FEDERAL CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICERS: Reporting to OMB Can Be Improved by Further Streamlining and Better Focusing on Priorities What GAO Recommends -- GAO is recommending that OMB, in collaboration with CIOs, ensure a common understanding of priority IT reforms and their reporting requirements and address proposed reporting improvements and challenges. OMB neither agreed nor disagreed with GAO's recommendations, citing concerns with, among other things, GAO's survey methodology, stating it did not fully support the report's findings and recommendations. GAO believes these concerns are largely unfounded and that its recommendations are still valid.Why GAO Did This Study -- Federal agencies annually invest over $80 billion on IT. As part of overseeing this spending, OMB directs federal CIOs to report on their management of IT in such areas as capital planning and investment management, security, and strategic planning. GAO was asked to review the usefulness of such CIO reporting requirements. Its objectives were to (1) identify the current IT reporting requirements that agency CIOs are to address for OMB, (2) evaluate the extent to which OMB and agency CIOs use the required information to manage IT, including CIOs' views on the utility of the requirements, and (3) assess any OMB efforts to streamline this reporting. To do so, GAO analyzed OMB memorandums and other guidance to develop a list of CIO requirements and surveyed 24 major agency CIOs on how they used the required information to manage IT. Further, it analyzed OMB documentation and interviewed officials to identify plans to streamline reporting.United States Government Accountability OfficeGAO_c090eb6a-92df-11df-b499-6b157a64ea2aOMBCIOsDavid A. PownerDirector, Information Technology Management IssuesGAO StaffIn addition to the individual named above, the following staff made key contributions to this report: Gary MountjoyAssistant DirectorScott BorreChris BusinskyValerie HopkinsStuart KaufmanLee McCrackenTarunkant MithaniTeresa Smith_a78e7818-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bdTo ensure the usefulness of CIO reporting requirements._a78e7a0c-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bdIT Streamlining & ManagementTo improve the effectiveness of OMB streamlining efforts and ensure agency CIOs are better able to carry out their responsibilities in managing IT._a78e7ae8-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bdTo improve the effectiveness of OMB streamlining efforts and ensure agency CIOs are better able to carry out their responsibilities in managing IT, including implementing OMB’s IT reform initiatives, we recommend the Director of OMB direct the Federal CIO, in collaboration with agency CIOs, to take the following four actions:PrioritiesEnsure there is a common understanding with agency CIOs on the priority of the current reporting requirements and related IT reform initiatives._a78e7bba-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd1This should include addressing underlying reasons cited by CIOs regarding the usefulness of requirements, including when department priorities are reportedly different than OMB’s and the burdensome and duplicative nature of requirements.RequirementsAddress and incorporate the improvements to reporting requirements proposed by agency CIOs._a78e7c82-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2Address and incorporate, as appropriate, the 13 proposed improvements to reporting requirements made by agency CIOs in our survey. This should include developing milestones and associated plans for completing this effort.Exhibit 300Change what information is reported_a78e7d4a-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.1Remove data elements that do not add value (i.e., only what OMB really needs or uses to make decisions) or do not provide value in monitoring/oversight of investments. Limit changes to what is included in exhibit 300 to allow for comparisons and trending over years. Remove data that are already reported elsewhere (e.g., contract/acquisition information, which is reported through the Federal Procurement Data System). Allow for reporting on investment componentsExhibit 53Change what information is reported_a78e7e08-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.2Remove data elements that do not add value (i.e., only what OMB really needs or uses to make decisions) or are no longer relevant. Agencies should be given the option to only provide an update if a change occurs. Should reflect only agency-received funding and support the request for funding (should not be used as a catch-all for other data collection).Annual Federal Information Security Management Act ReportChange what information is reported_a78e7f02-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.3Remove data elements that do not add value (i.e., only what OMB and the Department of Homeland Security really need or use to make decisions), do not provide value in monitoring/oversight of security (i.e., those that do not provide useful performance metrics), or are not related to what is required under the law. Remove questions that duplicate information collected through other mechanisms on a more frequent basis. Reporting guidance needs to be published earlier.Cost Savings/AvoidancesNew frequency of reporting_a78e7fca-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.4Change from quarterly to annually. Move to annual reporting to help limit the number of changes that OMB makes to what information should be reported throughout the year. Calculating savings and avoidances for these types of activities is not appropriate on a quarterly basis due to the time involved in transitioning resourcesCommodity IT Baseline UpdatesNew frequency of reporting_a78e8088-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.5Change from quarterly to semi-annually. Move to semi-annual reporting to help reduce (1) the burden of reporting data that change very little from one quarter to the next, and (2) the effort required to manually enter the data into the MAX Portal. Should align or be consolidated with the annual exhibit 53 process.PortfolioStat Progress ReportNew frequency of reporting_a78e8150-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.6Change from quarterly to either semi-annually or annually. Should be a frequency that is agreed upon between OMB and the agency. Cloud FirstNew frequency of reporting_a78e8218-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.7Change from quarterly to either semi-annually or annually. Should align with reporting of other initiatives with related goals and the exhibit 53 process.Open Data Policy Publication ProcessNew frequency of reporting_a78e82d6-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.8Change from quarterly to annually. Should align with reporting of other initiatives with related goals.Open Government DirectiveConsolidate or combine with other requirements_a78e83b2-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.9Consolidate with other Open Data policy reporting and/or Digital Government Strategy. Consolidate to be included in Agency Strategic Plan and/or Enterprise RoadmapMajor IT Investment DocumentationEliminate requirement_a78e847a-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.10Provides no value to the agency’s management of IT, and it is not clear what value agencies would gain from OMB feedback. OMB has not clarified why it is collecting this information or how it will be utilized.IT Capital PlanEliminate requirement_a78e854c-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.11OMB has not requested this information for recent submissions. Information is reported elsewhere in other requirements.E-Government Status ReportEliminate requirement_a78e8632-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.12Provides no value to the agency’s management of IT. Some data elements are reported elsewhere in other requirements or through other mechanisms. Compliance FailuresEliminate requirement_a78e86fa-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd2.13Agencies have not provided this information in recent years, and OMB has not requested this information. Information is reported elsewhere in other requirements.Feedback & ResponseEnsure the feedback process on information reported by CIOs consistently provides effective and constructive responses to these officials on their reported information._a78e87d6-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd3ChallengesAssess reporting challenges._a78e88b2-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd4Assess, as part of ongoing streamlining efforts, the reporting challenges identified in our report. This should include determining whether to (1) have a comprehensive list of current IT reporting requirements that is publically available to agency CIOs; (2) reduce the number of reporting tools; and (3) improve the utility of capital planning and investment reporting requirements, and taking steps to implement where appropriate.Public ListingDetermine whether to have a comprehensive list of current IT reporting requirements that is publicly available to agency CIOs._a78e8984-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd4.1Reporting ToolsDetermine whether to reduce the number of reporting tools._a78e8b50-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd4.2Capital Planning & InvestmentDetermine whether to improve the utility of capital planning and investment reporting requirements._a78e8c4a-da78-11e4-93cc-873e558cc3bd4.32015-04-012015-04-03http://www.gao.gov/assets/670/669434.pdfOwenAmburOwen.Ambur@verizon.net