OMB and GSA have yet to assess agencies’ maturity in their implementation of TBM government-wide. Image: DCStockPhotography/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffFederal agencies have reached a “critical go or no go” point on a standard framework for agencies to assess and report on their IT spending, the GAO has said.
A report noted that the technology business management initiative was part of the President’s Management Agenda of the first Trump administration, and that OMB and GSA took some steps in that time to lead to government-wide adoption. However, GAO reported in 2022 that the guidance covered only part of the process, and of the seven recommendations in that report, only one has been even partially implemented.
“Given OMB’s lack of guidance, most agencies had not developed a plan for implementing TBM and had not fully established a reliable cost allocation methodology. Specifically, 15 of 26 agencies GAO reviewed did not have a plan for implementing TBM while 18 agencies had either partially implemented or not implemented a reliable cost allocation methodology,” it said.
“We also found that OMB and GSA had not assessed agencies’ maturity in their implementation of TBM government-wide. OMB staff and GSA officials stated that the maturity of data can vary among agencies, and they did not know which agencies had better quality data,” GAO said.
Meanwhile, agencies have reported incurring costs for the efforts they have made—mostly related to salary costs, contracts, licenses and training— and also have “reported some benefits, such as increased transparency into IT spending, but did not identify any cost savings.”
“OMB’s lack of action and guidance over the last 8 years has led to substantial TBM delays. While costs continue to mount, full TBM implementation is stalled. Action is required now to determine the future of TBM in the federal government,” it said.
OMB did not provide a comment to GAO on its recommendation to either make TBM a priority or end it.
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