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Department of Homeland Security: Formidable Information and Technology Management Challenge Requires Institutional Approach

GAO-04-702 Published: Aug 27, 2004. Publicly Released: Sep 27, 2004.
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Highlights

In 2003 GAO designated the merger of 22 separate federal entities into the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a high risk area because of the criticality of the department's mission and the enormous transformation challenges that the department faced. Given that the effective use of information technology (IT) is a critical enabler of this merger, GAO has previously reported on a number of DHS efforts aimed at institutionalizing an effective information and technology governance structure and investing in new IT systems that are intended to better support mission operations. Now that DHS has been operating for over a year, GAO was asked to, based largely on its prior work, describe DHS's progress in meeting its information and technology management challenge.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected Recommendation Status
Office of the Chief Information Officer (DOD CIO) To strengthen DHS's IT strategic planning process, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the CIO, in conjunction with the DHS CIO Council, to establish IT goals and performance measures that, at a minimum, address how information and technology management contributes to program productivity, the efficiency and effectiveness of agency operations, and service to the public.
Closed – Implemented
DHS has taken actions consistent with our recommendation. Specifically, DHS established its key IT initiatives and associated goals as part of its 2005-2006 Information Technology Strategy, which links key IT initiatives and goals to DHS's overarching mission and goals, such as providing service to the public and increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of agency operations and program productivity.
Office of the Chief Information Officer (DOD CIO) To strengthen DHS's IT strategic planning process, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the CIO, in conjunction with the DHS CIO Council, to establish milestones for the initiation and completion of major information and technology management activities.
Closed – Implemented
DHS has taken actions consistent with this recommendation. As part of its 2005-2006 Information Technology Strategy, the department established milestones for the initiation and completion of its key IT initiatives. For example, the strategy stated that implementing a DHS wide email/active directory was a key initiative and established fiscal year 2005 as the timeframe for completing the effort. It also identified the creation and implementation of a data management center of excellence as a key initiative and established the first quarter of fiscal year 2005 as the timeframe for completion.
Office of the Chief Information Officer (DOD CIO) To strengthen DHS's IT strategic planning process, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the CIO, in conjunction with the DHS CIO Council, to analyze whether DHS has appropriately deployed IT staff with the relevant skills to obtain its target IT structure and, if it does, whether they are allocated appropriately.
Closed – Implemented
DHS has taken actions consistent with this recommendation. Specifically, in developing the department's May 2005 IT human strategic capital plan (for 2005-2010) and related planning documents, the CIO and key human capital officials analyzed whether DHS had appropriately deployed IT staff with the relevant skills. In particular, the offices of the CIO and Chief Human Capital Officer, working with the CIO Council's Human Capital Resource Center, together performed a gap analysis between existing and future skills needs and began examining strategies for reducing identified gaps. As part of these efforts, they also developed and issued a plan (in March 2006) to mitigate the risk of developing, operating, and maintaining department systems until existing IT skill gaps are reduced.

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Topics

Agency missionsChief information officersComputer securityComputer-assisted passenger prescreening systemCounterterrorismEnterprise architectureFederal agency reorganizationHomeland securityInformation resources managementInformation technologyIT human capitalPerformance measuresStrategic information systems planningSystems designSystems managementIT investment management