe how the infrastructure elements that 

are to be procured will fit into the overall system design. Until the agency

improves future expenditure plans to include information on system 

capabilities, benefits, schedules, and costs, Congress will not have the 

information needed to oversee plans and progress on the acquisition of the 

system. We performed our work at NARA’s College Park, Maryland, location 

in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards.

www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-06-906.

To view the full product, including the scope 

and methodology, click on the link above. 

For more information, contact Linda D. 

Koontz at (202) 512-6240 or

koontzl@gao.gov.
Page i GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

Contents

Letter 1

Recommendation for Executive Action 3

Agency Comments 3

Appendixes

Appendix I: Briefing Slides 5

Appendix II: Comments from the National Archives and Records 

Administration 34

Appendix III: GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments 36

Abbreviations

ERA Electronic Records Archives

EA Enterprise Architecture

FISMA Federal Information Security Management Act

IT Information Technology

NARA National Archives and Records Administration

OIG Office of Inspector General

OMB Office of Management and Budget

SCAMPI Standard CMMI® Appraisal Methodology for Process

Improvement

SEI Software Engineering Institute

This is a work of the U.S. government and is not subject to copyright protection in the 

United States. It may be reproduced and distributed in its entirety without further 

permission from GAO. However, because this work may contain copyrighted images or 

other material, permission from the copyright holder may be necessary if you wish to 

reproduce this material separately.
Page 1 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

United States Government Accountability Office

Washington, D.C. 20548

A

August 18, 2006 Letr

The Honorable Christopher S. Bond

Chairman

The Honorable Patty Murray

Ranking Minority Member

Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary,

Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies

Committee on Appropriations

United States Senate

The Honorable Joe Knollenberg

Chairman

The Honorable John W. Olver

Ranking Minority Member

Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and Housing

and Urban Development, the Judiciary, and District of Columbia,

and Independent Agencies

Committee on Appropriations

House of Representatives

As required by law, the National Archives and Records Administration 

(NARA) submitted its fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan in March 2006 to 

congressional appropriations committees, seeking the release of about $22 

million for the development of the Electronic Records Archives (ERA). 

ERA is a major information system that is intended to address critical 

issues in creating, managing, and using federal electronic records and 

automating the records management and archiving life cycle. Our 

objectives in reviewing the plan were to (1) determine whether the plan 

satisfied the conditions specified in the law,1 (2) determine the extent to 

which NARA has implemented our prior recommendations, and (3) provide 

any other observations about the expenditure plan and the ERA 

acquisition.

1

NARA’s fiscal year 2006 appropriations act provides that the agency must submit an 

expenditure plan before obligating fiscal 2006 funds for the ERA program. The plan must (1) 

meet the capital planning and investment control review requirements established by the 

Office of Management and Budget (OMB), including Circular A-11; (2) comply with NARA’s 

enterprise architecture; (3) conform with NARA’s enterprise life cycle methodology; (4)

comply with the acquisition rules, requirements, guidelines, and system acquisition 

management practices of the federal government; (5) be approved by NARA and OMB; and 

(6) be reviewed by GAO. See P.L. No. 109-115, November 30, 2005, Div. A, Title VI, 119 Stat. 

2486.
Page 2 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

In May 2006, we transmitted a copy of our briefing to your staff and briefed 

staff from the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, 

Treasury, the Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related 

Agencies on the results of our review. This report transmits the materials 

we used at the briefing and provides the recommendation that we made to 

the Archivist of the United States. The full briefing materials, including our 

scope and methodology, are reprinted as appendix I.

In summary, we made the following major points:

• NARA’s fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan has fully satisfied three of the 

six legislative conditions. The agency’s plan (1) has complied with 

acquisition rules, requirements, guidelines, and system acquisition 

management practices of the federal government; (2) was approved by 

NARA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB); and (3) was 

reviewed by GAO. The agency has partially satisfied the three remaining 

conditions by (1) meeting OMB’s capital planning and investment 

control review requirements for the ERA acquisition, but has not 

appointed a group to regularly review ERA and other ongoing 

information technology (IT) investments, including those that have 

interdependencies with ERA; (2) developing and implementing a 

procedure to ensure that ERA complies with the agency’s enterprise 

architecture, but has not established a board to assess IT projects 

agencywide, including those that have interdependencies with ERA, to 

ensure conformity to the EA; and (3) implementing procedures to 

ensure ERA conforms to the agency’s life cycle methodology, but has 

not yet fully established an agencywide risk management capability.

• NARA continues to make progress in addressing our prior 

recommendations. The agency has fully implemented three of five 

recommendations and has partially implemented the remaining two. 

The agency has (1) strengthened information security by developing a 

program that includes agencywide assessments of information security 

risks and an enterprise architecture that addresses information security 

issues agencywide; (2) developed and implemented a document review 

process to ensure that recommendations from independent verification 

and validation reviews are addressed and incorporated into acquisition 

policies and plans; and (3) improved federal records management by 

implementing strategies to raise agencies’ awareness of records 

management principles, functions, and programs and by monitoring the 

performance of agencies’ records management programs and practices.

The agency has partially implemented two other recommendations that
Page 3 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

are essential for the successful management of the acquisition. It has (1) 

completed the development of an enterprise architecture, but lacks a 

board for reviewing IT projects agencywide, including projects that are 

interdependent with ERA and (2) revised four out of five key policies 

and plans to comply with industry standards. At the time of our briefing, 

the remaining document—the Risk Management Plan—was under 

revision with an expected completion date of June 2006. The Risk 

Management Plan was subsequently completed in July 2006.

• NARA’s expenditure plan provides only general information on how the 

$22 million is to be spent and does not fully describe, for example, how 

the infrastructure elements that are to be procured will fit into the 

overall system design. The legislative requirement for submitting an 

ERA expenditure plan to the appropriations committees is intended to 

provide lawmakers with a sufficient understanding of the system 

acquisition in order to permit effective oversight and to allow for 

informed decision making about the use of appropriated funds. To 

achieve these objectives, the plan needs to disclose a sufficient level and 

scope of information to understand what system capabilities and 

benefits are to be delivered, by when, at what cost, and the progress 

being made against the commitments that were made in prior 

expenditure plans. Without this complete information, Congress does 

not have the information needed to oversee plans and progress on the 

acquisition of the ERA system.

Recommendation for 

Executive Action

To reduce the risks associated with NARA’s efforts to acquire ERA, we 

recommend that the Archivist of the United States ensure that future 

expenditure plans include a sufficient level and scope of information to 

enable Congress to understand what system capabilities and benefits are to 

be delivered, by when, and at what cost, and report on the progress being 

made against the commitments that were made in prior expenditure plans.

Agency Comments In written comments on a draft of this report, the Archivist of the United 

States agreed with the results and recommendation. In addition, he stated 

that the agency has submitted an action plan to relevant congressional 

committees documenting how it plans to satisfy the legislative conditions 

that we identified as partially implemented. He also noted that NARA has 

proposed to the committees that the agency submit an addendum to its 

expenditure plan that would provide more detailed information on the
Page 4 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

allocation of funds, infrastructure elements, workflow capability, and 

business applications in the ERA system.

We are sending copies of this report to the Archivist of the United States. 

We will make copies available to others on request. In addition, the report 

will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at http://www.gao.gov/.

If you or your staff have any questions concerning this report, please call 

me at 202-512-6240; I can also be reached by e-mail at koontzl@gao.gov. 

Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public 

Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff who made 

major contributions to this report are listed in appendix III.

Linda D. Koontz

Director, Information Management Issues
Page 5 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

Appendix I

Briefing Slides AAppenednxidexiIs

Electronic Records Archives: The National Archives and Records 

Administration’s Fiscal Year 2006 Expenditure Plan 

Briefing for Staff Members of the

Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, Housing and Urban

Development, and Related Agencies 

Senate Committee on Appropriations 

and the 

Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, 

District of Columbia, and Independent Agencies 

House Committee on Appropriations1

May 26, 2006 

1

A technical clarification was added on p. 20.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 6 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

2

Outline of Briefing 

Introduction

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 

Results in Brief 

Background

Legislative Conditions 

Implementation of Prior Recommendations 

x Enterprise Architecture 

x Information Security 

x Document Review Process 

x Acquisition Policies and Plans 

x Records Management 

Observation on the ERA Expenditure Plan 

Conclusions

Recommendation for Executive Action 

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 7 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

3

Introduction

The mission of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is to ensure “ready access 

to essential evidence” for the public, the President, Congress, and the courts. NARA is responsible 

for oversight of records management and archiving, which increasingly involves dealing with 

documents that are electronically created and stored. Accordingly, the Archivist of the United States 

plans to develop the Electronic Records Archives (ERA) to address critical issues in the creation, 

management, and use of federal electronic records. ERA is a major information system that NARA 

envisions will have the ability to preserve and provide access to massive volumes of all types and 

formats of electronic records. Overall, the system is to automate the records management and 

archiving life cycle. Specifically, ERA is to consist of 

x infrastructure elements, including hardware and operating systems; 

x business applications that will provide for scheduling electronic records, accessioning, preserving 

and storing records; and

x public access provided by a Web browser and the public Internet.

In 2001, NARA hired a contractor to develop policies and plans using the standards of the Institute of 

Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc., (IEEE) to guide the overall acquisition of an electronic 

records system.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 8 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

4

Introduction

In December 2003, the agency released a request for proposals for the design of ERA. In August 

2004, NARA awarded two firm fixed-price contracts2

 for the design phase totaling about $20 million—

one to Harris Corporation and the other to Lockheed Martin Corporation. On September 8, 2005, 

NARA announced the selection of Lockheed Martin Corporation to build the ERA system. 

NARA’s fiscal year 2006 appropriations act3

 provides that the agency must submit an expenditure 

plan before obligating fiscal 2006 funds for the ERA program. The plan must

x meet the capital planning and investment control review requirements established by the Office 

of Management and Budget (OMB), including Circular A-11;

x comply with NARA’s enterprise architecture;

x conform with NARA’s enterprise life cycle methodology;

x comply with the acquisition rules, requirements, guidelines, and system acquisition management 

practices of the federal government;

x be approved by NARA and OMB; and

x be reviewed by GAO.

2

According to the Federal Acquisition Regulation, a firm fixed-price contract provides for a price that is not subject to any adjustment on 

the basis of the contractor’s cost experience in performing the contract. This type of contract places maximum risk and full responsibility

for all costs and resulting profit or loss on the contractor(s).

3

P.L. 109-115, November 30, 2005, Div. A, Title VI, 119 Stat. 2486.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 9 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

5

Introduction

On March 16, 2006, NARA submitted its 2006 expenditure plan to the relevant House and Senate 

appropriations subcommittees, seeking release of about $22 million for the development contract with 

Lockheed Martin. 

Since June 2002, we have completed several reports assessing NARA’s efforts to acquire the ERA 

system.4

 In these reports, we made a total of 10 recommendations; 5 have been implemented while 

the following remained to be addressed at the beginning of this review. 

x Develop an enterprise architecture. 

x Improve information security in order to address the lack of (1) a capability to assess agencywide 

information security risks and (2) a security architecture that addresses information security 

issues agencywide. 

x Design and implement a process to ensure that recommendations from verification and validation 

reviews are addressed and incorporated into ERA’s acquisition policies and plans. 

x Revise five key ERA program policies and plans to conform to IEEE standards.

4

GAO, Information Management: Challenges in Managing and Preserving Electronic Records, GAO-02-586 (Washington, D.C.: June 

17, 2002); GAO, Records Management: National Archives and Records Administration’s Acquisition of Major System Faces Risks,

GAO-03-880 (Washington, D.C.: Aug. 22, 2003); GAO, Records Management: Planning for the Electronic Records Archives Has 

Improved, GAO-04-927 (Washington, D.C.: Sept. 23, 2004); and GAO, Information Management: Acquisition of the Electronic Records 

Archives is Progressing, GAO-05-802 (Washington, D.C.: July 15, 2005). 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 10 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

6

Introduction

x Develop a documented strategy for (1) raising agency senior management awareness of and 

commitment to records management principles, functions, and programs and (2) conducting 

systematic inspections of agency records management programs to (a) periodically assess 

agency progress in improving records management programs and (b) evaluate the efficacy of 

NARA’s governmentwide guidance. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 11 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

7

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 

As agreed, our objectives were to 

x determine the extent to which NARA’s fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan satisfies the legislative 

conditions specified in NARA’s appropriations act, 

x determine the extent to which NARA has implemented our prior recommendations, and 

x provide any other observations about the expenditure plan and the ERA acquisition. 

To assess compliance with legislative conditions, we 

x reviewed the fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan submitted by NARA in March 2006 and analyzed 

the plan against the legislative conditions to identify any variances; 

x reviewed and analyzed NARA’s processes to ensure the ERA system acquisition conforms to the 

agency’s enterprise architecture; 

x reviewed NARA’s fiscal year 2006 A-11, section 300 submission to OMB and identified and 

analyzed NARA’s responses to determine the extent to which the agency has complied with 

OMB’s capital planning and investment control requirements; and 

x reviewed the systems development life cycle policy that the agency is using to guide the ERA 

acquisition and analyzed relevant items for compliance. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 12 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

8

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 

To determine the extent to which NARA has implemented prior recommendations, we 

x evaluated the agency’s enterprise architecture plans and products and conducted interviews of 

senior NARA officials to determine the status of the agency’s efforts to develop an enterprise 

architecture;

x reviewed Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA) reports and NARA’s security 

program plan, security architecture, and system security plans; interviewed senior NARA officials 

and Office of Inspector General (OIG) auditors to determine the status of the agency’s efforts to 

strengthen information security; 

x reviewed key ERA policies and plans and independent verification and validation reports on the 

policies and plans and interviewed ERA officials to determine what progress the program had 

made in addressing our recommendation that policies and plans conform to industry standards;

x assessed the program’s process for reviewing and finalizing policies and plans and interviewed 

ERA officials responsible for the review process to determine the extent to which the review 

process was developed and implemented; and 

x interviewed NARA officials and reviewed documents to determine the progress the agency has 

made in addressing our recommendation to raise awareness among senior federal officials of the 

importance of federal records management and increase their commitment to federal records 

management; and to conduct systematic inspections of agency records management programs 

to (a) periodically assess agency progress in improving records management programs and (b) 

evaluate the efficacy of NARA’s governmentwide guidance. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 13 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

9

Objectives, Scope, and Methodology 

To develop our observation on the ERA expenditure plan and acquisition, we 

x assessed the completeness of the cost and schedule information contained in the expenditure 

plan and interviewed NARA officials in order to gain an understanding of the data. 

We performed our work from December 2005 to May 2006 at NARA’s College Park, Maryland, 

location in accordance with generally accepted government auditing standards. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 14 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

10

Results in Brief

Legislative Conditions 

NARA’s fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan fully satisfies three of the six legislative conditions. The 

plan partially satisfies the legislative conditions that ERA meet OMB’s capital planning and investment 

control review requirements, conform to the enterprise architecture, and comply with the requirements 

of the systems development life cycle. 

Prior Recommendations 

NARA has fully implemented three of five prior GAO recommendations and partially implemented the 

remaining two.

Table 1: Summary Status of NARA’s Progress in Implementing Prior Recommendations

Prior recommendation Status Progress

1. Enterprise architecture partially implemented NARA has completed a baseline, target, and a plan for 

transitioning from the baseline to the target architecture. However, 

the agency lacks a board for reviewing IT projects agencywide, 

including projects that are interdependent with ERA.

2. Information security implemented NARA has developed a program that includes agencywide 

assessments of information security risks and an enterprise 

architecture that addresses information security issues 

agencywide.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 15 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

11

Results in Brief

Prior recommendation Status Progress

3. Document review process implemented A document review process has been developed and 

implemented to ensure that recommendations from independent 

verification and validation reviews are addressed and incorporated 

into acquisition policies and plans. 

4. Acquisition program policies and 

plans

partially implemented NARA has revised four out of five key policies and plans to 

comply with IEEE standards. According to NARA officials, the 

remaining document—the Risk Management Plan—is currently 

under revision.

5. Federal records management implemented NARA has implemented strategies to raise agencies’ awareness 

of records management principles, functions, and programs and 

to monitor the performance of agencies’ records management 

programs and practices.

Source: GAO. 

Observations on the ERA Expenditure Plan and Program 

NARA’s expenditure plan does not contain the level and scope of information needed for Congress to 

understand its plans and commitments relative to system capabilities, benefits, schedules, and costs. 

We are making a recommendation to NARA to improve the utility of future expenditure plans.

In commenting on a draft of these briefing slides, the Archivist generally agreed with the contents and 

our recommendation.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 16 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

12

Background

 ERA Expenditure Plan 

NARA’s fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan includes a description of plans to complete initial operating 

capability of the ERA system5

 by September 2007. Table 2 shows the schedule of planned activities. 

Table 2: Summary of Planned Activities 

Milestone Start date Completion date 

Develop ERA through initial operating 

capability

October 1, 2005 August 7, 2006

Establish ERA system infrastructure June 5, 2006 November 24, 2006

Provide business applications for appraisal, 

scheduling, limited preservation, and 

internal dissemination of electronic records 

August 17, 2006 September 30, 2006

Complete initial operating capability September 7, 2007

Source: GAO. 

Successfully acquiring the ERA system also involves the management of interdependent IT projects. 

The current environment consists of a number of legacy systems that do not adequately fulfill mission 

needs, comprehensively address the entire life cycle management of records, or support all of 

NARA’s evolving business processes. These legacy systems will be subsumed into the new system.

5

A senior ERA official indicated that these dates were tentative and would not be finalized until August 7, 2006, when Lockheed Martin

and NARA complete the design.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 17 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

13

Background

 ERA Expenditure Plan 

NARA’s fiscal year 2006 expenditure plan for the ERA program also includes a summary of funding to 

complete initial operating capability of the ERA system. 

Table 3: Summary of NARA’s Fiscal Year 2006 ERA Expenditure Plan 

Project category Amount

Program management $12,019,698

Research and development 3,500,000

Site deployment 1,980,000

Development contract – Lockheed Martin 21,780,000

Independent verification and validation61,549,909

Total $40,829,607

Source: NARA 2006 Expenditure Plan. 

Of these funds, NARA cannot obligate the $21,780,000 for the development contract with Lockheed 

Martin until Congress reviews and approves the expenditure plan. Congress released the remaining 

funds when NARA’s appropriations bill was signed in November 2005. 

6

NARA contracted with Northrop Grumman to perform independent verification and validation on policies and plans produced by the 

ERA program and contractual deliverables produced by Lockheed Martin. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 18 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

14

Legislative Conditions 

NARA has fully satisfied three of the six legislative conditions and partially satisfied three. 

Table 4: Fiscal Year 2006 Expenditure Plan Provisions for Satisfying Legislative Conditions 

Legislative

condition Status Progress

1. Meet OMB capital 

planning and investment 

control review requirements

Partially

satisfied

NARA meets OMB’s capital planning and investment control review requirements 

for the ERA acquisition. It identified funding required for acquiring ERA and 

conducts regular reviews of the program. However, while NARA has appointed a 

group comprised of senior managers that meets weekly to review ERA, the 

agency does not regularly review other ongoing IT investments, including those 

that have interdependencies with ERA. 

2. Comply with NARA’s 

enterprise architecture 

Partially

satisfied

NARA has developed and implemented a procedure to ensure that ERA 

complies with the agency’s enterprise architecture (EA). However, while the 

chief technology officer reviews and approves ERA’s conformance to the 

agency’s EA, NARA has not yet established a board to assess IT projects 

agencywide, including those that have interdependencies with ERA, to ensure 

they conform to the EA.

3. Conform to NARA’s 

enterprise life cycle 

methodology

Partially

satisfied

ERA conforms to the life cycle methodology. For example, the plan includes 

descriptions of the incremental approach the agency has adopted for acquiring 

ERA and the program performs risk and performance management. However, 

NARA has not yet fully established an agencywide risk management capability. 

While it has established a Risk Review Board and assigned a chairperson to it, 

identified risks, and is developing processes, it has not yet completed a risk 

management plan or strategy. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 19 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

15

Legislative Conditions 

Legislative

condition Status Progress

4. Comply with acquisition 

rules, requirements, 

guidelines, and system 

acquisition management 

practices of the federal 

government

Satisfied NARA satisfied this provision by (1) conducting internal assessments in 

2002 and 2004 that used the Software Engineering Institute’s (SEI)7 SACMM8

 methods to determine the maturity of ERA’s system policies, 

processes, and practices; (2) implemented a process to address the 

assessment’s recommendations; and (3) is planning to commission an 

independent standard CMMI®9 appraisal methodology for process 

improvement (SCAMPIsm)

10 appraisal of ERA in FY 2007. 

5. Approval by NARA and 

OMB

Satisfied x OMB – March 14, 2006 

x NARA – March 16, 2006 

6. Review by GAO Satisfied x GAO – May 26, 2006, briefing to NARA’s appropriations 

subcommittees.

Source: GAO. 

7

SEI is a federally funded research and development center operated by Carnegie Mellon University and sponsored by the Department

of Defense. Its objective is to provide leadership in software engineering and in the transition of new software engineering technology

into practice. 

8

SA-CMM: Identifies key process areas that are essential to effectively managing software-intensive system acquisitions. 

9

CMMI is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University. The CMMI is SEI’s process model that 

describes how to develop the processes needed for software development and specific practices that organizations should follow.

10SCAMPI (SM) is a service mark of Carnegie Mellon University. It is a method used for appraising organizations using CMMI. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 20 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

16

Legislative Conditions 

NARA recognizes the weaknesses associated with the legislative conditions. According to its Chief 

Information Officer, the agency 

x intends to establish a group to assess IT projects’ compliance with the EA, 

x plans to establish a process for regular reviews by management of ongoing IT investments, and 

x has begun to establish an agencywide risk management capability. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 21 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

17

Implementation of Prior Recommendations 

Enterprise Architecture

In our June 2002 report, we recommended that NARA strengthen its IT management capabilities by 

developing an EA. An EA provides a description—in useful models, diagrams, and narrative—of the 

mode of operation for an agency. It describes the agency in logical terms, such as interrelated 

business locations and users, and in IT operational terms, such as hardware, software, data, 

communications, and information security attributes and standards. It provides these perspectives 

both for the baseline and target environments as well as a plan for transitioning from the baseline to 

the target. Furthermore, the agency should establish an architecture review board that meets 

regularly to evaluate projects’ compliance with the EA. 

The agency has established baseline and target architectures that include 

x business process definitions and flows for interrelated activities; 

x IT defined in operational terms including hardware, software, data, and security; and

x a plan to transition from the baseline to the target architecture.

However, as previously noted, the agency lacks a review board for ensuring that IT projects conform 

to the EA. 

Until a board is established, the agency lacks assurance that projects are fully consistent with the 

architecture.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 22 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

18

 Implementation of Prior Recommendations 

Information Security 

In our June 2002 report, we recommended that the agency improve information security because it 

lacked a program for assessing agencywide information security risks and an EA that addresses 

security issues across the agency.

NARA has strengthened information security by:

x improving its information security program plan, performing agencywide assessments of 

information security risks, and developing plans of action and milestones for identified 

weaknesses and 

x developing its EA to encompass information security and providing documentation that identifies 

and specifies NARA’s requirements for IT security management, processes, and technologies 

across the agency.

Because of several assessments that identified numerous security weaknesses, the Archivist 

declared information security a material weakness in fiscal year 2000. According to the Archivist, 

corrective actions taken since then to address these weaknesses were completed in fiscal year 2005, 

and information security is no longer considered a material weakness. However, in its annual FISMA 

reports, the OIG has identified numerous NARA IT security weaknesses. 

While the agency has addressed our specific recommendation, NARA will need to continue to be 

vigilant in identifying and addressing information security weaknesses.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 23 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

19

 Implementation of Prior Recommendations 

Document Review Process 

In our September 2004 report, we reported that the program lacked a process to ensure that the 

results of verification and validation reviews of policies and plans were incorporated into final 

versions. We recommended that the Archivist direct the ERA program director to design and 

implement a process to ensure that recommendations from verification and validation reviews are 

addressed and incorporated into acquisition policies and plans. We noted that such a process 

reduces the risk that acquisition policies and plans do not meet industry standards. Without a 

documented process, NARA cannot ensure that reviewers’ comments are integrated into the final 

versions.

NARA has developed and implemented standard operating procedures to ensure that reviewers’ 

recommendations are addressed in the final versions of ERA’s acquisition policies and plans. 

Specifically, acquisition policies and plans are assessed by an independent verification and validation 

contractor, who reviews them against applicable industry standards and prepares a report with results 

and recommendations. After the policies and plans have been revised and recommendations 

incorporated, they are returned to the independent verification and validation contractor to ensure that 

all recommendations have been incorporated. NARA recently applied these procedures in its 

revisions to key ERA policies and plans, including the acquisition strategy and configuration 

management plan. 

By ensuring that independent verification and validation comments are addressed and incorporated 

into final versions of its policies and plans, NARA has increased assurance that it now has compliant 

acquisition policies and plans to guide its efforts. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 24 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

20

 Implementation of Prior Recommendations 

Acquisition Policies and Plans 

We previously reported that ERA had developed key acquisition policies and plans to guide its 

acquisition, but that the documents did not fully conform to the IEEE standards selected by the 

agency. These policies and plans are essential for managing the acquisition and providing critical 

guidance to the contractor who will be developing the system. As a result, we recommended that ERA 

revise these policies and plans to conform to industry standards. 

NARA has revised these four of five key acquisition policies and plans to comply with IEEE standards 

x Acquisition Strategy 

x Configuration Management Plan 

x Quality Management Plan 

x Program Management Plan

The revised acquisition policies and plans have been reviewed by an independent verification and 

validation contractor. According to these reviews, these documents are compliant with IEEE 

standards.

According to the Director of the ERA Program Support Division, the remaining document—the risk 

management plan—is currently under revision and should be completed by June 2006.11

By revising these key ERA policies and plans to meet industry standards, NARA has strengthened 

the guidance it needs to acquire the ERA system.

11The Risk Management Plan was subsequently completed in July 2006.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 25 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

21

Implementation of Prior Recommendations 

Records Management 

We previously reported that records management was generally afforded low priority by federal 

agencies and that NARA lacked strategies to address the low priority given to records functions and 

to monitor the performance of records management programs and practices on an ongoing basis. We 

recommended that the Archivist develop documented strategies for

x raising senior management awareness of and commitment to records management principles, 

functions, and programs and

x conducting systematic inspections of agency records management programs to (1) periodically 

assess agency progress in improving records management programs and (2) evaluate the 

efficacy of NARA's governmentwide guidance. 

NARA has implemented our recommendation by 

x briefing agency leaders on the importance of records and information management and providing 

guidance and support on electronic records to senior agency officials;

x assessing agency records management programs by (1) conducting cross-government studies to 

identify and analyze records management best practices; (2) developing governmentwide 

recommendations and guidance on these practices; and (3) developing a plan to undertake 

agency inspections based on a risk-based model, government studies, or reports from the media; 

and

x conducting a survey of agency federal records officers that determined that the officers were 

generally satisfied with the utility of NARA guidance products. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 26 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

22

 Implementation of Prior Recommendations 

Records Management 

In addition, NARA plans to broaden the survey to include electronic records guidance, records 

management training, and scheduling and appraisal services. 

The plans and strategies implemented by NARA should raise agencies’ awareness of records 

management principles, functions, and programs. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 27 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

23

Observations on the ERA Expenditure Plan and Acquisition 

ERA Expenditure Plan 

The legislative requirement to submit an expenditure plan for ERA to the appropriations committees is 

intended to provide lawmakers with a sufficient understanding of the system acquisition to permit 

effective oversight and to allow for informed decision making about the use of appropriated funds. For 

this to occur, however, these plans need to disclose a sufficient level and scope of information to 

understand what system capabilities and benefits are to be delivered, by when, at what cost, and 

what progress is being made against the commitments that were made in prior expenditure plans. 

NARA’s expenditure plan does not contain the level and scope of information needed for Congress to 

understand its plans and commitments relative to system capabilities, benefits, schedules, and costs. 

More specifically, the plan provides only general information on how the $22 million, for which it is 

requesting release, is to be spent. According to the plan, these funds are to enable the development 

contractor, Lockheed Martin, to

x Provide the infrastructure for systems operations, including security, systems management, 

common services, and limited storage capabilities. This is to enable receiving, storing, and 

maintaining the integrity of electronic records being ingested into ERA. The plan also notes that a 

key element of this infrastructure is an “automated workflow capability.” 

x Initiate work on business applications needed to support records appraisal, scheduling, limited 

preservation, and limited internal dissemination.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 28 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

24

Observations on the ERA Expenditure Plan and Acquisition 

ERA Expenditure Plan 

However, the spend plan does not contain details on, for example:

x how the $22 million requested is to be allocated among planned tasks; 

x the infrastructure elements—including software and hardware—that are to be procured or how 

these will fit into the overall system design;

x what is meant by an “automated workflow capability” and its relationship to system requirements 

and benefits; and 

x the portion of the work on business applications that will be completed during fiscal year 2006 

with the funds requested. 

We also note that the schedule provided in the expenditure plan has changed since the plan was 

submitted to the appropriations committees. Specifically, while the plan indicates that the review and 

approval of the infrastructure design was to be completed by May 23, 2006, NARA officials stated that 

the current plan is to conduct a series of reviews that will result in approval of both the infrastructure 

and business applications designs by August 7, 2006. 

NARA officials stated that they had attempted to use another agency’s plans as models in developing 

their own. They also indicated that they have more detailed information on their plans—including a list 

of the equipment to be procured—but did not include it because they believed it was too detailed. 

A listing of specific equipment would be of limited value; however, the plan does not provide sufficient 

information on system capabilities, benefits, schedules or costs to fully inform the Congress on what 

is being acquired.Without this information, Congress does not have the information needed to 

oversee plans and progress on the acquisition of the system. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 29 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

25

Conclusions

NARA’s expenditure plan satisfies three of six legislative conditions and the agency has continued to 

make significant progress in implementing our recommendations. The agency plans to address 

outstanding issues. If NARA complies with the legislative conditions and implements our 

recommendations, the agency should be better positioned to successfully acquire the ERA system. 

NARA has not included a sufficient level and scope of information on infrastructure elements, 

automated workflow capability, and business applications to be completed in fiscal year 2006 so that 

Congress will be able to understand what system capabilities and benefits are to be delivered, by 

when, and at what cost. Without sufficient detail in future expenditure plans, Congress may be 

hampered in its ability to effectively oversee the program.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 30 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

26

Recommendation for Executive Action 

We recommend that the Archivist of the United States ensure that future expenditure plans include a 

sufficient level and scope of information so that Congress will be able to understand what system 

capabilities and benefits are to be delivered, by when, and at what cost, and what progress is being 

made against the commitments that were made in prior expenditure plans. 
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 31 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

27

Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 

In written comments on a draft of our briefing slides, the Archivist of the United States generally 

agreed with the contents and our recommendation. He stated that he was pleased to note the 

recognition of the progress made towards implementing our recommendations and indicated that the 

agency would make every effort to complete those identified as being partially implemented.

Regarding the information provided in this year’s spend plan, the Archivist said that providing more 

detail to Congress was inappropriate because (1) funding had fallen far short of expectations, (2) the 

agency and its contractor were replanning ERA to match available resources, and (3) the plan’s 

details had not been finalized. However, NARA’s spend plan did not provide information on these 

developments. Without this information, it is difficult for Congress to discern from the expenditure plan 

that NARA is significantly revising ERA’s cost, schedule, and performance goals. Nonetheless, the 

Archivist agreed that NARA would provide additional information in future expenditure plans, as we 

recommended.

The Archivist also stated that, because of substantial corrective actions completed in fiscal year 2005, 

information security is no longer considered to be a material weakness. We have clarified this in our 

briefing. However, information security must continue to be a priority as the agency increases reliance 

on its IT infrastructure for records management and archiving of electronic information.
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 32 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives
Appendix I

Briefing Slides

Page 33 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives
Page 34 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

Appendix II

Comments from the National Archives and 

Records Administration ApendxiI
Appendix II

Comments from the National Archives and 

Records Administration

Page 35 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives
Page 36 GAO-06-906 Electronic Records Archives

Appendix III

GAO Contacts and Staff Acknowledgments ApendxiI

GAO Contact Linda Koontz, (202) 512-6240

Staff 

Acknowledgments

In addition to the contact named above, Naba Barkakati, Timothy Case, 

Mike Dolak, Nancy Glover, Mary Hatcher, Jacqueline Mai, and Amos 

Tevelow made key contributions to this report.

(310770)
GAO’s Mission The Government Accountability Office, the audit, evaluation and 

investigative arm of Congress, exists to support Congress in meeting its 

constitutional responsibilities and to help improve the performance and 

accountability of the federal government for the American people. GAO 

examines the use of public funds; evaluates federal programs and policies; 

and provides analyses, recommendations, and other assistance to help 

Congress make informed oversight, policy, and funding decisions. GAO’s 

commitment to good government is reflected in its core values of 

accountability, integrity, and reliability.

Obtaining Copies of 

GAO Reports and 

Testimony

The fastest and easiest way to obtain copies of GAO documents at no cost 

is through GAO’s Web site (www.gao.gov). Each weekday, GAO posts 

newly released reports, testimony, and correspondence on its Web site. To 

have GAO e-mail you a list of newly posted products every afternoon, go to 

www.gao.gov and select “Subscribe to Updates.”

Order by Mail or Phone The first copy of each printed report is free. Additional copies are $2 each. 

A check or money order should be made out to the Superintendent of 

Documents. GAO also accepts VISA and Mastercard. Orders for 100 or 

more copies mailed to a single address are discounted 25 percent. Orders 

should be sent to:

U.S. Government Accountability Office

441 G Street NW, Room LM

Washington, D.C. 20548

To order by Phone: Voice: (202) 512-6000 

TDD: (202) 512-2537 

Fax: (202) 512-6061

To Report Fraud, 

Waste, and Abuse in 

Federal Programs

Contact:

Web site: www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm

E-mail: fraudnet@gao.gov

Automated answering system: (800) 424-5454 or (202) 512-7470

Congressional 

Relations

Gloria Jarmon, Managing Director, JarmonG@gao.gov (202) 512-4400

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7125 

Washington, D.C. 20548

Public Affairs Paul Anderson, Managing Director, AndersonP1@gao.gov (202) 512-4800

U.S. Government Accountability Office, 441 G Street NW, Room 7149 

Washington, D.C. 20548