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A Report on Analysis of Quality Assurance Team Projects

December 2014

Report Number 15-015

Overall Conclusion

At the request of the State's Quality Assurance Team (QAT), the State Auditor's Office analyzed eight major information system development projects at seven agencies. The QAT selected those eight projects because (1) the agencies had reported the projects were complete or nearing completion or (2) the QAT identified the projects as high-risk.

It is important to note that the agencies self-reported the information in this report, and the State Auditor's Office did not independently verify that information.

At the time of the State Auditor's Office analysis, two of the eight projects were complete, five were in process, and one was closed early without completion of the full project scope. The eight projects were:

- The Office of the Comptroller of Public Accounts' (Comptroller's Office) Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System – Financials – Agency Deployment FY14 project.

- The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles' (TxDMV) National Motor Vehicle Title Information System project.

- The Department of Public Safety's (DPS) Fingerprint, Portrait, Signature project.

- The Department of State Health Services' (DSHS) Clinical Management for Behavioral Health Services, Phase Five project.

- The Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) Enterprise Business Intelligence System project.

- The Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) TxTAG Customer Service Center Back Office System project.

- The Texas Workforce Commission's (TWC) Improve Tele-Center Call Handling project.

- The Water Development Board's (WDB) Texas Water Information System Expansion Phase 3 project.

As Table 1 and Table 2 in the report show:

- Two projects are projected to be completed on time and under budget (the Comptroller's Office's Centralized Accounting and Payroll/Personnel System – Financials – Agency Deployment FY14 project and DPS's Fingerprint, Portrait, Signature project).

- One project was under budget and was closed early before the completion of the full project scope (TxDOT's Enterprise Business Intelligence System project).

- Two projects were not completed on time and were under budget (TxDMV's National Motor Vehicle Title Information System project and TWC's Improve Tele-Center Call Handling project).

- Three projects were not completed on time and are projected to be over budget (DSHS's Clinical Management for Behavioral Health Services, Phase Five project; TxDOT's TxTAG Customer Service Center Back Office System project; and WDB's Texas Water Information System Expansion Phase 3 project).

Management of the projects reviewed reported that the following practices positively affected project outcomes:

- Use of a project management office to help ensure consistent practices across projects, manage knowledge transfer within the agency, assist with the Department of Information Resources' Texas Project Delivery Framework, and help ensure that required documents are prepared accurately and submitted in a timely manner.

- Clearly defining the scope of the project and using small, distinct phases for system implementation.

- Being alert to improvements in technology and being flexible enough to depart from a planned approach to adopt a more cost-effective, viable solution.

In analyzing the eight projects, auditors also noted the following:

- Agencies did not always report all project costs to the QAT in accordance with the cost-reporting requirements in the Department of Information Resources' Texas Project Delivery Framework.

- Agencies did not always obtain approval from the QAT prior to beginning a project or did not always submit required reports to the QAT in a timely manner.

- Turnover in key project staff at some agencies delayed the projects or hindered reporting on projects to the QAT.

Contact the SAO about this report.

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