Summary of Report 04-014

November 2003

Report Number 04-014

The Department of Public Safety's (Department) Integrated Satellite Business Network (ISBN) meets the intended functionality. However, while the ISBN contract was within the contract budget, we were unable to determine the total cost of the project because the Department did not track internal personnel costs of managing the project. Also, the ISBN did not meet its original milestones because the project was extended 36 months. By addressing the following issues that occurred on the ISBN project, the Department could help ensure that future projects will be completed on time, within budget, and with the needed functionality:

• The Department did not establish a system to track the project's personnel costs. As a result, the Department cannot determine the total costs of the project.

• The Department did not follow its Project Development Plan, which required the Department to update the project's milestones as the project progressed. For example, the project was extended 36 months due to unforeseen inadequacies in local agencies' equipment, but the Department did not set new milestones. As a result, we were unable to quantify the costs associated with the extended milestones.

• The Department did not ensure that the contract had sufficient provisions to hold the contractor accountable.

The ISBN gives local law enforcement direct access to criminal information in the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) and the Texas Crime Information Center (TCIC).

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