Veterans Affairs: Improved Planning Needed to Guide Development  
and Implementation of Education Benefits System (31-JUL-07,	 
GAO-07-1045).							 
                                                                 
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers programs that
provide educational resources to veterans, service members,	 
reservists, and eligible family members of veterans. Under an	 
initiative that the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) began 
in 1999, called The Education Expert System (TEES), VA is moving 
its education benefits claims processing systems to new 	 
technology platforms and replacing the current systems with a new
system that is to add more automated processes and eliminate most
human intervention. GAO was requested to (1) report on the	 
results of TEES development to date and identify the remaining	 
work to complete the project, (2) identify VBA's plans for	 
completing and implementing TEES, and (3) assess the feasibility 
of developing and deploying TEES before the completion of VBA's  
Finance and Accounting System. To accomplish these objectives,	 
GAO analyzed relevant documentation, interviewed program and	 
project officials, and observed processing systems at VA regional
offices.							 
-------------------------Indexing Terms------------------------- 
REPORTNUM:   GAO-07-1045					        
    ACCNO:   A73690						        
  TITLE:     Veterans Affairs: Improved Planning Needed to Guide      
Development and Implementation of Education Benefits System	 
     DATE:   07/31/2007 
  SUBJECT:   Claims processing					 
	     Management information systems			 
	     Program evaluation 				 
	     Program management 				 
	     Strategic information systems planning		 
	     Systems conversions				 
	     Veterans benefits					 
	     Veterans education 				 
	     Program implementation				 
	     The Education Expert System			 

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GAO-07-1045

   

     * [1]Conclusions
     * [2]Recommendations
     * [3]Agency Comments and Our Evaluation
     * [4]GAO Contact
     * [5]Staff Acknowledgments
     * [6]GAO's Mission
     * [7]Obtaining Copies of GAO Reports and Testimony

          * [8]Order by Mail or Phone

     * [9]To Report Fraud, Waste, and Abuse in Federal Programs
     * [10]Congressional Relations
     * [11]Public Affairs

Report to the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, Committee on Veterans'
Affairs, House of Representatives

United States Government Accountability Office

GAO

July 2007

VETERANS AFFAIRS

Improved Planning Needed to Guide Development and Implementation of
Education Benefits System

GAO-07-1045

Contents

Letter 1

Conclusions 3
Recommendations 3
Agency Comments and Our Evaluation 4
Appendix I Veterans Affairs: Improved Planning Needed to Guide
Implementation of The Education Expert System (TEES) 6
Appendix II Comments from the Department of Veterans Affairs 42
Appendix III GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments 46

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Abbreviations

FAS Finance and Accounting System
OMB Office of Management and Budget
TEES The Education Expert System
VA Department of Veterans Affairs
VBA Veterans Benefits Administration

United States Government Accountability Office
Washington, DC 20548

July 31, 2007

The Honorable Stephanie Herseth Sandlin Chair The Honorable John Boozman
Ranking Member Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Committee on Veterans'
Affairs House of Representatives The Honorable Stephanie Herseth Sandlin
Chair The Honorable John Boozman Ranking Member Subcommittee on Economic
Opportunity Committee on Veterans' Affairs House of Representatives

Under an initiative called The Education Expert System (TEES), the
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking steps intended to improve
its education benefits delivery services by moving its education claims
processing systems to new technology platforms and a new architecture. The
effort, which the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) initiated in
December 1999, is expected to enable faster and more accurate processing
of education claims by replacing the existing education benefits systems
within VBA's antiquated Benefits Delivery Network with a new rules-based
system that will add more automated capabilities and eliminate most human
intervention. When it began the initiative, VBA had planned to complete
the new system by September 2005; however, in 2004, the department
refocused and rebaselined the system's development effort. VA currently
estimates that the TEES initiative will be completed by 2011. Under an
initiative called The Education Expert System (TEES), the Department of
Veterans Affairs (VA) is taking steps intended to improve its education
benefits delivery services by moving its education claims processing
systems to new technology platforms and a new architecture. The effort,
which the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) initiated in December
1999, is expected to enable faster and more accurate processing of
education claims by replacing the existing education benefits systems
within VBA's antiquated Benefits Delivery Network with a new rules-based
system that will add more automated capabilities and eliminate most human
intervention. When it began the initiative, VBA had planned to complete
the new system by September 2005; however, in 2004, the department
refocused and rebaselined the system's development effort. VA currently
estimates that the TEES initiative will be completed by 2011.

At your request, we examined VA's actions on the TEES initiative.
Specifically, our objectives were to At your request, we examined VA's
actions on the TEES initiative. Specifically, our objectives were to

           o report the results of VBA's development of TEES to date, and
           identify the remaining work needed to complete the system;  o
           report the results of VBA's development of TEES to date, and
           identify the remaining work needed to complete the system;

           o identify VBA's plans for completing and implementing TEES; and 
           o identify VBA's plans for completing and implementing TEES; and

           o assess the feasibility of developing and deploying TEES
           application processing functions before the completion of VBA's
           Finance and Accounting System (FAS).  o assess the feasibility of
           developing and deploying TEES application processing functions
           before the completion of VBA's Finance and Accounting System
           (FAS).

To address these objectives, we obtained and analyzed documentation
describing the planned and ongoing activities for TEES and FAS, including
functional requirements documents, system development and code conversion
contracts for the initiative, regional office processing metrics, and cost
information. We supplemented our analysis with interviews of To address
these objectives, we obtained and analyzed documentation describing the
planned and ongoing activities for TEES and FAS, including functional
requirements documents, system development and code conversion contracts
for the initiative, regional office processing metrics, and cost
information. We supplemented our analysis with interviews of education
program officials, project managers, and other officials responsible for
developing the new system. In addition, we observed education claims
processing and the systems currently used to support claims processing at
two of VA's four regional offices--Atlanta, Georgia and Muskogee,
Oklahoma.^1 We performed our work at VA's headquarters in Washington,
D.C., and at the Atlanta and Muskogee Regional Offices from October 2006
through May 2007, in accordance with generally accepted government
auditing standards.

^1Education benefit claims are processed at four VA regional offices.

On May 25, 2007, we provided your offices with briefing slides (included
as appendix I) that outlined the results of our study. Subsequently, we
met with your staff on June 15, 2007, to further discuss our findings and
recommendations. The purpose of this report is to provide the published
briefing slides to you and to officially transmit our recommendations to
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

In summary, our study highlighted the following:

           o VBA has, to date, enhanced education benefits claims processing
           by developing certain functionalities to allow information to be
           captured in an electronic format. For example, it has developed
           automated systems that allow (1) education institutions to provide
           online enrollment certifications, (2) students to provide online
           and telephonic verification of enrollment, and (3) the public to
           inquire about approved academic programs, licensing and
           certification programs, and national exams. However, VBA has not
           taken action on various other initiatives that it identified as
           necessary to complete the new system and eliminate most human
           intervention. These initiatives include (1) moving the
           functionality provided by its aging, stand-alone system used to
           process flight school, on-the-job training, and apprenticeships
           claims to a platform compliant with the department's enterprise
           architecture; (2) moving the processing and payment functionality
           used for many of the education claims from its current antiquated
           system to new technology; and (3) creating a rules-based claims
           processing system that will process all education benefits and
           types of training.

           o VBA does not have an integrated project plan for the TEES
           initiative. According to agency officials, the plan that had been
           developed in 2001 has not been updated since 2004, when program
           goals were modified. Agency officials told us the most current
           detailed information on planned TEES-related efforts is the fiscal
           year 2008 TEES Exhibit 300, submitted to the Office of Management
           and Budget (OMB), which includes an initiative that could
           duplicate the Benefits Delivery Network code conversion effort.
           Because VBA does not have an integrated project management plan,
           it lacks

                        o critical elements needed to effectively guide the
                        initiative to completion--such as a full description
                        of the scope of the system development efforts,
                        identified stakeholders' responsibilities, documented
                        risks, and performance metrics; and

                        o an overall approach for coordinating its various
                        education claims initiatives, such as its Benefits
                        Delivery Network code conversion effort and the
                        development of a rules-based system to improve
                        education claims processing.

           o Since much of the functionality for FAS has been developed, VBA
           could implement a rules-based system that is integrated with FAS.
           However, while the current strategy calls for using FAS as the
           payment system for TEES, the existing functional requirements for
           an interface between these two systems, which were developed in
           2003, have not yet been assessed and updated. Subject matter
           experts needed to define business requirements for interfacing the
           systems have not been assigned by a key stakeholder. Thus, it is
           uncertain when VBA will validate and update functional
           requirements for this interface.
			  
			  Conclusions

           While VBA has completed several new initiatives to provide more
           automated assistance for processing education claims, the absence
           of an integrated project plan for TEES could place the department
           at risk of wasting millions of dollars on education claims
           processing initiatives that may overlap or be duplicative.
           Further, without updated requirements, VA's success in interfacing
           the new system with FAS, and ultimately processing education
           benefits payments more efficiently, could be jeopardized.
			  
			  Recommendations

           To ensure the successful implementation of a system that provides
           consistent and effective delivery of education benefits payments,
           we are recommending that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, before
           approving any new funding for TEES and related systems, direct
           VA's Chief Information Officer to take the following three
           actions:

           o Develop a comprehensive, integrated TEES project plan that

                        1. defines critical elements, including but not
                        limited to project scope, budget, schedule, risk,
                        planning for data management, needed knowledge and
                        skills, and stakeholder involvement; and
                        2. addresses redundancy between the requests for
                        developing a TEES rules-based system, the
                        department-level code conversion effort, and
                        integration of the TEES development with FAS.

           o Once an integrated plan among related TEES initiatives has been
           completed and documented, revise the OMB Exhibit 300s for TEES and
           related efforts to ensure that duplication in efforts and budgets
           is eliminated and that funding is consistent with timelines.

           o Obtain stakeholders' commitment of resources to ensure that
           functional requirements are revalidated and updated as necessary
           to provide an interface between FAS and the future VBA education
           systems.
			  
			  Agency Comments and Our Evaluation

           We received written comments on a draft of this report from the
           Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs. (The department's comments
           are reproduced in appendix II.) In the comments, VA generally
           agreed with our findings and concurred with our recommendations.
           The department acknowledged that there is still much to be done to
           ensure that TEES is properly planned and developed. The comments
           described actions planned that respond to our recommendations,
           such as obtaining independent contractor support to conduct a TEES
           program assessment and validation of consolidated functional
           requirements in conjunction with defining and implementing a
           program-level governance organization. In addition, the department
           stated that its Education Project Management Service would work
           with the responsible project manager to ensure TEES timelines,
           requirements, risks, and budget requirements are accurately
           reflected in VA's FY09 OMB Exhibit 300 submission. Further, it
           stated that Education Project Management Service would coordinate
           with related program offices, such as Benefits Delivery Network
           Rehosting and the Finance and Accounting System, to ensure that
           intersections and dependencies have been identified and accounted
           for in all schedules, and eliminate the possibility of redundant
           efforts. If the planned actions are properly implemented and
           monitored by agency leadership, they should help to ensure that
           TEES will be successfully completed. The department also provided
           technical comments on the draft report, which we incorporated as
           appropriate.

           We are sending copies of this report to the Chairman and Ranking
           Member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. We are also sending
           copies to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and other appropriate
           congressional committees. We will make copies available to other
           interested parties upon request. Copies of this report will also
           be made available at no charge on GAO's Web site at
           http://www.gao.gov.

           Should you or your staff have any questions about this report,
           please contact me at (202) 512-6304 or [email protected]. Contact
           points for our Offices of Congressional Relations and Public
           Affairs may be found on the last page of this report. GAO staff
           who made major contributions to this report are listed in appendix
           III.

           Valerie C. Melvin
			  Director, Human Capital and Management Information Systems Issues
			  
			  Appendix I: Veterans Affairs: Improved Planning Needed to Guide
           Implementation of The Education Expert System (TEES)
			  
			  Appendix II: Comments from the Department of Veterans Affairs
			  
			  Appendix III: GAO Contact and Staff Acknowledgments
			  
			  GAO Contact

           Valerie C. Melvin (202) 512-6304 or melvinv @gao.gov
			  
			  Staff Acknowledgments

           In addition to the contact named above, key contributions to this
           report were made by Barbara Oliver, Assistant Director; Charles
           Youman; B. Scott Pettis; Matthew R. Grote; and Amos A. Tevelow.
           
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[18]www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1045 .

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Highlights of [19]GAO-07-1045 , a report to the Subcommitee on Economic
Opportunity, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, House of Representatives

July 2007

VETERANS AFFAIRS

Improved Planning Needed to Guide Development and Implementation of
Education Benefits System

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) administers programs that provide
educational resources to veterans, service members, reservists, and
eligible family members of veterans. Under an initiative that the Veterans
Benefits Administration (VBA) began in 1999, called The Education Expert
System (TEES), VA is moving its education benefits claims processing
systems to new technology platforms and replacing the current systems with
a new system that is to add more automated processes and eliminate most
human intervention. GAO was requested to (1) report on the results of TEES
development to date and identify the remaining work to complete the
project, (2) identify VBA's plans for completing and implementing TEES,
and (3) assess the feasibility of developing and deploying TEES before the
completion of VBA's Finance and Accounting System. To accomplish these
objectives, GAO analyzed relevant documentation, interviewed program and
project officials, and observed processing systems at VA regional offices.

[20]What GAO Recommends

To ensure the successful implementation of TEES, GAO is recommending that
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, among other actions, require the
development of a comprehensive, integrated project plan to coordinate and
manage the initiative. Commenting on a draft of this report, VA concurred
with GAO's recommendations and described actions planned to address them.

To date, as part of the TEES project, VBA has enhanced education benefits
claims processing by developing certain capabilities that allow
information to be captured in an electronic format. However, VBA has not
taken action on various other initiatives that it identified as necessary
to complete the project. These initiatives include (1) moving the
functionality provided by its aging, stand-alone system used to process
flight school, on-the-job training, and apprenticeship claims to a
platform compliant with the department's enterprise architecture; (2)
moving the processing and payment functionality used for many of the
education claims from its current antiquated system to new technology; and
(3) creating a rules-based claims processing system that will process all
education benefits and types of training.

VBA does not have an integrated project management plan for the TEES
initiative. According to agency officials, a project management plan
originally developed in 2001 has not been updated since 2004. Because VBA
does not have an integrated project management plan, it lacks critical
elements needed to effectively guide the project to completion, such as a
full description of its scope; identification of stakeholders'
responsibilities, documented risks, and performance metrics; and an
overall approach for coordinating its various education claims improvement
initiatives. Moreover, without an integrated project management plan, VBA
risks initiating work that could be duplicative and overlapping.

VBA's Finance and Accounting System (FAS) is substantially complete and
can currently pay new compensation claims; all functionality for
compensation and pension payments is scheduled to be completed by August
2008. Thus, since much of the functionality for FAS has been developed,
VBA could implement a rules-based system that integrates with FAS.
However, while the current strategy calls for using FAS as the payment
system for TEES, the existing functional requirements for an interface
between the two systems, which were developed in 2003, have not been
assessed and updated. Subject matter experts needed to define business
requirements for interfacing the systems have not been assigned by a key
stakeholder. As a result, it is uncertain when VBA will validate and
update functional requirements for the FAS interface with TEES.

References

Visible links
  12. http://www.gao.gov/
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  14. http://www.gao.gov/fraudnet/fraudnet.htm
  15. mailto:[email protected]
  16. mailto:[email protected]
  17. mailto:[email protected]
  18. http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1045
  19. http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-1045
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