Information Technology: FBI Has Largely Staffed Key Modernization Program, but Strategic Approach to Managing Program's Human Capital Is Needed Page: 6 of 31
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positions needed for the program, and it has filled most of the positions in
the plan, mainly using contractors (77 percent). However, a few key
positions remain to be filled, such as the lead test engineer. Moreover, the
staffing plan addresses only the program's immediate staffing needs and
does not define the kind of strategic approach to human capital
management that our research and evaluations have shown to be critical
to the success of any organizational entity. In particular, the staffing plan
was not derived using a documented, fact-based, data-driven methodology,
and the plan does not provide for inventorying the knowledge and skills of
existing staff, forecasting future knowledge and skill needs, analyzing gaps
in capabilities between the existing staff and future workforce needs,
(including consideration of expected succession needs), or formulating
strategies for filling expected gaps, including training, additional hiring,
and the appropriate degree of reliance on contractors. Exacerbating this
situation is that the program's inventory of risks does not include human
capital; steps have not been planned to proactively mitigate the probability
and impact of future staffing shortfalls, even though other program
documents cite it as a challenge and a risk. According to Sentinel program
officials, they do not view human capital as a risk to the program because
they intend to rely on the same practices that they have used to address
their immediate program office staffing needs, which have included
bringing in staff from other FBI units and other government agencies and
leveraging contractor staff. In addition, they said, and our analysis
confirmed, that bureau IT system life cycle management policies and
procedures do not require them to address human capital risks.
In our view, not having a more strategic and proactive human capital
management focus on a major IT program such as Sentinel increases the
chances that promised system capabilities and benefits will not be
delivered on time and within budget. Accordingly, we are making
recommendations for the FBI to develop and implement IT program
management policies and procedures that provide for strategic human
capital management on all major FBI IT programs, including Sentinel, and
for treating Sentinel's human capital availability as a program risk. In its
comments on a draft of this report, signed by the FBI Chief Information
Officer (CIO) and reprinted in appendix III, the FBI agreed with our
recommendations and stated that while they had made progress laying a
foundation for improved IT human capital management across the bureau,
much work remains. In this regard, the FBI described steps completed,
under way, and planned relative to managing human capital on the
Sentinel program and the entire FBI IT organization. We support these
steps as they are consistent with our findings and recommendations. TheGAO-07-19 Information Technology
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United States. Government Accountability Office. Information Technology: FBI Has Largely Staffed Key Modernization Program, but Strategic Approach to Managing Program's Human Capital Is Needed, report, October 16, 2006; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc299387/m1/6/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.