Analysis of Business Systems Modernization Cost, Schedule, and Functionality Performance

 

October 2002

 

Reference Number:  2003-20-007

 

 

This report has cleared the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration disclosure review process and information determined to be restricted from public release has been redacted from this document.

 

October 31, 2002

 

 

MEMORANDUM FOR DEPUTY COMMISSIONER FOR MODERNIZATION &
CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER

 

FROM:     Pamela J. Gardiner /s/ Pamela J. Gardiner

                Acting Inspector General

 

SUBJECT:     Final Audit Report - Analysis of Business Systems Modernization Cost, Schedule, and Functionality Performance (Audit # 200220037)

 

This report presents the results of our review of the cost, schedule, and functionality performance of the Business Systems Modernization (BSM) program.  The overall objective of this review was to determine how well the Business Systems Modernization Office (BSMO) and modernization contractors were performing against cost, schedule, and near-term functionality goals for developing BSM projects.  The BSM program is one of the most complex and expensive efforts ever undertaken by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  The BSM program is a very high-risk effort, but one that is essential if the IRS is to meet the reforms mandated by the Congress and taxpayers, such as improved customer service and increased productivity.

In summary, we found that beginning in 2001, the BSM program has delivered business results by deploying projects and learning valuable lessons that should help improve future projects.  Deployed projects have increased the capacity of the IRS’ telephone system, improved the ability to receive, route, and respond to taxpayer telephone calls, and provided refund information via the Internet.  However, as reported in previous Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and General Accounting Office reports, the BSM program has been experiencing difficulties meeting the original cost, schedule, and functionality estimates included in the BSM Spending Plans submitted to the Congress. 

While the BSM projects have cost more, taken longer, and delivered less functionality than originally estimated, our analysis shows that cost and schedule performance is improving.  The BSMO forecasts that project costs and schedules should be coming in closer to the estimates, and the majority of the originally planned functionality is still scheduled for delivery in the future.  It is not uncommon for organizations that are attempting to modernize their computer systems to experience cost increases and schedule delays.  According to a study performed by the Standish Group, only 9 percent of large companies complete computer modernization projects within cost and schedule budgets.  However, because the IRS hired an experienced contractor to lead the development and integration efforts for BSM, we would have expected the cost and schedule estimates to have been more accurate. 

So far, the 8 BSM projects that are currently being developed and deployed have experienced cost increases of 26 percent and delays averaging 13 months over initial estimates.  The majority of the cost increases and delays occurred during the planning and design phases of these projects, where cost increases were approximately 89 percent over original estimates.  The BSMO forecasts that future project costs and schedules will be much closer to the estimates detailed in BSM Spending Plans. Although the anticipated costs and schedules are expected to be closer to the estimates provided to the Congress, actual costs and schedules could still vary significantly from the estimates.

Since the purpose of this review was to identify and analyze the cost, schedule, and functionality performance compared to the original project estimates, we do not make any recommendations in this report. However, we believe the information provided in this report can be helpful to the BSMO in its efforts to improve the management and delivery of BSM projects and benefits. 

Management’s Response:  The Deputy Commissioner for Modernization & Chief Information Officer agreed with our assessment and provided comments on how the IRS is making improvements to further reduce cost increases and schedule delays.  Management’s complete response to the draft report is included as Appendix XIV.

Copies of this report are also being sent to the IRS managers affected by the report.  Please contact me at (202) 622-6510 if you have questions or Scott E. Wilson, Assistant Inspector General for Audit (Information Systems Programs), at (202) 622-8510.

 

Table of Contents

Background

Projects Are Costing More and Taking Longer Than Originally Estimated, but Current Forecasts Indicate That Performance Is Improving

The Majority of Originally Planned Near-Term Functionality Is Still Planned for Future Delivery

Overall Observation on Business Systems Modernization Performance

Appendix I – Detailed Objective, Scope, and Methodology

Appendix II – Major Contributors to This Report

Appendix III – Report Distribution List

Appendix IV – Time-Line and Details on Business Systems Modernization Spending Plans

Appendix V – Background Details (Methodology)

Appendix VI – Background Details (Project Groupings)

Appendix VII – Background Details (Cost and Schedule Data Breakdown)

Appendix VIII – Cost Performance Details

Appendix IX – Schedule Performance Details

Appendix X – Functionality Performance Details

Appendix XI – Industry Performance Statistics

Appendix XII – Previous Audit Reports

Appendix XIII – Selected Modernization Project Descriptions

Appendix XIV – Management’s Response to the Draft Report

 

Background

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is challenged with modernizing its computer systems and business processes and practices.  This effort, known as the Business Systems Modernization (BSM), is projected to last up to 15 years.  The BSM program is one of the most complex and expensive efforts ever undertaken by the IRS.  The BSM program is a very high-risk effort, but one that is essential if the IRS is to meet the reforms mandated by the Congress and taxpayers, such as improved customer service and increased productivity. 

The IRS hired the Computer Science Corporation (known as the PRIME contractor) as the lead integrator for BSM.  The PRIME contractor heads up several leading technology and management companies that form the PRIME Alliance.  The IRS established the Business Systems Modernization Office (BSMO) to manage the BSM program and to provide oversight of the PRIME contractor. Executives with a wide range of experience in the private sector as well as seasoned IRS executives were brought in to manage the BSMO.

The BSMO provides the Congress justification to release funds specifically set aside for the BSM effort by submitting spending plans.  These BSM Spending Plans contain the estimated costs to deliver set features for each project within a scheduled period of time. There have been 5 BSM Spending Plans and 2 interim BSM Spending Plans requesting a total of $968 million between April 1999 and December 2001.  See Appendix IV for a timeline with details on the BSM Spending Plans.

Beginning in 2001, the BSM program has delivered results through projects such as the Customer Relationship Management Exam, Customer Communications, Enterprise Systems Management, and Security and Technology Infrastructure Release. For example, it installed an upgraded telephone communications system that improved the IRS’ ability to receive, route, and respond to the more than 150 million taxpayer telephone calls each year.  It also deployed an application that allows taxpayers to check on the status of their refunds via the Internet.

Based on these early projects, the BSM program has and continues to learn valuable lessons in order to improve its processes and deliver timely, quality results. However, as reported in previous Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration and General Accounting Office reports, the majority of BSM projects require spending more money and time to deliver fewer features than originally planned. 

The objective of this review was to determine how well the BSMO and modernization contractors were performing against cost, schedule, and near-term functionality goals.  Our review consisted of analyzing 20 BSM projects, which are presented and grouped throughout this report according to their current developmental status.  A detailed description of the methodology and analyses of the data used to provide the reported results is included in Appendix V, and a listing of the projects reviewed is provided in Appendix VI.  

It is important to note that the information and conclusions we present in this report are subject to change due to the types of data used during our analyses.  Since none of the 20 BSM projects were fully completed, a majority of the results were calculated based upon BSMO forecasted data. Forecasted data are estimates to complete each phase of the 20 projects based upon the BSMO’s estimation processes. Therefore, the information presented in this report may change as projects mature and actual figures become available for future analyses or as the BSMO revises its forecasted data.  A detailed breakdown on the availability of actual cost and schedule data versus BSMO forecasted cost and schedule data is available in Appendix VII.

To accomplish our objective, we obtained and reviewed documentation and conducted interviews with individuals from the BSMO.   We relied on information accumulated by the BSMO as of February 2002 but did not verify the accuracy of the information.  The audit was conducted at the IRS’ National Headquarters Office and the BSMO facilities in New Carrollton, Maryland, between January 2002 and June 2002 in accordance with Government Auditing Standards.  Detailed information on our audit objective, scope, and methodology is presented in Appendix I.  Major contributors to the report are listed in Appendix II.

Projects Are Costing More and Taking Longer Than Originally Estimated, but Current Forecasts Indicate That Performance Is Improving

We analyzed the BSM projects’ actual and forecasted cost and schedule data and found that the projects were costing more and taking longer than originally estimated.  However, based on the BSMO forecasts for estimated time and costs to complete the projects, the cost increases and schedule delays are decreasing over time.

To provide further insight, we analyzed the cost increases and schedule delays by BSM Spending Plan and development phase. The majority of cost increases and schedule delays have occurred in the planning and design phases, while more limited cost increases and schedule delays are forecasted for the development and deployment phases.  Also, cost increases are trending significantly downward and schedule delays are trending slightly downward between Spending Plans 1 and 4.

Cost analysis by BSM Spending Plan and development phase

Based on BSMO actual and forecasted cost data, the BSM program has experienced a $75 million or 24 percent cost increase for the 20 projects that have been initiated since 1999, as shown in the summary table below.  Detailed data on the cost increases are provided in Appendix VIII. 

Table 1:  Cost Performance Results to Date

BSM Projects By Current Developmental Status

Cost Increase (Cumulative)

Percentage Increase

8 in Development and Deployment

$62.56 million

25.60%

5 in Planning and Design

$  8.16 million

27.10%

3 Cancelled

$  2.47 million

13.35%

3 Testing Laboratories

$  1.57 million

  6.93%

1 Delayed

N/A

N/A

 

$74.76 million

23.69%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source:  Data summarized from Appendix VIII.

The projects’ cost increases are decreasing by Spending Plan, with the majority of cost increases occurring during the planning and design phases. While the trends are encouraging, they could change in the future since cost results from the later BSM Spending Plans contain only forecasted data.  The accuracy of the forecasts will affect the trend results shown in the following graph.

Graph 1 was removed due to its size.  To see Graph 1, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.

Cost increases in the first 2 BSM Spending Plans were significant (83 and 47 percent, respectively).  However, current BSMO forecasts show that cost increases are less than 15 percent for the fourth BSM Spending Plan.  While the current trend line is encouraging, it may be unrealistic to expect such a sharply declining trend will continue.  We expect that the cost trend will be less dramatic once actual cost figures are obtained, although we are optimistic that the downward trend for cost increases will continue.

The 8 projects that have completed the planning and design phases experienced an approximately 89 percent cost increase ($52 million) during those phases. This equates to the majority of the cost increases that have been incurred on these projects to date. BSMO officials state that the reliability of costs estimates for the development and deployment phases is much greater than that for the planning and design phases.

It is not uncommon for organizations that are attempting to modernize their computer systems to experience cost increases and schedule delays. According to a study performed by the Standish Group, only 9 percent of large companies complete computer modernization projects within cost and schedule budgets.  However, because the IRS hired an experienced contractor to lead the development and integration efforts for BSM, we would have expected the cost and schedule estimates to have been more accurate.  Both the BSMO and PRIME contractor may have underestimated the enormous size and complexity of the BSM effort.  According to the Standish Group study, the average cost of a computer system development project for a ‘large’ company is $2.3 million. The BSM program has already requested approximately $1 billion for its projects, and it is expected that about $2.5 billion will be needed over the next 5 years.

Schedule analysis by BSM Spending Plan and development phase

Based on BSM actual and forecasted schedule data, the projects are experiencing schedule delays of 6 to 13 months, as shown in the following table.

Table 2:  Schedule Performance by Project Groupings

BSM Project Groupings

Avg. Delay per Project

8 projects currently in Development and Deployment Phase

Planning and Design Phase

Development and Deployment Phase

13 months

 

7.7 months

5.5 months

5 projects currently in Planning and Design Phase

6 months

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Source:  Comparison of the originally scheduled completion dates in the BSM Spending Plans to actual or forecasted completion dates provided by the IRS.

The projects currently in the development and deployment phases are experiencing an average delay of 13 months.  However, 7.7 months of this delay occurred during the planning and design phases compared to the 5.5 months delay to date for the development and deployment phases. BSMO officials state that the reliability of schedule estimates for the development and deployment phases is much greater than that for the planning and design phases.

Our analysis shows that schedule delays are declining slightly by BSM Spending Plan, with more delays occurring during the planning and design phases.  For the first 2 BSM Spending Plans, the projects were experiencing an average schedule delay of approximately 9 months. For BSM Spending Plans 3 and 4, the average schedule delay is between 5 and 6 months.  While this trend is also encouraging, we again do not expect the trend to continue at the same rate.  The schedule figures for BSM Spending Plans 3 and 4 contain mainly forecasted data, and the accuracy of the forecasts will affect the trend results. In addition, the IRS Commissioner has stressed the need for quality deliverables versus schedule accuracy.  Additional detailed information on schedule analysis is provided in Appendix IX.

The Majority of Originally Planned Near-Term Functionality Is Still Planned for Future Delivery

While faced with many challenges, the BSM program was able to deliver business features from projects such as Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Exam, Customer Communications (CC), Security and Technology Infrastructure Release (STIR), and Enterprise Systems Management (ESM).  Several projects were planned for delivery in the 2001 and 2002 Filing Seasons; however, only the CRM Exam project has delivered 100 percent of its originally planned functionality.  A listing of the projects that were planned for delivery in the 2001 and 2002 Filing Seasons is provided in Appendix X.

The CC project was one of the first to be deployed.  The project delivered features such as Internet and telephone access to refund and filing information.  The CC project also increased the capacity of the IRS’ existing telephone system.  However, not all originally planned features have been delivered.  For instance, systems management, administrative, and management information systems capabilities have all been delayed for possible future delivery.

As shown in the following table, for all the projects that were planned for completion by the 2002 Filing Season, only 46 percent of their features have been either fully or partially delivered.  Fourteen percent of the features have been suspended, while the remaining almost 40 percent are still in progress.  According to the BSMO, a majority of the functionality originally envisioned is still planned for future delivery in Fiscal Years 2002 and 2003. A listing of the current projects’ planned delivery and their projected future delivery dates is provided in Appendix X.

Table 3: Planned Functionality Delivered

Project

Total Planned

Full

Partial

Suspended

In Progress

CADE

1

0

0

0

1

CRM Exam

1

1

0

0

0

CC

10

4

2

4

0

e-Services

5

0

0

0

5

ESM

4

0

2

0

2

STIR

7

4

0

0

3

TOTAL

28

9

4

4

11

PERCENT

100%

32.1%

14.3%

14.3%

39.3%

Source:  This table includes a comparison of major functionality listed in the BSM Spending Plans (see Appendix X) to actual delivery as confirmed by the IRS.

Overall Observation on Business Systems Modernization Performance

The BSMO has identified cost and schedule estimation as 1 of the 12 processes needing improvement during 2002.  As process improvements are implemented, cost increases and schedule delays could be reduced as the BSM program matures. However, risks associated with building systems (such as complexity and integration) significantly increase as projects progress through their life cycle (from the planning and design phases to the development and deployment phases).  The majority of the BSM projects are entering or currently in the high-risk phases.  As project risks increase, the probability of cost overruns and schedule delays will also increase. 

Because the BSM program is still maturing, it is difficult to determine whether improvements to processes have occurred until the projects are completed and actual cost and schedule data are available. If the BSMO and PRIME contractor successfully implement process improvements, we would expect to see the BSM program make significant strides to deliver quality products within a reasonable amount of time and money.  Alternately, if the BSMO and PRIME contractor are not successful in implementing process improvements, the BSM program will continue to be plagued with cost increases and schedule delays that prevent it from effectively and efficiently delivering the modernized technology that the IRS needs to improve service to taxpayers.

Management’s Response:  The Deputy Commissioner for Modernization & Chief Information Officer agreed with our assessment and provided comments on how the IRS is making improvements to further reduce cost increases and schedule delays.  Management’s complete response to the draft report is included as Appendix XIV.

 

Appendix I

 

Detailed Objective, Scope, and Methodology

 

The overall objective of this review was to determine how well the Business Systems Modernization Office and modernization contractors were performing against cost, schedule, and near-term functionality goals.  To accomplish our objective, we:

I.                    Determined the percentage of modernization projects that were over/under or on target with budgeted amounts with respect to dollar cost.

A.     Identified and documented the planned dollar amounts for each project by milestone or time period.

B.     Identified and documented the actual dollar amounts that had been spent for each project by milestone.

C.     Processed the information that had been collected and performed variance analyses.

D.     Verified all analyses with appropriate Internal Revenue Service (IRS) representatives.

II.         Determined the schedule variances for each project with respect to its projected completion dates versus its actual completion dates.

A.     Identified and documented the planned completion dates for each project by spending plan.

B.     Identified and documented the actual completion dates for each project.

C.     Processed the information that had been collected and performed variance analyses.

D.     Verified all analyses with appropriate IRS representatives.

III.       Determined the amount of unfulfilled tangible deliverables/benefits for near-term projects versus planned tangible deliverables/benefits.

A.     Identified and documented the estimated deliverables/benefits for each project originally planned to be delivered in Fiscal Year 2002 or earlier.

B.     Identified and documented the actual functionality and deliverables/benefits for each project originally planned to be delivered in Fiscal Year 2002 or earlier.

C.     Processed the information that had been collected and performed variance analyses.

D.     Verified all analyses with appropriate IRS representatives.

 

Appendix II

 

Major Contributors to This Report

 

Scott E. Wilson, Assistant Inspector General for Audit (Information Systems Programs)

Scott A. Macfarlane, Director

Troy D. Paterson, Audit Manager

Phung Son Huu Nguyen, Senior Auditor

Charlene L. Elliston, Auditor

George Franklin, Auditor

Perrin T. Gleaton, Auditor

 

Appendix III

 

Report Distribution List

 

Commissioner  N:C

Deputy Commissioner  N:DC

Associate Commissioner, Business Systems Modernization M:B

Deputy Associate Commissioner, Program Management M:B:PM

Deputy Associate Commissioner, Systems Integration M:B:SI

Director, Budget Policy, Planning, and Programs M:BP

Chief Counsel  CC

National Taxpayer Advocate  TA

Director, Legislative Affairs  CL:LA

Director, Office of Program Evaluation and Risk Analysis  N:ADC:R:O

Office of Management Controls  N:CFO:F:M

Audit Liaison:

Associate Commissioner, Business Systems Modernization M:B

 

Appendix IV

 

Time-Line and Details on Business Systems Modernization Spending Plans

 

The chart and table were removed due to their size.  To see the chart and table, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.

 

Appendix V

 

Background Details (Methodology)

 

There are many different ways to analyze and present the data provided by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Depending on the methodology used, the outcomes can be significantly skewed in support of or contrary to the IRS’ results.  The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration’s (TIGTA) analytical methods attempt to report the results in a logical and impartial manner.

The TIGTA’s methodology takes actual results for cost, schedule, and functionality and compares them to the originally planned cost, schedule, and functionality to determine if any variances exist. This methodology differs from the IRS’ variance methodology performed within Business Systems Modernization (BSM) Spending Plans 3, 4, and 5.  It is not the TIGTA’s intention to judge the IRS’ methods of variance analysis but to present our perspective on the data.  The difference in methodology is provided using a basic example of a cost variance analysis.  Suppose the following data are available for analysis:

 

Example of Planned Data for Project A

 

Spending Plan

Amount Requested

 For Project Phase

Plan 1

$10 Million

Planning Phase

Interim 1

$5 Million*

Planning Phase

Plan 2

$30 Million

Development Phase

Interim 2

$7 Million*

Planning Phase

Plan 3

$25 Million*

Development Phase

Plan 4

None

None

Plan 5

$5 Million*

Development Phase

*  The IRS revises its originally planned amount and requests additional amounts to complete that particular project phase. 

Example of Actual Data for Project A

 

 Project Phase

Actual Amount

Planning Phase

$30 Million

Development Phase

$60 Million

 

Forecasted Amounts

The tables were removed due to their size.  To see the tables, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.

A majority of the analyzed projects had not yet been completed. Therefore, the actual amounts for those projects were unavailable.  However, the IRS had been forecasting each project’s actual amounts at completion within the BSM Spending Plans.  When appropriate, we used the forecasted amounts as the actual amounts during the analyses.  Based on this fact, it is important to know that the results within this report may change at any time due to the following reasons:

·        Project phases come to completion and the actual amounts become available.  This will replace the forecasted amounts with the actual amounts within the analyses causing the variance to increase or decrease based upon the new data.

·        The IRS releases another BSM Spending Plan and revises its forecasted amounts for the projects.  This will cause the current variance amounts to increase or decrease based upon the new forecasted amounts.

Using the IRS’ forecasted cost amounts during the analysis may produce distorted results because they are amounts derived by the IRS’ estimation abilities.  However, according to the IRS, its estimation processes have matured and improved over time.  With this in mind, the forecasted cost amounts are the best available to perform these types of analyses.  A detailed breakdown of the availability of actual costs versus IRS forecasted costs used for the report is provided in Appendix VII.

 

Appendix VI

 

Background Details (Project Groupings)

A total of 20 projects have been funded through the Business Systems Modernization (BSM) Spending Plans. Projects start at different times and are currently at different phases of design and development.  There are five basic phases that a project undergoes throughout its life cycle.  These life cycle phases are called milestones and are defined as:

Planning and Design Phase

Ø   Milestone 1: Strategic Plan

Ø   Milestone 2: Concept Definition

Ø   Milestone 3: System Design

 

Development and Deployment Phase

 

Ø   Milestone 4:  Enterprise Deployment

Ø   Milestone 5: Post-Deployment Evaluation

In order to appropriately and accurately present the data analyses on the BSM projects, we grouped them according to their current phases.  Project name abbreviations are defined on the next page.

The chart and table were removed due to their size. To see the chart and table, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.

Appendix VII

 

Background Details (Cost and Schedule Data Breakdown)

We relied on information accumulated by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as of February 2002 and did not verify the accuracy of the information.  The majority of the data consisted of forecasted cost amounts and completion dates since most of the projects were still in progress. Forecasted numbers and dates are based upon the IRS’ estimation processes and those figures may be different from the actual amounts at completion. 

The detailed breakdown of available actual versus forecasted cost amounts is shown in Figure A:  Cost Breakdown.  The detailed breakdown of available actual versus forecasted completion dates is shown in Figure B:  Schedule Breakdown.  These analyses provide a picture of where changes to cost and schedule results may occur due to the possibility of future changes to forecasted amounts and dates. The breakdown is shown based on data points.  A data point is considered an originally planned figure (cost or schedule) compared to its actual or forecasted figure.

Figures A and B were removed due to their size.  To see these Figures, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.

 

Appendix VIII

 

Cost Performance Details

Tables 1 and 2 were removed due to their size.  To see the Tables, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page. 

 

 

Appendix IX

 

Schedule Performance Details

 

Table 1 and Graph 1 were removed due to their size.  To see the Table and Graph, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.

 

Appendix X

 

Functionality Performance Details

Tables 1, 2 and 3 were removed due to their size.  To see these Tables, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page. 

Appendix XI

 

Industry Performance Statistics

From the Standish Group:

·        Only 16 percent of projects in the United States are considered successful.

·        Only 9 percent of large companies complete projects on schedule and on budget.

·        Fifty-three percent of all projects cost 189 percent over original estimates.

·        Average schedule overrun for projects in trouble was 222 percent.

·        Delivered products contained only 61 percent of originally specified features.

·        Thirty-one percent of all projects are cancelled.

 

\From the Parsons Group:

·        Fifty percent of finished projects contain less than 70 percent of their planned functionality.

·        Sixty to 80 percent of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems will either fail or not meet expectations.

 

Appendix XII

 

Previous Audit Reports

Modernization Project Teams Need to Follow Key Systems Development Processes (Reference Number 2002-20-025, dated November 2001).

IRS Needs to Better Balance Management Capacity with Systems Acquisition Workload (GAO-02-356, dated February 2002).

The Business Systems Modernization Office Needs to Strengthen Its Processes for Overseeing the Work of the PRIME Contractor (Reference Number 2002-20-059, dated March 2002).

Continued Progress Modernizing IRS Depends on Managing Risks (GAO-02-715T, dated May 2002).

 

Appendix XIII

 

Selected Modernization Project Descriptions

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Exam – The CRM Exam project is a software package that computes complex taxes.

Customer Communications (CC) – The CC project increased the capacity of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) existing telephone system.  The project also delivered features such as Internet and telephone access to refund and filing information.  The Internet refund portion was delivered by a project called Internet Refund Fact of Filing, which was originally planned to be part of the CC project.

Enterprise Systems Management (ESM) – The ESM project will help the IRS monitor all IRS computer systems and networks to ensure they are consistently available to the employees relying on them.  The project also provides for the consolidation of 19 help desks throughout the IRS into a single help desk to better serve the users of the systems and networks.

Security and Technology Infrastructure Release (STIR) – The STIR project will provide the secure technical infrastructure to support and enable the delivery of the IRS’ modernized business systems.

 

Appendix XIV

 

Management’s Response to the Draft Report

 

The response was removed due to its size.  To see the complete response, please go to the Adobe PDF version of the report on the TIGTA Public Web Page.