U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
                  Office of Inspector General

                  At   a  Glance
                                                               09-P-0197
                                                             July 20, 2009
                                                                   Catalyst for Improving the Environment
Why We Did This Review

We sought to determine to
what extent the U.S.
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) has planned
and executed information
system testing to make
informed decisions about the
release of the EPA
Acquisition System.

Backgrounds

EPA acquires approximately
$1.3 billion in goods and
services annually.  The Office
of Acquisition Management
(CAM), within the Office of
Administration and Resources
Management, is responsible
for managing the Agency's
procurement of products and
services. A strategic goal of
OAM is "optimizing business
processes." As a part of this
effort, OAM is developing a
new acquisition system, the
EPA Acquisition System.

For further information,
contact our Office of
Congressional, Public Affairs
and Management at
(202)566-2391.

To view the full report,
click on the following link:
www.epa.qov/oiq/reports/2009/
20090720-09-P-0197.pdf
EPA Should Delay Deploying Its New Acquisition
System  until Testing Is Completed
  What We Found
 OAM did not comply with EPA's System Life Cycle Management policy and
 procedure while developing the new EPA Acquisition System (EAS). OAM did not
 fully develop the system's requirements documents during the requirements phase and
 requirements were incomplete. Test scripts were not developed to prove that the
 system fulfilled all requirements and ensure that the system would function as required.
 Although the EAS Project Manager developed a Draft Master Test Plan that contained
 testing procedures, OAM management never approved, implemented, and enforced this
 plan.

 OAM management did not provide the oversight, authority, and support necessary to
 ensure the EAS development project complied with EPA's System Life Cycle
 Management policy and procedure.  Because OAM had not completed the steps needed
 to reasonably ensure that EAS would meet EPA's business needs if implemented by
 June 29, 2009, as planned, OAM does not have a sound basis for deploying EAS as
 scheduled. More management emphasis is needed to ensure the system development
 control environment achieves the desired results and the end product meets EPA's
 needs.
  What We Recommend
We recommend that the Assistant Administrator for Administration and Resources
Management:

   •   Identify and document all system requirements, including functional, technical,
       security, and EPA-specific requirements, in the EAS Requirements
       Document(s).
   •   Update, review, and implement formal testing policies and procedures.
   •   Delay implementing EAS until OAM has successfully tested all system
       requirements.
   •   Update the EAS Project Schedule to communicate the current status of and
       future plans for EAS project activities.
   •   Develop and implement oversight procedures to ensure that further EAS system
       development activities and future projects adhere to all requirements.

During a meeting on May 27, 2009, OAM management agreed with our findings and
informed the audit team that OAM has delayed EAS deployment until after the fiscal
year end.

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