USCIS Transformation: Improvements to Performance, Human Capital,
and Information Technology Management Needed as Modernization
Proceeds (17-JUL-07, GAO-07-1013R).
GAO and Inspector General (IG) reports have noted that the U.S.
Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) efforts to modernize
over the last 4 years have been unfocused, conducted in an ad hoc
and decentralized manner, and, in certain instances, duplicative.
In 2006, USCIS decided to reexamine its modernization effort
within the context of an agencywide organizational and business
transformation initiative. The agency embarked on a
transformation of its business processes and technology aimed at
increasing national security and integrity, improving customer
service, and achieving operational efficiency. We agreed with
this approach and recommended that USCIS employ key practices for
successful organizational transformations to better ensure the
success of its efforts. USCIS plans to complete its
transformation by 2013 at an estimated cost of up to $536
million, mostly funded by fee revenues. The Department of
Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act for fiscal year 2007
mandated that GAO review USCIS' transformation plans before the
agency can obligate $47 million in funding for the
transformation. Congress also requested that specific information
be included in USCIS' plan: all resources associated with
transformation efforts (appropriations and fees), including a
detailed breakout of costs for fiscal year 2007, and the impact
of availability of fee revenue; alignment of the transformation
process with DHS' enterprise architecture; and details on
expected project performance and deliverables. Pursuant to the
Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2007, USCIS,
in May 2007, submitted to the congressional appropriations
committees its Transformation Program Strategic Plan and
Expenditure Plan. As required by the act, we reviewed these
plans. Our objectives were to (1) describe the extent to which
USCIS' plans incorporate key practices identified by GAO for
organizational transformations, and (2) describe if and how
USCIS' plans include congressionally requested information.
-------------------------Indexing Terms-------------------------
REPORTNUM: GAO-07-1013R
ACCNO: A72730
TITLE: USCIS Transformation: Improvements to Performance, Human
Capital, and Information Technology Management Needed as
Modernization Proceeds
DATE: 07/17/2007
SUBJECT: Best practices
Citizenship
Federal agency reorganization
Homeland security
Performance measures
Reporting requirements
Strategic planning
Business transformation
Policies and procedures
Program implementation
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GAO-07-1013R
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July 17, 2007
Honorable David E. Price
Chairman
Honorable Harold Rogers
Ranking Minority Member
Subcommittee on Homeland Security
Committee on Appropriations
United States House of Representatives
Honorable Robert C. Byrd
Chairman
Honorable Thad Cochran
Ranking Minority Member
Subcommittee on Homeland Security
Committee on Appropriations
United States Senate
Subject: USCIS Transformation: Improvements to Performance, Human Capital,
and Information Technology Management Needed as Modernization Proceeds
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) adjudicates benefits
requests and petitions for individuals seeking to become citizens of the
United States or to study, live, or work in this country. However, as
previously reported,^1 USCIS' ability to annually process more than 7
million benefit applications has been hindered by inefficient, paper-based
processes, resulting in:
o a backlog that peaked in 2004 at more than 3.8 million cases,
o tens of thousands of files that are missing or not easily
located,
o difficulties in verifying the identity of applicants and
providing other government agencies with the information necessary
to identify criminals and potential terrorists, and
o benefits that were issued to applicants whose eligibility and
potential risk to national security were not yet determined.
USCIS also faces a potentially significant increase in workload as a
result of proposed legislation for a guest worker program, which could
further add to its performance problems.
^1Department of Homeland Security, Office of Inspector General, USCIS
Faces Challenges in Modernizing Information Technology, OIG-05-41
(Washington, D.C.: September 2005).
Background
GAO and DHS Inspector General reports have noted that USCIS efforts to
modernize over the last 4 years have been unfocused, conducted in an ad
hoc and decentralized manner, and, in certain instances, duplicative. In
2006, USCIS decided to reexamine its modernization effort within the
context of an agencywide organizational and business transformation
initiative. The agency embarked on a transformation of its business
processes and technology aimed at increasing national security and
integrity, improving customer service, and achieving operational
efficiency. We agreed with this approach and recommended that USCIS employ
key practices for successful organizational transformations to better
ensure the success of its efforts^2 (see appendix I in enclosure I for a
list of the practices).^3 USCIS plans to complete its transformation by
2013 at an estimated cost of up to $536 million, mostly funded by fee
revenues.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Appropriations Act for fiscal
year 2007 (the Act) mandated that GAO review USCIS' transformation plans
before the agency can obligate $47 million in funding.^4 Congress also
requested that specific information be included in USCIS' plan: all
resources associated with transformation efforts (appropriations and
fees), including a detailed breakout of costs for fiscal year 2007, and
the impact of availability of fee revenue; alignment of the transformation
process with DHS' enterprise architecture; and details on expected project
performance and deliverables.
Pursuant to the Act, USCIS, in May 2007, submitted to the congressional
appropriations committees its Transformation Program Strategic Plan and
its Expenditure Plan. As required by the Act, we reviewed these plans. Our
objectives were to (1) describe the extent to which USCIS' plans
incorporate key practices identified by GAO for organizational
transformations, and (2) describe if and how USCIS' plans include
congressionally requested information.
Scope and Methodology
To accomplish the objectives, we reviewed the USCIS Transformation Program
Strategic Plan, Expenditure Plan, subsidiary plans, and related documents.
We also reviewed related reports by GAO, the Inspector General, and the
USCIS Ombudsman. We interviewed officials from USCIS Headquarters, the DHS
Office of the Inspector General, the Office of the USCIS Ombudsman, and
the American Federation of Government Employees. We compared USCIS'
transformation and expenditure plans to our key practices for
organizational transformations and other good management practices we have
identified, such as in the areas of information technology management,
strategic planning, performance measurement, and strategic human capital
management. See appendix II in enclosure I for a list of the reports from
which we drew the practices. We also reviewed the USCIS transformation and
expenditure plans to determine whether they included congressionally
requested information. Because USCIS is in the early planning phases of
its transformation, we did not assess USCIS' efforts to implement its
plans. Further, we did not assess the quality of the technical solutions
USCIS is considering as a part of the transformation.
^2GAO, Information Technology: Near-Term Effort to Automate Paper-Based
Immigration Files Needs Planning Improvements, GAO-06-375 (Washington,
D.C.: Mar. 31, 2006).
^3GAO previously identified a number of key practices found at the center
of successful mergers, acquisitions, and transformations in a forum
convened by the Comptroller General. See GAO, Highlights of a GAO Forum:
Mergers and Transformation: Lessons Learned for a Department of Homeland
Security and Other Federal Agencies, GAO-03-293SP (Washington, D.C.: Nov.
14, 2002) and Results-Oriented Cultures: Implementation Steps to Assist
Mergers and Organizational Transformations, GAO-03-669 (Washington, D.C.:
July 2, 2003).
^4Pub. L. No. 109-295, 120 Stat. 1355, 1374 (Oct. 4, 2006).
We conducted our work from December 2006 to May 2007 in accordance with
generally accepted government auditing standards. We provided a draft of
this briefing to the Director of USCIS for review. USCIS provided written
comments on June 25, 2007, which are presented in their entirety in
enclosure II.
On June 27, 2007, and July 2, 2007, we briefed your offices on the results
of this review to satisfy the requirements of this mandate. This report
transmits the results of our work. The full briefing is enclosed.
Results in Brief
USCIS' plans partially or fully address most key practices for
organizational transformations (see table on page 10 in the enclosure I
for a summary of our findings). For example, USCIS has taken initial steps
in addressing problems identified with past efforts to modernize by
establishing a Transformation Program Office (TPO) that reports directly
to the USCIS Deputy Director to ensure leadership commitment; dedicating
people and resources to the transformation; establishing a mission,
vision, and integrated strategic goals; focusing on a key set of
priorities and defining core values; and involving employees. However,
more attention is needed in certain areas, including:
o Performance Measurement: Leading organizations recognize that
setting goals and measuring performance can create powerful
incentives to influence organizational and individual behavior.
USCIS has developed some draft performance measures for the
transformed organization, but has not defined targets for the
desired level of performance to be achieved, and many of the
measures are ill-defined or difficult to evaluate.
o Strategic Human Capital Management: USCIS' plans do not
sufficiently address important elements of strategic workforce
planning. For example, the agency's plans do not identify the
skills and competencies needed in the transformed organization,
outline a strategy to maintain ongoing coordination with the
Office of Human Capital, or address past and present leadership
fluctuations. In addition, while the TPO has established
performance expectations for its own staff, USCIS as a whole has
not developed transformation-related performance expectations and
competencies for its executives and employees to hold them
accountable for achieving the goals of the transformation.
o Communications: Creating an effective, ongoing strategy for
communicating with employees and stakeholders is critical to the
success of any organizational transformation. USCIS has made
efforts to communicate information about the transformation to its
employees and stakeholders, and has developed an overall
communication strategy. However, this strategy does not contain a
clearly defined plan to conduct outreach beyond the current fiscal
year, and lacks a detailed approach for targeting communications
to individual government partners and stakeholders.
o Information Technology (IT) Management: It is important that
USCIS acquire IT systems and services in a way that employs
leading IT management practices, such as those embodied in federal
guidance that we and others have issued relative to enterprise
architecture management, IT systems development and acquisition,
and IT services acquisition. USCIS is early in the process of
developing its own enterprise architecture. However, USCIS' plans
do not include a performance element, an important architectural
component. Moreover, while the agency is following DHS' procedures
to align the transformation with DHS' enterprise architecture, we
have previously reported that these procedures are not sufficient,
and that DHS' enterprise architecture is not complete.^5
USCIS plans provide some information on transformation costs and revenues,
but USCIS has not finalized its acquisition strategy and therefore cost
estimates remain uncertain. In addition, the plans do not sufficiently
discuss enterprise architecture alignment and expected project performance
(see table on page 11 of enclosure I for a summary of our findings).
USCIS is in the very early stages of its transformation and its plans for
transformation reflect at least partially most of the practices associated
with successful organizational transformations. However, the gaps we have
identified in USCIS' plans create risks that could undermine its success
as it begins to implement its plans.
Recommendations
To improve its transformation strategy and fully address congressionally
requested information, we are making recommendations to the Secretary of
the Department of Homeland Security to direct the Director of USCIS to
address gaps in its plans in the areas of performance measurement,
strategic human capital management, communications, and information
technology management practices. The specific recommendations are listed
on pages 52-53 of the enclosure.
- - - - -
^5GAO, Homeland Security: DHS Enterprise Architecture Continues to Evolve
but Improvements Needed, GAO-07-564 (Washington, D.C.: May 9, 2007).
We are sending copies of this report to the Chairmen and Ranking Members
of other Senate and House committees and subcommittees that have
authorization and oversight responsibilities for homeland security. We are
also sending copies to the Secretary of the Department of Homeland
Security, the Director of USCIS, and upon their request, to other
interested parties. In addition, the report is available at no charge on
the GAO Web site at [4]http://www.gao.gov .
Should you or your offices have any questions on matters discussed in this
report, please contact me at (202) 512-6543 or at [5][email protected] .
Contact points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public
Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. Key contributors to
this report were Elizabeth Curda, Assistant Director; Randy Hite; Anh Le;
Jessica Lemke; and Martha Tracy.
Bernice Steinhardt
Director, Strategic Issues
Enclosures
Enclosure I
USCIS Transformation: Improvements to Performance, Human Capital, and Information Technology Management Needed as Modernization Proceeds
Briefing to Congressional Staff
June 27, 2007
Enclosure II
Agency Comments
(450555)
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