The FBI is making progress in addressing concerns about its oversight of a $425 million Sentinel case management program, which is designed to replace a $170 million computer system that failed, a government audit said yesterday.
The Justice Department’s Office of Inspector General said an extensive review found that the FBI had addressed most of the concerns identified in two previous audits and was acting on the other recommendations.
Inspector General Glenn A. Fine said that while the FBI had implemented several management controls and processes designed to help it “adequately manage the development of Sentinel and bring it to a successful conclusion,” it needed to make additional progress in its management strategy.
Mr. Fine also said a series of contract modifications had increased the Phase 1 budget of the Sentinel project from $57.1 million to $59.7 million.
“In sum, the first phase of the Sentinel project is complete, although with some difficulty and without providing all of the deliverables originally intended for this phase of the project,” he said. “Moreover, the most difficult portions of the Sentinel project lay ahead.
“As Sentinel progresses, the FBI must ensure the deliverables for each phase are clearly documented and communicated,” he said. “We believe the lessons learned during Phase 1, combined with the processes the FBI has established to manage and control the Sentinel project, can help provide reasonable assurance of Sentinel’s ultimate success.”
But he warned that “rigorous implementation of processes and lessons learned is necessary to minimize any significant deviations from cost, schedule, technical or performance baselines.” He said his office would continue to monitor the Sentinel project.
The FBI has said the project is within cost and on schedule to be fully operational by 2009, adding that the bureau has made “good progress” in addressing concerns about staffing, information sharing, earned value management, cost tracking and controls, and documentation.
The audit focused on completion of Phase 1 of a four-phase implementation of Sentinel capabilities over a 45-month period. It targeted two key project components: a user-friendly, Web-based portal to provide access to information in the FBI’s antiquated Automated Case Support system, and workboxes to summarize case information and allow supervisors to better manage resources and make assignments.
It outlined nine new recommendations, including that the FBI limit the scope and duration of future project phases to make them more manageable; that it improve the requirements for Lockheed Martin’s cost reporting; and that it improve risk management and the tracking of project deficiencies.
The Sentinel program began last year as a replacement for its failed Virtual Case File system, a software application developed by the FBI between 2000 and 2005. It was close to completion when it was officially abandoned in January 2005.
Mr. Fine described as “a positive step” the FBI’s creating a risk management program for the Sentinel project, but said several concerns remain over the program’s implementation, including irregular reviews of the risks and a lack of contingency plans.
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