Bureau of Land Management: Plan Needed to Sustain Progress in Establishing IT Investment Management Capabilities
Published: 2003-09-12T00:00:00

Fast Facts:

Highlights:
section_title: Why GAO Did This Study
paragraphs: The mission of the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is to maintain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. BLM employs about 11,000 people, with information technology (IT) playing a critical role in helping BLM perform its responsibilities. The bureau estimates that it will spend about $146 million on IT initiatives in fiscal year 2003. GAO was asked to evaluate BLM's IT investment management (ITIM) capabilities and determine the bureau's plans for improving these capabilities. GAO's evaluation was based on applying its ITIM maturity framework, which identifies critical processes for successful IT investment management.
section_title: What GAO Found
paragraphs: BLM has made progress in establishing its ITIM capabilities. Specifically, BLM has established most of the key practices associated with building an investment foundation. For example, the bureau has established a board for managing IT investments, implemented processes to ensure that IT projects support business needs and meet users' requirements, and established a process for selecting IT proposals. In addition, the bureau has efforts under way to address the key practices it has not yet established. BLM has also initiated efforts to manage its investments as a portfolio. For example, it has established a council to support portfolio management activities and begun defining portfolio selection criteria. BLM has also begun performing postimplementation reviews to learn lessons that will help define and implement an IT investment evaluation process. However BLM's progress to date in defining practices for managing its investments as a portfolio has been limited because, according to its officials, its investment board first focused its resources on establishing the processes associated with building the IT investment management foundation. Although BLM has made progress in developing its IT investment process, it has not yet developed a plan to guide its efforts in this area and, as a result, may not be able to successfully establish more mature ITIM processes. According to the chief information officer, this is because BLM wanted to develop an ITIM plan that is integrated with improvement plans for other IT management areas, and the results of the comprehensive assessment that were to be used as the basis for such a plan were obtained only in June 2003. BLM officials agree that this plan is necessary for guiding improvement efforts and stated their intention to develop one. Developing such a plan will help BLM sustain progress made to date.

section_title: Letter
paragraphs: The mission of the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land  Management (BLM) is to maintain the health, diversity, and productivity of  public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.  To carry out the functions involved in managing the public lands, BLM  employs a workforce of about 11,000 employees located in headquarters in  Washington, D.C., state offices, field offices, and national centers  specializing in training, fire management support, science and technology,  human resources management, information resources management, and  business services. Information technology (IT) plays a critical role in  helping BLM carry out its responsibilities. The bureau estimates that it will  spend about $146 million on IT initiatives in fiscal year 2003.
This report is one of two in response to your request to evaluate the  Department of the Interior’s IT investment management process. As  agreed, the objectives of our review were to (1) evaluate BLM’s IT  investment management capabilities against the key practices defined in  our IT investment management assessment framework and (2) determine  the agency’s plans for improving these capabilities. We performed our work  in accordance with generally accepted government accounting standards.  Details on our objectives, scope, and methodology are contained in  appendix I.
subsections: section_title: Background
paragraphs: BLM, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages 261 million  surface acres and an additional 700 million acres of subsurface mineral  estate throughout the nation. The agency’s mission is to maintain the  health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment  of present and future generations. To carry out this mission, BLM employs  a workforce of about 11,000 employees located in headquarters in  Washington, D.C., 12 state offices, 130 field offices, and national centers  specializing in training, fire management support, science and technology,  human resources management, information resources management, and  business services.
subsections: section_title: BLM’s Use of IT
paragraphs: BLM collects, analyzes, and records a tremendous amount of business  information about the public lands and resources, ranging from land title to  recreational usage to wildlife habitat. These data are mainly geographic in  character and are best understood when displayed and analyzed in spatial  form using automated geographic information systems. Numerous  parties—including public land users; educational institutions; public  interest groups; other federal, state, tribal, and local agencies; and the  scientific community—use these data or information to make thousands of  business decisions each year.
The central focus of BLM’s IT strategy is to develop integrated systems that  help BLM meet national and local needs in managing the lands and natural  resources, while supporting the mission and goals outlined in BLM’s  Strategic Plan. For example, BLM uses its Automated Fluid Minerals  Support System to support its Oil and Gas Program. The system helps  match mineral estate information to information on existing wells,  facilities, permits, and inspections and provides an automated system for  granting permits to BLM customers and creating reports. Currently, BLM  issues approximately 41,000 permits and reports and conducts about 19,000  inspections per year. BLM also uses its Management Information System,  which provides a Web-enabled, business information, budgetary, financial,  and program performance system so that simple data analysis can be  performed benefiting the entire bureau. This system provides managers  with up-to-date business data to make cost effective decisions concerning  the management of BLM’s people, resources, and natural resources for  several of Interior’s mission goals. BLM’s estimated IT expenditures are  $146.45 million for fiscal year 2003.
section_title: Prior Weaknesses in BLM’s IT Investment Management Process
paragraphs: Between 1995 and 2001, we conducted reviews and issued several reports  on problems and risks that threatened the successful development and  deployment of BLM’s modernization of its Automated Land and Mineral  Record System. In a recent report addressing this issue, we noted, among  other things, that after 15 years and about $411 million obligated, the  project was terminated because the Initial Operating Capability module—a  major component of the system—did not meet BLM’s business needs and  therefore could not be deployed. We also reported that the absence of  adequate investment management processes and practices at BLM was a  significant factor contributing to the failure of the system. Accordingly, we  recommended that the Secretary of the Interior direct BLM to take certain  actions to help it strengthen its investment management process. BLM has  been working on improving its process since that time.
section_title: BLM’s Approach to Investment Management
paragraphs: BLM has assigned several individuals and groups with responsibilities for  managing national IT investments, that is investments which, among other  things, are considered major applications or general support systems; have  a life-cycle value of greater than $500,000; or will affect multiple states,  centers, or business areas. These individuals and groups and their roles  are described below.
National Information Technology Investment Board (ITIB)—Chaired  by BLM’s Deputy Director of Operations, this board is responsible for  selecting, controlling, and evaluating all national IT investments.  Members include the CIO, Chief Financial Officer, Assistant Directors  from the business units, two State Directors, an Associate State  Director, the CIO Council Chair, the Bureau Architecture Chair, a Fire  and Aviation Portfolio Representative, and several ex officio members  including Interior’s CIO, the bureau Architect, and managers from the  System Coordination Office and the Investment Management Group.
System Coordination Office—Created in June 2000 to support a  number of IT management functions, the System Coordination Office,  among other things, is responsible for coordinating the screening of all  IT investments and projects to ensure that they are in line with the  bureau’s selection, control, and evaluation criteria, and monitors project  performance (scope, schedule, and budget). The office is also  responsible for coordinating the development of a project management  curriculum and mentoring and developing a cadre of trained and  experienced project managers.
Investment Management Group—Responsibilities of this group include  coordinating the development and maintenance of the bureau’s IT  investment portfolio, ensuring that all investments fit within budget  constraints, and providing investment updates and forecasting as  needed.
Information Technology Portfolio Management Council—Chartered in  June 2003, but established about a year ago, this council serves as an  advisory council to the ITIB and is responsible, among other things, for  applying business-related rating and ranking criteria to BLM’s portfolio,  performing trade-off analyses, and working with the Investment  Management Group to develop funding strategies. The council is also  responsible for ensuring that investments are clearly tied to the mission  and strategic plans (both business and information resources  management) of the bureau and selected by a consistent, repeatable,  objective process. Members include national IT portfolio managers for  each of the directorates, representatives from the state portfolios and  the Bureau Enterprise Architecture Team, and members from the  System Coordination Office and the Investment Management Group.
Bureau Enterprise Architecture Team—Responsible for ensuring that  investment proposals and business cases are aligned with the bureau  enterprise architecture’s business processes, data, applications, and  technology components.
Project proponent—Responsible, among other things, for leading the  development of the investment proposal, coordinating and championing  the development of the business case, and working with the project  manager throughout the life cycle of the project.
Project sponsor—A field, center, or Washington office manager who  authorizes the development of a business case. The project sponsor  shifts roles to become the system owner when the project moves into  operations and maintenance. The project sponsor is responsible for  selecting a project manager, approving all project documentation, and  participating in a management oversight role throughout the planning,  design, development, testing, acceptance, and deployment of the  project.
Project manager—Responsible for developing the project plan and  leading and managing the project. The project manager reports directly  to the project sponsor. Ultimately, it is the project managers who  are responsible for successfully managing and completing one or more  projects approved by the ITIB.
The bureau has also defined a three-phase IT investment management  process which involves selecting proposed IT projects (select phase),  controlling ongoing projects through development (control phase), and  evaluating projects that have been deployed (evaluate phase). Each phase  comprises multiple stages that have entrance and exit criteria defined in  the IT Investment Management Process guide that must be satisfied before  a project can move from one stage to the next stage or phase in the  process. The System Coordination Office tracks projects’ progress through  the various stages, ensuring that they comply with the processes defined in  the guide. The national ITIB stays abreast of projects’ performance through  quarterly report reviews. The board is also directly involved in key  milestone (i.e., stage) reviews.
subsections: section_title: Select Phase
paragraphs: The purpose of the phase is to ensure that BLM chooses the IT projects that  best support its mission and align with the bureau’s architecture. During  this phase, the project proponent and portfolio manager are expected to  collaborate to develop an investment proposal.
The System Coordination Office is responsible for reviewing the proposal  and ensuring that issues are identified and resolved. Finally, the ITIB is to  review the proposal and either approve it, approve it with stipulations,  return it for further analysis, or reject it. If the ITIB approves the proposal,  the project manager and project proponent are to work to develop a more  elaborate business case. The System Coordination Office reviews the  business case and coordinates the reviews performed by other groups (e.g.,  the Bureau Enterprise Architecture Team). The Office then makes  recommendations for approval to the ITIB on the basis of these reviews.
At the end of the select phase, a project plan is to be developed that defines  the strategies for managing the project. According to BLM officials, to date  the ITIB has placed more emphasis on this phase than on the other two.
section_title: Control Phase
paragraphs: Once selected for inclusion in the bureau’s IT portfolio, each project is to  be managed by a trained or experienced IT project manager and monitored  by the System Coordination Office and ITIB on a quarterly basis throughout  its life cycle.
Included within the project’s plan, which is developed at the end of the  select phase, are milestones for architecture, technical, and project  management reviews. Factors such as project risk, complexity, and cost  determine the scope and frequency of each of these milestone reviews.  Projects that fall short of meeting their predetermined budget, schedule, or  scope requirements are to be reviewed by the ITIB, who works with the  project managers to develop an appropriate course of action. If this issue  arises, the ITIB must decide whether to continue the project; rebaseline the  scope, schedule, or budget; or to terminate the project. Ultimately, all  decisions that are carried out are a result of the ITIB voting process.
section_title: Evaluate Phase
paragraphs: Once a project has been fully implemented and accepted by the users and  system owner, the System Coordination Office and ITIB are responsible for  monitoring its schedule and budget quarterly. BLM has also, on a limited  basis, begun performing postimplementation reviews—BLM refers to these  as postdeployment reviews— in which a project’s actual results are to be  evaluated against expected results to compare realized to estimated  benefits and assess the project’s impact on mission performance.  Necessary changes or modifications to the project are to be identified, and  technical compliance with the bureau enterprise architecture is also to be  assessed. The main objective of the postimplementation review is to derive  lessons learned, which may lead to investment management process  improvements and opportunities for improving business processes (which  in turn provide input into the select phase). To date, BLM has performed  postimplementation reviews for two systems.
Figure 1 illustrates BLM’s IT investment management process phases and  stages. The highlighted stages represent those for which the ITIB must  make an approval decision before a project can move forward.
section_title: ITIM Maturity Framework
paragraphs: On the basis of research into the IT investment management practices of  leading private- and public-sector organizations, we have developed an  information technology investment management (ITIM) maturity  framework. This framework identifies critical processes for successful IT  investments organized into a framework of five increasingly mature stages.  The ITIM is intended to be used as both a management tool for  implementing these processes incrementally and an evaluation tool for  determining an organization’s current level of maturity. The overriding  purpose of the framework is to encourage investment processes that  increase business value and mission performance, reduce risk, and  increase accountability and transparency in the decision process. This  framework has been used in several GAO evaluations and adopted by a  number of agencies. These agencies have used ITIM for purposes ranging  from self-assessment to redesign of their IT investment management  processes.
ITIM is a hierarchical model comprising five “maturity stages.” These  maturity stages represent steps toward achieving stable and mature  processes for managing IT investments. Each stage builds upon the lower  stages; the successful achievement of each stage leads to improvement in  the organization’s ability to manage its investments. With the exception of  the first stage, each maturity stage is composed of “critical processes” that  must be implemented and institutionalized for the organization to achieve  that stage. These critical processes are further broken down into key  practices that describe the types of activities that an organization should be  performing to successfully implement each critical process. An  organization may be performing key practices from more than one maturity  stage at one time. This is not unusual, but efforts to improve investment  management capabilities should focus on becoming compliant with lower  stage practices before addressing higher stage practices.
Stage 2 in the ITIM framework encompasses building a sound investment  management process—by developing the capability to control projects so  that they finish predictably within established cost and schedule  expectations—and establishing basic capabilities for selecting new IT  projects. Stage 3 requires that an organization continually assess proposed  and ongoing projects as parts of a complete investment portfolio: an  integrated and competing set of investment options. This approach enables  the organization to consider the relative costs, benefits, and risks of newly  proposed investments along with those previously funded and to identify  the optimal mix of IT investments to meet its mission, strategies, and goals.  Stages 4 and 5 require the use of evaluation techniques to continuously  improve both the investment portfolio and investment processes to better  achieve strategic outcomes. Figure 2 shows the five maturity stages and the  associated critical processes.
As defined by the model, each critical process consists of “key practices”  that must be executed to implement the critical process.
section_title: BLM Has Established Many of the Key Practices for Effective Investment Management
paragraphs: In order to have the capabilities to effectively manage IT investments, an  agency should (1) have basic, project-level control and selection practices  in place (stage 2 capabilities) and (2) manage its projects as a portfolio of  investments, treating them as an integrated package of competing  investment options and pursuing those that best meet the strategic goals,  objectives, and mission of the agency (stage 3 capabilities). In addition, an  agency would be well served by implementing capabilities for improving its  investment management process (stage 4 capabilities).
BLM has executed the majority of the project-level control and selection  practices. The bureau has also initiated efforts to manage its projects as a  portfolio and performed two postimplementation reviews to learn lessons  to improve its investment management process. When BLM implements all  critical processes associated with building an investment foundation and  managing its projects as a portfolio, the bureau will have greater  confidence that it has selected the mix of projects that best supports its  strategic goals and that the projects will be managed to successful  completion.
subsections: section_title: an IT Investment Foundation
paragraphs: At ITIM stage 2 maturity, an organization has attained repeatable,  successful IT project-level investment control processes and basic  selection processes. Through these processes, the organization can identify  expectation gaps early and take appropriate steps to address them.  According to ITIM, critical processes at stage 2 include (1) defining  investment review board operations, (2) collecting information about  existing investments, (3) developing project-level investment control  processes, (4) identifying the business needs for each IT project, and  (5) developing a basic process for selecting new IT proposals. Table 1  discusses the purpose for each of the stage 2 critical processes.
To its credit, BLM has put in place about 85 percent of the key practices  associated with stage 2 critical processes. The bureau has satisfied all the  key practices associated with establishing the governing boards  responsible for managing IT investments and ensuring that IT projects  support organizational needs and meet users’ needs. It has satisfied a  majority of the key practices associated with proposal selection and IT  project oversight and is working on incorporating the use of an IT project  and system inventory into its IT investment management process. Table 2  summarizes the status of BLM’s critical processes for stage 2, showing how  many associated key practices it has executed.
The creation of decision-making bodies or boards is central to the IT  investment management process. At the stage 2 level of maturity,  organizations define one or more boards, provide resources to support  their operations, and appoint members who have expertise in both  operational and technical aspects of proposed investments. Resources  provided to support the operations of IT investment boards typically  include top management’s participation in creating the board(s) and  defining their scope and formal evidence acknowledging management’s  support for board decisions. The boards operate according to a written IT  investment process guide tailored to the organization’s unique  characteristics, thus ensuring that consistent and effective management  practices are implemented across the organization. Once board members  are selected, the organization ensures that they are knowledgeable about  policies and procedures for managing investments. Organizations at the  stage 2 level of maturity also take steps to ensure that executives and line  managers support and carry out the decisions of the IT investment board.  According to ITIM, an IT investment management process guide should be  a key authoritative document that the organization uses to initiate and  manage IT investment processes and should provide a comprehensive  foundation for policies and procedures developed for all other related  processes. (The complete list of key practices is provided in table 3.)
BLM has executed all the key practices for this critical process. For  example, in 1998, the bureau established an IT Investment Board (the ITIB)  to manage national investments. With the development of the IT  Investment Management Process guide in 2001, BLM provided the board  and all involved parties (i.e., project managers and sponsors, portfolio  managers, investment management group) with specifics concerning  responsibilities and procedures. This guide is centered on a project’s life  cycle and requisite decision points (phases and stages) in the investment  process from the submission of a proposal to a postimplementation review.
The board is also adequately resourced, with the main support being  provided by the System Coordination Office, whose responsibilities include  developing and modifying the bureau’s criteria for selecting, controlling,  and evaluating potential and existing IT investments and documenting,  recording, and transmitting decisions made by the board. Experienced  senior-level officials from both business and IT areas are members of the  board and exhibit the core competencies required by the investment  management process. Finally, all actions by the board are well documented  using meeting minutes and records of decision. In June 2003, an action-item  tracking matrix was introduced. This matrix is used to identify and track  ITIB-approved decisions and assigned responsibilities to ensure that the  board’s decisions are carried out. By executing all key practices associated  with creating and defining investment board operations, BLM has greater  assurance that the ITIB will effectively carry out its responsibilities.
Table 3 shows the rating for each key practice required to implement the  critical process for establishing IT investment board operation at the stage  2 level of maturity. Each of the “Executed” ratings shown below represents  instances where, based on the evidence provided by BLM officials, we  concluded that the specific key practices were executed by the  organization.
An IT project and system inventory provides information to investment  decision makers to help evaluate the impacts and opportunities created by  proposed or continuing investments. This inventory (which can take many  forms) should, at a minimum, identify the organization’s IT projects  (including new and existing systems) and a defined set of relevant  investment management information about them (e.g., purpose, owner, life- cycle stage, budget cost, physical location, and interfaces with other  systems). Information from the IT project and system inventory can, for  example, help identify systems across the organization that provide similar  functions and help avoid the commitment of additional funds for redundant  systems and processes. It can also help determine more precise  development and enhancement costs by informing decision makers and  other managers of interdependencies among systems and how potential  changes in one system can affect the performance of other systems.  According to ITIM, effectively managing an IT project and system inventory  requires, among other things, (1) identifying projects and systems,  collecting relevant information about them, and capturing this information  in a repository; (2) assigning responsibility for managing the inventory  process and ensuring that the inventory meets the needs of the investment  management process; (3) developing written policies and procedures for  maintaining the project and system inventory; (4) making information from  the inventory available to staff and managers throughout the organization  so they can use it, for example, to build business cases and support  activities to select and control projects; and (5) maintaining the inventory  and its information records to contribute to future investment selections  and assessments. (The full list of key practices is provided in table 4.)
BLM has executed three out of seven of the key practices for IT project and  system identification. For example, the bureau is using its target  application architecture and Budget Planning System to collect  information on its IT projects and systems to make informed IT investment  management decisions; according to CIO officials, the architecture is used  for the information it contains on BLM’s business processes and supporting  data, applications, and technology, while the Budget Planning System is  used for the financial information on the investments. Resources have been  assigned to support activities related to identifying IT projects and systems,  including the Bureau Enterprise Architecture Team and the Budget  Planning System system owners. According to BLM, all national projects  and systems are in both the target application architecture and Budget  Planning System (although BLM officials told us that they have planned a  meeting to determine whether additional requirements are needed for the  Budget Planning System to effectively serve as an inventory for investment  management purposes).
Despite these strengths, policies and procedures for collecting project and  system information in the Budget Planning System for investment  management purposes have not yet been defined. However, the CIO has  directed teams composed of the System Coordination Office, portfolio  managers, the Investment Management Group, and system owners of the  Budget Planning System to “identify the ownership of each process  associated with the IT project and system inventory.” This step would form  the basis for policies and procedures relating to the collection (and use) of  information in the inventory. Until BLM defines these policies and  procedures, it cannot adequately ensure that its inventory can be relied  upon as an effective tool to assist in investment decision making. Table 4  shows the rating for each key practice required to implement the critical  process for IT project and system identification at the stage 2 level of  maturity and summarizes the evidence that supports these ratings.
Investment boards should effectively oversee IT projects throughout all  life-cycle phases (concept, design, testing, implementation, and  operations/maintenance). At the stage 2 level of maturity, investment  boards should review each project’s progress toward predefined cost and  schedule expectations, using established criteria and performance  measures, and take corrective actions to address cost and milestone  variances. According to ITIM, effective project oversight requires, among  other things, (1) having written policies and procedures for project  management; (2) developing and maintaining an approved management  plan for each IT project; (3) making up-to-date cost and schedule data for  each project available to the oversight boards; (4) reviewing each project’s  performance by regularly comparing actual cost and schedule data with  expectations; (5) ensuring that corrective actions for each under- performing project are documented, agreed to, implemented, and tracked  until the desired outcome is achieved; and (6) having written policies and  procedures for oversight of IT projects. (The complete list of key practices  is provided in table 5.)
BLM has in place all but one of the key practices associated with effective  project oversight. Project management policies and high-level procedures  are defined in the IT Investment Management Process guide, associated  memoranda, and in best practices guidance. In addition, project oversight  policies and procedures are defined in the guide and associated  memoranda, which, among other things, require the involvement and  approval of the board at key stages in a project’s life cycle. For example,  according to the guide, the ITIB must review and approve investment  proposals before they can be developed into business cases. Further, once  a project has been approved, the ITIB reviews up-to-date cost, schedule,  and scope information quarterly and analyzes this information against  predetermined performance expectations. The board also determines  corrective actions for projects that have not met performance  expectations.
We verified that cost, schedule, and scope information was submitted to  the ITIB quarterly and analyzed against expectations and, when significant  variances occurred, corrective actions were determined for the three  projects we reviewed. This involved rebaselining the project plan based  on schedule slippages or increased costs. In all cases, the ITIB was  responsible for this decision.
Notwithstanding these strengths, as discussed in the previous section,  BLM’s IT project and systems inventory has not yet been developed to the  point where information is consistently collected and maintained to make  informed investment management decisions. This increases the risk that  the ITIB will not have at its disposal reliable information for supporting  project and portfolio investment decisions and oversight.
Table 5 shows the rating for each key practice required to implement the  critical process for project oversight at the stage 2 level of maturity and  summarizes the evidence that supports these ratings.
Defining business needs for each IT project helps ensure that projects  support the organization’s mission goals and meet users’ needs. This  critical process creates the link between the organization’s business  objectives and its IT management strategy. According to ITIM, effectively  identifying business needs requires, among other things, (1) defining the  organization’s business needs or stated mission goals, (2) identifying users  for each project who will participate in the project’s development and  implementation, (3) training IT staff adequately in identifying business  needs, and (4) defining business needs for each project. (The complete list  of key practices is provided in table 6.)
BLM has executed all the key practices for this critical process. The  bureau’s IT Investment Management Process guide requires that business  needs and associated users of each IT project be identified in the  investment proposal and business case stages of the select phase. BLM also  has detailed procedures for developing these two documents that call for  identifying business needs and associated users. Resources for identifying  business needs and associated users include the project sponsor, project  proponent, and the System Coordination Office and detailed procedures  and associated templates for developing investment proposals and  business cases. Bureau specific business needs are defined in the Bureau  of Land Management’s Strategic Plan for fiscal years 2000–2005, and  projects are also often linked to the Department of the Interior’s strategic  goals and goals of the President’s Management Agenda. In addition,  individuals responsible for managing projects at BLM can adequately  identify business needs; according to BLM, the bureau’s practice is to select  staff from business units as project managers (instead of staff from the IT  unit). Finally, according to BLM officials, all national applications are in the  Budget Planning System and target enterprise architecture, which are  repositories of investment information that BLM is planning on using to  make informed investment management decisions. For the three projects  we reviewed, business needs and associated users were identified in  business case or project planning documents, and users were involved in  project management throughout the life cycle of the project through, for  example, chartered user-group meetings, structured walk-throughs,  prerelease workshops, and conference calls. Because it is executing all key  practices associated with business needs identification, BLM can have  greater assurance that its projects will support business needs and meet  users’ needs.
Table 6 shows the rating for each key practice required to implement the  critical process for business needs identification at the stage 2 level of  maturity and summarizes the evidence that supports these ratings.
Selecting new IT proposals requires an established and structured process  to ensure informed decision making and infuse management  accountability. According to ITIM, this critical process requires, among  other things, (1) making funding decisions for new IT proposals according  to an established process; (2) providing adequate resources to proposal  selection activities; (3) using an established proposal selection process;  (4) analyzing and ranking new IT proposals according to established  selection criteria, including cost and schedule criteria; and (5) designating  an official to manage the proposal selection process. (The complete list of  key practices is provided in table 7.)
BLM has executed five of the six key practices associated with proposal  selection. For example, the IT Investment Management Process guide  defines a multistage selection process (the select phase), including  developing a business case and project plan that executives and project  proponents follow. Resources for proposal selection activities include  project proponents and the System Coordination Office. As previously  noted, detailed procedures and a template have been defined for  developing new IT proposals. In addition, according to BLM officials,  funding decisions are made through the budget process, which BLM is  working on to better integrate with the investment management process.
Despite these strengths, the key practice associated with analyzing and  prioritizing new proposals according to established criteria has not yet  been executed because the various criteria for doing so have not yet been  fully defined. The Bureau Enterprise Architecture Team has defined criteria  it uses to determine projects’ compliance with the bureau enterprise  architecture’s business processes, data, applications, and technology  components. Another set of criteria is being developed to assess proposals  for their business value. These criteria are intended to be used by the IT  Portfolio Management Council to screen proposals before they are  reviewed by the ITIB. The ITIB members believe that these criteria are key  to analyzing new proposals and have charged the IT Portfolio Management  Council with developing draft criteria. The council intends to finalize the  criteria in time for their use in the spring of 2004 to evaluate proposals for  the fiscal year 2006 budget. Until BLM finalizes its proposal selection  criteria and uses them to analyze and prioritize proposals, the bureau will  not be adequately assured that it is consistently and objectively selecting  proposals that best meet the needs and priorities of the agency.
Table 7 shows the rating for each key practice required to implement the  critical process for proposal selection at the stage 2 level of maturity and  summarizes the evidence that supports these ratings.
section_title: BLM Has Initiated Efforts to Manage Its Investments as a Portfolio and Improve Its Investment Management Process
paragraphs: Once an agency has attained stage 2 maturity, it needs to establish  capabilities for managing its investments as a portfolio (stage 3). Such  capabilities enable the agency to consider its investments comprehensively  so that the collective investments optimally address its mission, strategic  goals, and objectives. Stage 3 capabilities include (1) defining portfolio  selection criteria, (2) engaging in project-level investment analysis, and (3)  aligning the authority of IT investment boards. In addition, establishing  higher level stage capabilities—for example performing  postimplementation reviews—can help an agency improve its investment  management process.
BLM has initiated efforts to manage its investments as a portfolio. BLM has  defined procedures for aligning the national ITIB with subordinate  boards. Portfolio categories have been defined that correspond to BLM’s  organizational units (e.g., Minerals, Realty, and Resource Protection;  Information Resource Management). Moreover, the board revised its  charter in April 2003 to include portfolio management responsibilities (i.e.,  stage 3) and established an IT Portfolio Management Council to support it  in carrying out these responsibilities. At a higher level stage, BLM has  begun to address postimplementation reviews, a critical process associated  with the most capable organizations. BLM has begun performing  postimplementation reviews on a limited basis to learn lessons for  improving both project management and investment management  processes. To date, the bureau has conducted two such reviews.
Compared with the progress at stage 2, BLM’s progress to date in defining  practices for higher level maturity stages has been limited because,  according to its officials, the ITIB first focused its resources on establishing  the processes associated with building the IT investment management  foundation. Full implementation of the critical processes associated with  portfolio management will provide BLM with the capability to determine  whether it is selecting the mix of products that best meet the bureau’s  mission needs. Implementing critical processes at higher level stages will  equip BLM with the capabilities it needs to improve its investment  management processes.
section_title: BLM Does Not Have a Plan to Guide IT Investment Management Improvement Efforts
paragraphs: We have previously reported that to effectively implement ITIM processes,  agencies need to be guided by a plan that (1) is based on an assessment of  strengths and weaknesses; (2) specifies measurable goals, objectives, and  milestones; (3) specifies needed resources; and (4) assigns clear  responsibility and accountability for accomplishing well-defined tasks. In  addition, these plans should be approved by senior management.
Although a plan was developed a few years ago to establish the practices  currently in place, BLM does not have a plan to guide further improvement  of its investment management process. An independent assessment of  BLM's ITIM process relative to stage 2 of our IT investment management  framework was completed in January 2003, but BLM has not yet used the  results of this assessment to develop an improvement plan. According to  the CIO, this is because BLM intends to develop a plan integrating  improvements for IT investment management and other IT management  areas, and the results of the comprehensive assessment to be used as a  basis for this integrated plan were not received until June 2003. BLM  officials recognize the importance of having a plan to guide their  improvement efforts, however, and stated their commitment to developing  one, although they do not have a specific time frame for doing so. Until  BLM develops this plan, the bureau risks losing the momentum it has  gained in implementing its ITIM process.
section_title: Conclusions
paragraphs: BLM has made good progress in defining and establishing its investment  management process in the 2 years since we reported that the lack of such  a process had largely contributed to the failure of a key program. By  establishing most of the key practices associated with building the  investment foundation, the bureau has strengthened its basic capabilities  for selecting and controlling projects and positioned itself to develop the  processes for managing its investments as a portfolio. Critical to BLM’s  success going forward will be the development of an implementation  plan—preferably integrated with implementation plans for improving other  IT management areas—to (1) guide and establish accountability for  executing the stage 2 key practices that we noted needed to be addressed  and (2) proceeding with efforts to define and implement stage 3 key  practices. Without this plan, BLM risks not being able to sustain the  progress made to date in establishing its investment management process.
section_title: Recommendations for Executive Action
paragraphs: To strengthen BLM’s IT investment management capability and address the  weaknesses discussed in this report, we recommend that the Secretary of  the Department of the Interior direct the BLM Director to develop and  implement a plan for improving its IT investment management process that  is based on GAO’s ITIM stage 2 and 3 critical processes. The plan should, at  a minimum, provide for accomplishing the following:  implementing the recently approved procedures for determining  corrective actions for projects that have not met performance  expectations;   defining and implementing policies and procedures for collecting  project and system information in the Budget Planning System for  investment management purposes;   fully defining criteria for analyzing and prioritizing new IT proposals;   proceeding with plans to define and implement all stage 3 critical  processes, which are necessary for portfolio management.
In developing the plan, the BLM Director should ensure that it  (1) is based  on the results of the bureau’s recent assessment of ITIM stage 2  capabilities; (2) specifies measurable goals, objectives, milestones, and  outcomes; (3) specifies needed resources; and (4) assigns clear  responsibility and accountability for accomplishing well-defined tasks. In  implementing the plan, the Director should ensure that the needed  resources are provided and that progress is measured and reported  periodically to the Secretary of the Interior.
section_title: Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
paragraphs: In written comments on a draft of this report (reprinted in app. II), BLM’s  Director agreed with our findings and recommendations and stated that  they represented a fair and accurate evaluation of the bureau’s status and  progress towards IT investment management maturity. The Director also  noted that BLM has begun developing a plan, in accordance with our  recommendations, to (1) complete the key practices for reaching GAO’s  ITIM stage 2 maturity and (2) identify the goals, time frames, outcomes,  and resources needed to reach stage 3 maturity. BLM provided additional  technical comments, which we have incorporated into the report as  appropriate.
We are sending copies of this report to interested congressional  committees. We are also sending copies to the Director of the Office of  Management and Budget, the Secretary of the Interior, and BLM’s Director  and CIO. We also will make copies available to others upon request. In  addition, the report will be available at no charge on the GAO Web site at  www.gao.gov.
Should you or your offices have questions on matters discussed in this  report, please contact me at (202) 512-6240, or Lester P. Diamond, Assistant Director, at (202) 512-7957. We can also be reached by E-mail at at  koontzl@gao.gov, or diamondl@gao.gov, respectively. Key contributors to  this assignment were Jamey A. Collins, Sabine R. Paul, and Sophia  Harrison.
section_title: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology
paragraphs: The objectives of our review were to (1) evaluate the Bureau of Land  Management’s (BLM) IT investment management capabilities against the  key practices defined in GAO’s IT investment management assessment  framework and (2) determine the agency’s plans for improving these  capabilities.
To address our first objective, we assessed the extent to which BLM  satisfied the five critical processes identified in stage 2 of GAO’s  Information Technology Investment Management (ITIM) framework. We  applied the framework as it is described in the exposure draft, except that  we used a revised version of the IT Asset Inventory critical process, called  IT Project and System Identification, after discussions with departmental  officials at the beginning of this engagement. This revised critical process  has been used in our evaluations since June 2001. We did not formally  assess BLM’s progress in establishing capabilities found in stages 3, 4, and 5  because BLM acknowledged that it had so far primarily focused on stage 2  and had not executed many key practices in higher maturity stages. In  addition, we limited our review to BLM’s management of its national  investments because they represent the investments of greater cost and  impact to the organization.
To determine whether BLM had implemented the critical processes  associated with stage 2, we reviewed the results of a self-assessment of  stage 2 practices using GAO’s ITIM framework and validated and updated  the results of the self-assessment through document reviews and  interviews with officials. We reviewed written policies, procedures, and  guidance and other documentation providing evidence of executed  practices, including BLM’s IT Investment Management Process guide,  various board/council charters, and instruction memorandums. We also  reviewed national Information Technology Investment Board (ITIB)  meeting materials, including quarterly status reports, meeting minutes,  records of decision, and matrices tracking action items through  completion. We interviewed several BLM officials, including system  coordination office officials, portfolio managers, and ITIB members. We  also attended a 2-day national ITIB meeting in March 2003.
As part of our analysis, we selected three IT projects as case studies to  verify application of the critical processes and practices. We selected  projects that (1) supported different BLM functional areas (directorates),  (2) were in different life-cycle phases, and (3) required various levels of  funding. The three projects are the following:  PayCheck—The objective of PayCheck, currently in the evaluate phase,  is to allow employees to input their time and attendance data using an  automated system. Previously, the employee developed a hard-copy  time sheet, and then a timekeeper keyed the same information into the  payroll system. By allowing the employees to enter their own data,  PayCheck changed the business process and eliminated the duplication  of manual effort. This project, with an estimated life-cycle cost of  $1,681,000, is the responsibility of the National Human Resources  Management Center, which supports BLM’s human resources function.
National Integrated Land System—The objective of this system, which is  currently in a mixed life cycle, is to provide a process to collect,  maintain, and store survey- and parcel-based land information that  meets the common, shared business needs of land title and land  resource management. This system will provide agencies, BLM’s  partners, and the public with business solutions for the management of  cadastral records and land parcel information in a Geographic  Information System environment, accessible via the Internet. This  project, which has an estimated life-cycle cost of $31.3 million, is under  the Minerals, Realty, and Resource Protection directorate. This  directorate is responsible for managing commercial energy and mineral  production from the public lands.
Antivirus—The objective of Antivirus, currently in the control phase, is  to renew or replace BLM’s existing antivirus contract that is expiring to  provide antivirus coverage to all simple mail transfer protocol gateways,  mail servers, other servers, desktops, and laptops. In addition, BLM is  seeking to provide improved enterprise management and reporting  capabilities, as well as a more automated methodology for deploying  virus update files across the bureau. This project is being carried out by  the Information Resources Management directorate, which provides IT  services to BLM states, centers, and partners in support of the bureau’s  mission. The estimated life cycle cost for Antivirus is $800,600.
For these projects, we reviewed project management documentation, such  as business cases, project plans, and quarterly reports. We also reviewed  user-group meeting minutes and analyzed national ITIB decision  documents related to each of the projects. We also interviewed the project  managers for these projects.
We compared the evidence collected from our document reviews and  interviews to the key practices in ITIM. We rated the key practices as  “executed” on the basis of whether the agency demonstrated (by providing  evidence of performance) that it had met the criteria of the key practice. A  key practice was rated as ”not executed” when we found insufficient  evidence of a practice during the review, or when we determined that there  were significant weaknesses in BLM’s execution of the key practice.
To address our second objective, we interviewed officials from the System  Coordination Office, whose main responsibility it is to oversee and ensure  that BLM’s IT investment management process is implemented and  followed; the chief information officer; and other national ITIB members to  determine efforts undertaken to improve IT investment management  processes. We also reviewed an improvement plan developed about 3 years  ago based on strengths and weaknesses of BLM’s IT investment  management process at that time, and the results of the comprehensive IT  management assessment BLM officials stated they plan to use as a basis for  an integrated plan for improving IT investment management and other IT  management areas.
We conducted our work at BLM Headquarters in Washington, D.C., from  March through July 2003, in accordance with generally accepted  government auditing standards.
section_title: Comments from the Bureau of Land Management
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