Homeland Security: Oversight of Neglected Human Resources Information Technology Investment Is Needed

Highlights

What GAO Found

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has made very little progress in implementing its Human Resources Information Technology (HRIT) investment in the last several years. This investment includes 15 improvement opportunities; as of November 2015, DHS had fully implemented only 1, see table below.

Status and Planned Completion Dates for Implementing the 15 Strategic Improvement Opportunities, as of November 2015

Strategic improvement opportunity name	Status	Original planned completion^a	Current expected completion date
1. Data management and sharing	◐	September 2014	Unknown
2. Performance measures tracking and reporting	○	December 2012	Unknown
3. Personnel action processing	◐	September 2013	Unknown
4. Human resources document management	◐	September 2014	Unknown
5. End-to-end hiring	○	December 2016	Unknown
6. Performance management	◐	December 2012	Unknown
7. Off-boarding process	○	December 2012	Unknown
8. Policy issuances and clarification	○	June 2015	Unknown
9. Payroll action processing	◐	June 2014	Unknown
10. HRIT deployment process	○	September 2012	Unknown
11. Knowledge management	○	December 2014	Unknown
12. Training	○	June 2015	Unknown
13. Communication and collaboration among Components	○	December 2012	Unknown
14. On-boarding process	○	December 2012	Unknown
15. HRIT intake process	●	December 2011	Implemented October 2011

Key: ● Fully implemented ◐ Partially implemented ○ Not yet started

Source: GAO analysis of data provided by DHS officials.

^aDates reflect the last month of the quarter in which the opportunities were planned to be complete.

HRIT's limited progress was due in part to the lack of involvement of its executive steering committee—the investment's core oversight and advisory body—which was minimally involved with HRIT, such as meeting only one time during a nearly 2-year period when major problems, including schedule delays, were occurring. As a result, key governance activities, such as approval of HRIT's operational plan, were not completed. Officials acknowledged that HRIT should be re-evaluated and took early steps to do so (i.e., meeting to discuss the need to re-evaluate); however, specific actions and time frames have not been determined. Until DHS takes key actions to re-evaluate and manage this neglected investment, it is unknown when its human capital weaknesses will be addressed.

Why GAO Did This Study

DHS's human resources administrative environment includes fragmented systems, duplicative and paper-based processes, and little uniformity of data management practices, which according to DHS, are compromising the department's ability to effectively carry out its mission. DHS initiated HRIT in 2003 to consolidate, integrate, and modernize DHS's human resources information technology infrastructure. In 2011, DHS redefined HRIT's scope and implementation time frames.

GAO was asked to review DHS's efforts to implement the HRIT investment. GAO's objectives included, among others, evaluating the progress DHS has made in implementing the HRIT investment. GAO compared HRIT's goals and scope to the investment's actual accomplishments, and compared DHS's planned schedule for implementing strategic improvement opportunities (key areas identified by DHS as needing improvement) against its current schedule.

Recommendations

GAO is making 14 recommendations to DHS to, among other things, address HRIT's poor progress and ineffective management. For example, GAO recommends that the HRIT executive steering committee is consistently involved in overseeing and advising the investment. In addition, GAO recommends DHS evaluate the HRIT investment to determine whether its goals are still valid and reflect the department's priorities. DHS concurred with all 14 recommendations and provided estimated completion dates for implementing each of them.

Recommendations for Executive Action

Agency Affected	Recommendation	Status
Department of Homeland Security	To ensure that the HRIT investment receives necessary oversight and attention, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to update the HRIT executive steering committee charter to establish the frequency with which HRIT executive steering committee meetings are to be held.	Closed – Implemented In March 2016, DHS updated the charter for its HRIT executive steering committee to specify that committee meetings will be held at least quarterly, or more frequently as directed by the committee's co-chairs. As a result, DHS should have better assurance that the HRIT executive steering committee will meet regularly and carry out its responsibility to provide oversight and guidance to the HRIT investment.
Department of Homeland Security	To ensure that the HRIT investment receives necessary oversight and attention, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to ensure that the HRIT executive steering committee is consistently involved in overseeing and advising HRIT, including approving key program management documents, such as HRIT's operational plan, schedule, and planned cost estimate.	Closed – Implemented In response to our recommendation, the HRIT Executive Steering Committee is consistently involved in overseeing and advising HRIT, including approving key program management documents. For example, the steering committee approved the investment's fiscal year 2016-2018 operational plan in June 2016, an updated schedule estimate for HRIT in June 2017, and a rough-order-of-magnitude life-cycle cost estimate for the investment in March 2018. In addition, in 2018 the steering committee met to discuss the investment on at least a bi-monthly basis. As a result, the steering committee is better positioned to provide support and guidance to the investment and to ensure accountability for improved results.
Department of Homeland Security	To address HRIT's poor progress and ineffective management, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Human Capital Officer to direct the HRIT investment to update and maintain a schedule estimate for when DHS plans to implement each of the strategic improvement opportunities.	Closed – Implemented In response to our recommendation, DHS developed and maintained a schedule estimate for addressing the strategic improvement opportunities currently in the scope of HRIT. In particular, DHS updated and maintained this schedule estimate on at least a bi-monthly basis from January through October 2018. For example, as of October 2018, DHS planned to achieve full operating capability for the Talent Development and Training strategic improvement opportunity in May 2020. In addition, the department planned to achieve full operating capability for the Performance Management strategic improvement opportunity in November 2020. As a result of regularly maintaining the schedule estimate, DHS leadership is better positioned to oversee the HRIT investment and to ensure that progress is being made in implementing the investment's strategic improvement opportunities.
Department of Homeland Security	To address HRIT's poor progress and ineffective management, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Human Capital Officer to direct the HRIT investment to develop a complete life-cycle cost estimate for the implementation of HRIT.	Closed – Implemented In response to our recommendation, DHS developed a rough order-of-magnitude life-cycle cost estimate for implementing the strategic improvement opportunities currently included in the HRIT investment. DHS leadership approved this cost estimate in May 2018. As a result, DHS leadership is better informed about how much it will cost to implement the HRIT investment, and is better positioned to make budgetary decisions.
Department of Homeland Security	To address HRIT's poor progress and ineffective management, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Human Capital Officer to direct the HRIT investment to document and track all costs, including components' costs, associated with HRIT.	Closed – Implemented In response to our recommendation, DHS began tracking actual costs associated with implementing HRIT's strategic improvement opportunities. For example, the department tracked actual contractor labor costs and certain government labor costs that it incurred in fiscal years 2019 and 2020. While the department has not yet tracked other costs associated with implementing HRIT, such as data migration and subscription costs, DHS officials stated that they plan to track those costs when DHS incurs them. As of May 2020, DHS expected to incur such costs for three of HRIT's strategic improvement opportunities beginning in fiscal year 2021. By tracking actual costs associated with HRIT, DHS is able to make better-informed resource decisions related to the HRIT investment, and is better positioned to provide accurate cost information to assist congressional oversight of HRIT.
Department of Homeland Security	To address HRIT's poor progress and ineffective management, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Human Capital Officer to direct the HRIT investment to establish time frames for re-evaluating the strategic improvement opportunities and associated projects in the Human Capital Segment Architecture Blueprint and determining how to move forward with HRIT.	Closed – Implemented In February 2016, DHS documented its planned time frames for re-evaluating the strategic improvement opportunities in the Human Capital Segment Architecture Blueprint and determining how to move forward with HRIT. Specifically, DHS planned to re-evaluate the strategic improvement opportunities in February and March 2016. Additionally, by the end of April 2016, DHS planned to finalize a report documenting, among other things, the highest priority strategic improvement opportunities and proposed solutions for implementing them. As a result, DHS is better positioned to update the blueprint and address inefficiencies in the Department's human resources environment.
Department of Homeland Security	To address HRIT's poor progress and ineffective management, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Human Capital Officer to direct the HRIT investment to evaluate the strategic improvement opportunities and projects within the Human Capital Segment Architecture Blueprint to determine whether they and the goals of the blueprint are still valid and reflect DHS's HRIT priorities going forward, and update the blueprint accordingly.	Closed – Implemented In June 2016, the HRIT Executive Steering Committee approved an updated Human Capital Segment Architecture Blueprint, which reflects the department's evaluation and re-prioritization of HRIT's strategic improvement opportunities, as recommended in our February 2016 report. Specifically, within the updated blueprint, DHS documented, among other things, the current status of each of the 15 original improvement opportunities, the department's determination on whether each one was still valid, and the department's reprioritization of those that are still relevant. As a result, DHS is better positioned to make informed resource decisions on the implementation of the strategic improvement opportunities, and to address inefficiencies in its human resources environment.
Department of Homeland Security	To address HRIT's poor progress and ineffective management, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Human Capital Officer to direct the HRIT investment to update and maintain the department's human resources system inventory.	Closed – Implemented DHS updated and maintained the department's human resources system inventory, as recommended in our report. In particular, the department updated this inventory in March and November 2017, and June and September 2018. By updating and maintaining this inventory, DHS has a better understanding of the human resources systems in use at the department and is able to determine whether components are using redundant systems.
Department of Homeland Security	To improve the Performance and Learning Management System (PALMS) program's implementation of IT acquisition best practices, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Information Officer to direct the PALMS program office to establish a time frame for deciding whether PALMS will be fully deployed at the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), and determine an alternative approach if the learning and/or performance management capabilities of PALMS are deemed not feasible for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, FEMA, the Transportation Security Administration, or USCG.	Closed – Implemented In response to our recommendation regarding performance management, in February 2017, DHS determined that implementing PALMS's performance management capabilities across the department was not feasible because the system did not meet all of the components' needs. Accordingly, DHS decided to discontinue its implementation of the performance management aspects of PALMS. Subsequently, the department developed an alternative approach to automate its performance management capabilities across the department. As of September 2020, DHS officials stated that the department plans to fully implement this solution across the department by October 2022. Regarding learning management, ICE officials decided to implement the PALMS's learning management capabilities. However, in April 2017, DHS officials reported that the department decided not to deploy PALMS's learning management capabilities at FEMA, TSA, and USCG because it was more cost effective for these components to use their existing learning management systems. Subsequently, DHS officials reported that the department developed a data interchange solution that enabled all of its components to provide their learning management data from their disparate systems to a central DHS data repository-including data from the components that use PALMS and those that use systems other than PALMS. As a result, DHS officials stated that they are able to track and report on employee training data across the department, which was one of the original goals of implementing PALMS as a department-wide system. In addition, in September 2017 DHS committed to implementing an alternative solution to providing a new department-wide learning management capabilities solution, once the PALMS contract expired. In May 2019, the HRIT Executive Steering Committee approved the department's proposed strategy to acquire a commercially-available learning management solution for use across DHS. As of September 2020, DHS officials stated that the department plans to fully implement this replacement solution by October 2022.
Department of Homeland Security	To improve the Performance and Learning Management System (PALMS) program's implementation of IT acquisition best practices, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Information Officer to direct the PALMS program office to develop a comprehensive life-cycle cost estimate, including all government and contractor costs, for the PALMS program.	Closed – Not Implemented In November 2017, DHS officials stated that an updated life-cycle cost estimate (LCCE) for PALMS would not be developed because DHS recently decided to move the PALMS program into an operations and maintenance status in August 2017, rather than continue to implement the remaining planned performance management capabilities. Specifically, after piloting PALMS's performance management capabilities, DHS determined that the system did not meet all of the components' needs, and that it should no longer invest in these capabilities. In addition, while the PALMS program tracked and reported actual costs associated with its contractor costs, the program could not provide government costs associated with implementation of PALMS. DHS officials reported that the department's systems do not have the capability to track government employees' time spent on implementing the PALMS system. Accordingly, DHS was unable to determine a comprehensive cost estimate for PALMS. We agreed that, given the lack of sophistication of DHS's government cost tracking, and the recent decision to move PALMS into an operations and maintenance status, developing an LCCE for the PALMS system would not justify the level of effort that would be required to develop such an estimate.
Department of Homeland Security	To improve the Performance and Learning Management System (PALMS) program's implementation of IT acquisition best practices, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Information Officer to direct the PALMS program office to develop and maintain a single comprehensive schedule that includes all government and contractor activities, and includes all planned deployment milestones related to performance management.	Closed – Not Implemented In response to our recommendation, DHS officials provided evidence that the department periodically updated the schedule for PALMS; however, the updated schedule was not appropriately maintained. For example, selected tasks for implementing PALMS at the U.S. Secret Service were out of date. Further, the PALMS program is no longer updating its schedule because DHS decided to move the PALMS program into an operations and maintenance status in August 2017, rather than continue to implement the remaining planned performance management capabilities. Specifically, after piloting PALMS's performance management capabilities, DHS determined that the system did not meet all of the components' needs, and that it should no longer invest in these capabilities. As a result, we were unable to determine that DHS was managing an accurate and up-to-date schedule prior to moving PALMS into an operations and maintenance status.
Department of Homeland Security	To improve the Performance and Learning Management System (PALMS) program's implementation of IT acquisition best practices, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Information Officer to direct the PALMS program office to track and monitor all costs associated with the PALMS program.	Closed – Not Implemented In response to our recommendation, DHS provided certain cost tracking information for PALMS; however, this information was incomplete. For example, the information provided did not include government costs. According to DHS officials, the department's systems do not have the capability to track government employees' time spent on implementing the PALMS system. In addition, the information provided did not include the 2017 costs for supporting the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center's use of PALMS. Moreover, DHS decided to move the PALMS program into an operations and maintenance status in August 2017, rather than continue to implement the remaining planned performance management capabilities. Specifically, after piloting PALMS's performance management capabilities, DHS determined that the system did not meet all of the components' needs, and that it should no longer invest in these capabilities. As a result, DHS was unable to demonstrate that it was appropriately tracking and monitoring all costs associated with the PALMS program prior to moving into an operations and maintenance status.
Department of Homeland Security	To improve the Performance and Learning Management System (PALMS) program's implementation of IT acquisition best practices, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Information Officer to direct the PALMS program office to document PALMS's progress and milestone reviews, including all issues and corrective actions discussed.	Closed – Implemented In response to our recommendation, DHS documented PALMS's progress and milestone reviews, including issues and corrective actions discussed during the reviews. Specifically, the department demonstrated that, between July 2018 and March 2019, it documented PALMS's issues, as well as planned corrective actions for addressing the issues. For example, in March 2019, DHS documented an issue related to assigning training to users in the PALMS system. The department's corrective action for this issue was to work with the PALMS vendor to resolve it. As a result of documenting the issues and planned corrective actions, the department is better positioned to appropriately manage the items to closure.
Department of Homeland Security	To improve the Performance and Learning Management System (PALMS) program's implementation of IT acquisition best practices, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Under Secretary of Management to direct the Chief Information Officer to direct the PALMS program office to establish a comprehensive risk log that maintains an aggregation of all up-to-date risks (including both government- and vendor-identified)and associated mitigation plans. Additionally, within the comprehensive risk log, the PALMS program office should (1) identify and document planned completion dates for each risk mitigation step (where appropriate), and (2) prioritize the risks by determining each risk's relative priority and overall risk level.	Closed – Implemented In response to our recommendation, prior to PALMS's final deployment in August 2017, DHS demonstrated that it was updating and maintaining its PALMS risk register to accurately capture the latest status of all government- and vendor-identified risks and associated mitigation plans. In addition, DHS prioritized these risks by determining their overall risk level, and identified and documented the planned completion dates for each risk mitigation step, where appropriate. As a result, DHS was better positioned to effectively manage all of the program's risks and to use the program's resources for risk mitigation in the most effective manner.

See All 14 Recommendations

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Topics

Homeland Security

Human capital managementHomeland securityInformation technologyData managementSchedule slippagesBusiness systems modernizationInformation technology infrastructureForensic auditsCustoms enforcementImmigration