IT Project Management in Virginia IT Project Management Audits in Virginia...

IT Project Management in Virginia

http://www.apa.virginia.gov

IT Project Management Audits in Virginia

_____________________________________

NSAA IT Conference

October 3, 2013

Tracy Surratt, CISA, PMP

Auditor of Public Accounts



Discussion Points

• IT Project Management Specialty Team– Who we are, what we do, and why we do it

• Examples of development and project management reviews– Findings and risks identified during the

eHHR (electronic Health and Human Recourses) Program review.


Why Virginia has an IT Project Management specialty?

In the Beginning:• $500 million spent on duplicative accounting

systems• Prevalence of system development failures

Current Day:• 57 projects at a cost of $669 million included

in the Commonwealth Budget Bill• An additional 27 projects recommended for

funding at a cost of $83 millionhttp://www.apa.virginia.gov



IT Project Spending Trends in Virginia

FY2007 FY2008 FY2009 FY2010 FY2011 FY2012 FY2013$0

$20,000,000

$40,000,000

$60,000,000

$80,000,000

$100,000,000

$120,000,000

$140,000,000

$160,000,000


• Detect problems at the earliest possible point and inform and alert decision makers so that they can take action to reduce potential failures

• Legislative interest for unbiased information

• Understand controls & plan future work

Why create an IT Project Management specialty?



IT Project Management Team Objectives

• Eliminate costly failures• Support Code of Virginia requirement• Assist other specialty teams• Monitor legislative and policy developing

entities to identify and follow any issues affecting IT and systems development in the Commonwealth



What do we do and who are we?

• Monitor the development and implementation efforts throughout the project life cycle

• Ensure project management standards and industry best practices are followed

• Optimum team size of 7, including director• Average 400 project hours assigned

annually (about 30% of availability)



Qualifications• Demonstrated knowledge of the Systems

Development Life Cycle (SDLC) and industry best practices

• Good communication skills and auditor awareness

• 40 hours of specialty related training • Project Management Professional (PMP)• Certified Information Systems Auditor (CISA)



Who issues Project Management best practices?

• The Project Management Institute (PMI) issues Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK)

• PMI administers Project Management Professional (PMP) exam

• The Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA) has statewide Project Management Standards which mirrors PMBOK



What is a Project?

Definition: A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service, or result.

TEMPORARY – has a beginning and an end

UNIQUE – not a routine operation, but a specific set of operations designed to accomplish a single goal



Examples of projects under review in Virginia

• Statewide Financial System Replacement

• Retirement System Modernization • Employment Commission

Unemployment Insurance Modernization• Medicaid Modernization Solution, eHHR

Program



• 2010 – Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) passed.

• 2010 – the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) increased federal reimbursement percentages for certain projects from 50% to 90%.


The eHHR Program: Where did it come from and how does it impact YOU?


PPACA Impact to State Government:– Medicaid expansion, including the mandate

that states improve their Medicaid eligibility application process – October 2013

– Health Benefit Exchange, an online market place where individuals and small businesses can compare and purchase healthcare insurance policies – January 2014


Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act



How did many states approach PPACA?


• $152 million joint investment between Virginia and the federal government

• 13-16 individual projects making up the eHHR Program

• 2 Secretariats and the Commonwealth CIO involved

• At least 6 agencies involved

High Risk? YES!!


Virginia’s approach: eHHR Program Office


• To oversee projects that will implement information technology systems, business processes, and organizational changes.

• To ensure that Virginia improve its administrative effectiveness and reduce errors in social service programs through the modernization efforts.


eHHR Program Office Scope


Healthcare Reform Uncertainty and Timeline Flexibility

Report Results: The Supreme Court ruled on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act in June 2012, therefore the program requirements and deadlines became official.


Program Risks identified - June 2012 Review


Operationalizing Program Office After Beginning Projects

Blurred organizational structure No Critical Path to Support the Feasibility of

Meeting Deadline

Report Results: Program office developed and finalized a structure and tools to control, monitor, and enhance working relationships with individual projects.


Program Risks identified - June 2012 Review


Fast and tight deadlines– Federal Mandate of October 1, 2013– Ten month timeline for implementation– Need for contingency planning

Report Results: Issue continues to exist and compounded by additional resource constraints

Identified Program Risks that Continue on…



Agencies Must Be Allowed to Share Commonwealth citizen information to fully realize the strategic goals of the eHHR Program.

Report Results: This is an ongoing issue.




Project documents do not meet best practices Required documentation was not completed

prior to moving into the next stage of development.

IT Investment Management Standards AND IT Project Management Standard are not being followed!

Report Results: This is an ongoing issue.




The Program Office relies too heavily on self reporting from individual projects

– Lack of coordination, communication, interdependencies, and interaction between the projects.

Program Risks identified August 2013 Review



The Program Office has no close-out plans.– Is the Program Office providing benefits? – Are the remaining projects still related?– Is the Program Office removing redundant

work requirements or adding additional requirements?

– Do the added benefits received from operating the Program exceed the added costs?

Program Risks identified August 2013 Review



• Program Management: the process of managing several related projects, often with the intention of improving an organization’s performance.

• Portfolio Management: a method for analyzing and collectively managing a group of current or proposed projects


Program vs. Portfolio


• Address the close out process at the beginning of the review

• Ensure the program team is looking at future work, not just current work, to identify and respond to potential

• Ensure auditors have appropriate training in the program/project management discipline used.

Lessons Learned



• More Program Offices• More coordination across Secretariats• Newly developed Program and Portfolio

Standards• Changes to Project Management

Standards to address “new” project management methodologies

What will the future bring?



Tracy SurrattIT Program Management

Virginia Auditor of Public Accounts

(804) 225-3350

[email protected]

Luis ToledoAssistant State Auditor

NC Office of the State Auditor

(919) 807-7524

[email protected]

Questions?


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

IT Project Management in Virginia IT Project Management Audits in Virginia...

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