The Postal Service has completed key activities for implementing barcode parcel-tracking technology but is facing schedule delays and has deferred key functions of the Intelligent Mail Full Service program, GAO has said.
It said the life-cycle cost that program officials prepared does not capture all the costs associated with the acquisition and implementation of the program and that the first deployed phase is experiencing operational problems.
While the program has taken steps to implement acquisition management activities, it does not have the full set of capabilities it needs to fully manage the acquisition, according to GAO-10-145.
It said a key cause of the program’s acquisition management weaknesses in the areas of project planning, risk management, and product integration is that USPS organizational policies do not set forth sufficient requirements for establishing effective practices in these areas.
Weaknesses exist in the program monitoring and control area because the program management contract creates a conflict of interest by requiring that the contractor assess the quality of its own deliverables and oversee the program’s schedule, issues, and risks, GAO said.
The report calls for a comprehensive cost estimate to include both government and contractor costs over the program’s full life cycle.
It also calls on the head of the program and the CIO to create a program plan that includes overview of the program’s scope of all releases, deliverables and functionality within these releases, plans to phase out the approximately 30 barcodes currently being utilized, assumptions and constraints, roles and responsibilities, staffing and training plans, and the strategy for maintaining the plan.
