The IRS relies extensively on information technology (IT) to carry out its mission. For fiscal year 2012, IRS requested about $2.67 billion for IT. Given the size and significance of these investments, this report evaluates IRS's capabilities for managing its IT investments. To address this objective, the report reviewed IRS policies and procedures and assessed them using IT investment management framework and associated methodology, focusing on the framework's stage relevant to building a foundation for investment management. The report also interviewed officials responsible for IRS's investment management process. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand publication.
This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. NOAA, with the aid of NASA, is to procure the next generation of geostationary operational environ. satellites, called Geostationary Operational Environ. Satellite-R (GOES-R) series. The GOES-R series is to replace the current series of satellites, which will reach the end of their useful lives in 2015. This new series is considered critical to the U.S.' ability to maintain data required for weather forecasting through the year 2028. This report: (1) determined the status of the GOES-R acquisition; (2) evaluated whether NOAA has established adequate contingency plans in the event of delays; and (3) assessed NOAA's efforts to identify GOES data users, prioritize their data needs, and communicate with them about the program's status. Charts and tables.
In the 8 years since a contract was awarded, the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environ. Satellite System (NPOESS) -- a tri-agency program managed by NOAA, DoD, and NASA -- has experienced escalating costs, schedule delays, and ineffective interagency mgmt. The launch date for a demo. satellite has been delayed by 5 years and the cost estimate for the program has more than doubled. In Feb. 2010, NPOESS was disbanded, and, instead, the agencies have undertaken separate acquisitions. This report: (1) assessed efforts to establish separate satellite programs; (2) evaluated the status and risks of the NPOESS components still under development; and (3) evaluated the implications of using the demo. satellite's data operationally. Illus.
In 2009, the Dept. of Treasury plans to spend $3 billion on information tech. (IT) investments -- the third largest planned IT expenditure among civilian agencies. To more effectively manage such investments, the Office of Mgmt. and Budget required agencies to use earned value mgmt. (EVM). EVM is a project mgmt. approach that provides objective reports of project status, produces early warning signs of impending schedule delays and cost overruns, and provides unbiased estimates of a program¿s total costs. This report assesses whether the Dept. of Treasury and its key component agencies: (1) have the policies in place to effectively implement EVM; and (2) are adequately using EVM techniques to manage critical system investments. Illustrations.
Cyber analysis and warning capabilities are critical to thwarting computer-based (cyber) threats and attacks. The Dept. of Homeland Security (DHS) established the U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) to, among other things, coordinate the nation¿s efforts to prepare for, prevent, and respond to cyber threats to systems and communications networks. This report: (1) identifies key attributes of cyber analysis and warning capabilities; (2) compares these attributes with US-CERT¿s current capabilities to identify whether there are gaps; and (3) identifies US-CERT¿s challenges to developing and implementing key attributes and a successful national cyber analysis and warning capability. Includes recommendations. Illus.
Because the nation's critical infrastructure relies on info. tech. systems and data, the security of those assets is critical to ensuring national security and public safety. In 2003, the Pres. directed federal agencies to: (1) develop plans for the protection of their computer-related critical infrastructure assets; and (2) submit them for approval to the Office of Mgmt. and Budget (OMB) by 7/31/04. To do this, OMB issued guidance with 19 criteria deemed essential for effective cyber critical infrastructure protection planning that must be included in the plans. This report determined: (1) the extent to which agencies developed their plans and whether they submitted them to OMB by the deadline; and (2) whether the plans met criteria in OMB's guidance. Illus.
Since 2001, the Nat. Archives and Records Admin. (NARA) has been working to develop a modern Electronic Records Archive (ERA) system, a major info. system that is intended to preserve and provide access to massive volumes of all types and formats of electronic records. Software and contracting problems led the agency and its contractor to revise the development approach. The revised plan called for parallel development of two different increments: a "base" ERA system with limited functionality and an Exec. Office of the Pres. (EOP) system to support the ingestion and search of records from the outgoing Bush Admin. This report summarizes NARA's progress in developing the ERA system and the ongoing risks the agency faces in completing it.
The fed. gov't. anticipates spending $79 billion on info. tech. (IT) in FY 2011. The Office of Mgmt. and Budget (OMB) plays a key role in overseeing the implementation and mgmt. of federal IT investments. It is critical for OMB and federal agencies to provide appropriate program oversight and ensure adequate transparency. In 2009 OMB deployed a public Web site known as the IT Dashboard that provides detailed info. on 800 major federal IT investments, incl. assessments of these investments' performance against cost and schedule targets. This testimony discusses OMB's efforts to improve the oversight and mgmt. of federal IT investments through the use of the Dashboard and other efforts. Illus. This is a print on demand report.
In Aug. 2008, the IRS began defining a new strategy for modernizing the way it manages individual taxpayer accounts. The strategy, known as Customer Account Data Engine (CADE) 2, is expected to provide service, compliance, and other benefits to IRS and to taxpayers beginning in 2012. This report: (1) determines whether IRS has identified the expected benefits of CADE 2 and set targets for measuring success; (2) examines the estimated costs and assess IRS's process for developing them; and (3) assesses IRS's process for managing the risks associated with CADE 2 and describes the risks IRS has identified using this process. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.
Recent foreign-based intrusions on the computer systems of U.S. fed. agencies and businesses highlight the vulnerabilities of the interconnected networks that comprise the Internet, as well as the need to adequately address the global security and governance of cyberspace. Fed. law give a number of fed. entities respon. for representing U.S. cyberspace interests abroad, in collab. with the private sector. This report identifies: (1) significant entities and efforts addressing global cyberspace security and governance issues; (2) U.S. entities responsible for addressing these issues and the extent of their involvement at the international level; and (3) challenges to effective U.S. involvement in global cyberspace security and governance efforts. Charts and tables.
Environmental satellites provide data that are used for forecasting the weather, measuring variations in climate over time, and predicting space weather. In planning for the next generation of these satellites, federal agencies originally sought to fulfill weather, climate, and space weather requirements. However, in 2006, federal agencies restructured two key satellite acquisitions. This involved removing key climate and space weather instruments. This report: (1) assessed plans for restoring the capabilities that were removed from the two key satellite acquisitions; and (2) evaluated federal efforts to establish a strategy for the long-term provision of satellite-provided space weather, and climate data. Charts and tables.
In addition to providing aviation weather products developed at its own facilities, the National Weather Service (NWS) also provides on-site staff at each of the Federal Aviation Admin. (FAA's) en route centers -- the facilities that control high-altitude flight outside the airport tower and terminal areas. Over the last few years, FAA and NWS have been exploring options for enhancing the efficiency of the aviation weather services provided at en route centers. This report: (1) determines the status and plans of efforts to restructure the center weather service units; (2) evaluates efforts to establish a baseline of the current performance provided by these units; and (3) evaluates challenges to restructuring them. Charts and tables.
In FY 2008, the FAA plans to spend $2 billion on info. technology (IT) investments -- many of which support FAA¿s air traffic control modernization. To more effectively manage such investments, in 2005 the Office of Mgmt. and Budget required agencies to use earned value mgmt. (EVM). EVM is a project mgmt. approach that provides objective reports of project status, produces early warning signs of impending schedule delays and cost overruns, and provides unbiased estimates of a program¿s total costs. This report: assesses FAA¿s policies for implementing EVM on its IT investments; evaluates whether the agency is adequately using these techniques to manage key IT acquisitions; and assesses the agency¿s efforts to oversee EVM compliance. Tables.
The IRS Business Systems Modernization (BSM) program is a multi-billion dollar, high risk, highly complex effort that involves the development and delivery of a number of modernized systems that are intended to replace the agency's aging business and tax processing systems. As required, IRS submitted its FY 2010 expenditure plan in Nov. 2009 to Congress, requesting approximately $254 million from the BSM account. The objectives in this review of the expenditure plan were to: (1) determine whether it satisfies the applicable legislative conditions; (2) determine IRS's progress in implementing prior expenditure plan review recommendations; and (3) provide additional observations about the plan and the BSM program. Includes recommend. Illus.
Computer networks and infrastructures, on which the U.S. and much of the world rely to communicate and conduct business, contain vulnerabilities that can leave them susceptible to unauthorized access, disruption, or attack. Investing in research and development (R&D) is essential to protect critical systems and to enhance the cybersecurity of both the government and the private sector. Federal law has called for improvements in cybersecurity R&D, and, recently, President Obama has stated that advancing R&D is one of his administration's top priorities for improving cybersecurity. This report determined the key challenges in enhancing national-level cybersecurity R&D efforts among the federal government and private companies. Illus.
The electric industry is increasingly incorporating IT systems into its operations to improve reliability and efficiency. If these efforts are not implemented securely, the electric grid could become more vulnerable to attacks and loss of services. To address this concern, the NIST and FERC were given responsibility for coordinating the development and adoption of smart grid guidelines and standards. This report: (1) assesses the extent to which NIST has developed smart grid cybersecurity guidelines; (2) evaluates FERC¿s approach for adopting and monitoring smart grid cybersecurity and other standards; and (3) identifies challenges associated with smart grid cybersecurity. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.
This is a print on demand edition of a hard to find publication. To address pervasive computer-based (cyber) attacks against the U.S. that posed potentially devastating impacts to systems and operations, the fed. gov¿t. has developed policies and strategies intended to combat these threats. A key development was in Feb. 2009, when Pres. Obama initiated a review of the government's overall strategy and supporting activities with the aim of assessing U.S. policies and structures for cybersecurity. The resulting policy review report issued in May 2009 provided 24 near- and mid-term recommendations to address these threats. This report assessed the implementation status of the 24 recommendations. This report analyzed the policy review report and assessed agency documentation. Charts and tables.
The Nat. Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) is a tri-agency acquisition -- managed by the NOAA, DoD, and NASA -- that has experienced escalating costs, schedule delays, and technical difficulties. These factors led to a June 2006 decision to restructure the program by reducing the number of satellites and sensors, increasing estimated costs to $12.5 billion, and delaying the first two satellites by 3-5 years. This report evaluates progress in restructuring the acquisition, assesses the status of key program components and risks, and assesses NASA¿s, NOAA¿s, and DoD¿s plans for obtaining the data originally planned to be collected by NPOESS sensors, but eliminated by the restructuring. Includes recommend. Tables.
Since 2001, the National Archives and Records Admin. (NARA) has been developing an Electronic Records Archive (ERA) to preserve and provide access to massive volumes of electronic records independent of their original hardware and software. The 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act requires NARA to submit an expenditure plan for ERA to Congress. The objectives of this report were to: (1) determine whether NARA's FY 2009 plan meets the legislative conditions set forth in the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations Act; (2) provide an update on NARA's progress in implementing recommendations made in a review of NARA's 2008 expenditure plan; and (3) provide any other observations about the expenditure plan and the ERA acquisition. Tables.
The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) mission is to promote the safe, orderly, & expeditious flow of air traffic in the U.S. airspace system. To this end, FAA is modernizing its air traffic control systems, a multibillion dollar effort that has been designated as a high-risk program. Research into the practices of successful public- & private-sector organizations has shown that developing & using an enterprise architecture, or blueprint, to guide & constrain systems investments is crucial to the success of such a modernization effort. This report determines whether FAA has established an effective processes for managing the development & implementation of an enterprise architecture. Includes recommendations. Charts & tables.
Each year the federal government spends billions of dollars oninformation technology (IT) investments. Given the importance ofoversight, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) established a public Web site, referred to as the IT Dashboard, that provides detailed information on about 800 federal IT investments, including assessments of actual performance against cost and schedule targets (referred to as ratings). This report: (1) determined OMB's efforts to improve the Dashboard and how it is using data from the Dashboard; and (2) examined the accuracy of the Dashboard's cost and scheduleperformance ratings. Includes recommendations. Charts and tables. This is a print on demand report.
Since 2001, NARA has been working to develop an Electronic Records Archive (ERA) to preserve and provide access to massive volumes of all types of electronic records. NARA originally planned to complete the system in 2012, but has repeatedly revised the program schedule and estimated cost, and is now planning to deploy an ERA system with reduced functionality by the end of FY 2011. NARA was required to submit an expenditure plan to Congress to support its request for FY 2011 ERA funding. This review of the FY 2011 plan: (1) determines whether the plan satisfies legislative conditions; and (2) determines the extent to which NARA has implemented prior recommendations. Illus. This is a print on demand report.
THE CLASSIC CHILDBIRTH HANDBOOK--COMPLETELY REVISED AND UPDATED IN FULL COLOR Edition after acclaimed edition, Oxorn-Foote Human Labor & Birth has provided the most comprehensive, yet accessible overview of obstetrics available. Going beyond scientific theory and a technological orientation, this landmark guide is written for the real world of clinical practice, as it expertly examines all mechanisms of human labor and delivery. The book begins with a valuable review of clinical anatomy, then thoroughly examines the three stages of labor, with a focus on proper management and birthing techniques. Specific guidance on the full spectrum of complications and delivery situations, including Cesarean section, breech presentation, transverse lie, umbilical cord issues, dystocia, and more are also presented. A final section addresses such critical concerns as preterm labor, antepartum hemorrhage, and maternal and fetal complications in labor. FEATURES NEW! Full-color design with hundreds of original, skill-sharpening illustrations NEW! Insightful, timely chapter on the challenges of obesity in pregnancy NEW! Essential coverage of modern techniques for the management of postpartum hemorrhage NEW! Expanded review of multiple pregnancy
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