A Performance Audit
A Report on Analysis of Quality Assurance Team Projects
November 2019
Summary Analysis
The State Auditor’s Office assisted the Quality Assurance Team (QAT) by performing an analysis of five major information system projects at five state agencies. The State Auditor’s Office selected those five projects based on input from the QAT.
It is important to note that this project was a non-audit service; therefore, the information in this report was not subject to all of the tests and confirmations that would be performed in an audit. However, the information in this report was subjected to certain quality control procedures to ensure accuracy. The agencies self-reported the information in this report, and the State Auditor’s Office did not independently verify that information.
At the time of the State Auditor’s Office analysis, four of the five projects were complete, and the remaining project was nearing completion. The five projects were:
- The Department of State Health Services’ (DSHS) Tuberculosis, HIV, and STD Integrated System (THISIS) Improvement Implementation project.
- The Health and Human Services Commission’s (HHSC) Women, Infants, and Children Information Network (WIC WIN) project. The State Auditor’s Office previously reported on the project in A Report on Analysis of Quality Assurance Team Projects (State Auditor’s Office Report No. 14-020, February 2014).
- The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles’ (TxDMV) WebDealer-eTitles (WebDealer) project.
- The Texas Department of Insurance’s (TDI) Document Management Project.
- The Texas Workforce Commission’s (TWC) Enterprise Contracting & Procurement System (ECPS), Phase II project.
Department of State Health Services (DSHS) management reported that that the TB, HIV, and STD Integrated System (THISIS) Improvement Implementation project met its anticipated objectives and achieved many of the benefits that it had detailed in the Business Case and Project Plan it submitted to the Quality Assurance Team (QAT). Additionally, DSHS management reported that the project was 98 percent complete and has an anticipated completion date of November 29, 2019. DSHS has exceeded its original budget by more than $2.3 million and its original timeline by more than 3 years. Management attributed the increases in the budget and timeline to factors including vendor performance issues and key resource availability.
Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) management reported that it implemented its Web-based Texas I ntegrated Network (TXIN) through the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Information Network (WIC WIN) project. TXIN both administers WIC client benefits and manages payment claims from participating food vendors. WIC is a federal nutrition program for pregnant and/or breastfeeding women and families with children who are at nutritional risk.
The State Auditor’s Office reported on the project’s status and changes during fiscal year 2014 in Report on Analysis of Quality Assurance Team Projects (State Auditor’s Office Report No. 14-020, February 2014). At the time of that report, the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) administered the WIC program and the WIC WIN project; however, HHSC assumed management of both on September 1, 2017, in accordance with Senate Bill 200 (84th Legislature, Regular Session).
According to HHSC, DSHS made the final change in WIC WIN’s project approach during fiscal year 2014, which was the eighth year of the project’s 12-year duration. DSHS stated that it changed the project approach due to guidance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service, the project’s federal funding agency. HHSC stated that WIC WIN was 100 percent federally funded.
According to Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (TxDMV) management, the WebDealer – eTitles project (WebDealer project) met the anticipated objectives and benefits detailed in its Business Case submitted to the Quality Assurance Team (QAT). The project was 43.2 percent under the original budget in its Business Case Workbook. However, the project exceeded its original scheduled end date by 4.2 years, which TxDMV attributed to project scope revisions, such as adding system functions.
According to Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) management, the Document Management Project (Project) met its anticipated objectives and benefits detailed in the Business Case that it submitted to the Quality Assurance Team (QAT). TDI reported that implementing a cloud storage solution instead of the originally planned hybrid solution helped reduce costs, allowing TDI to complete the Project for less than 64 percent of the original budget.
Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) management reported that it completed the second and final phase of its Enterprise Contracting & Procurement System (ECPS) project. In that second phase, TWC stated that it successfully expanded its Workforce Reporting, Accounting and Procurement System contracting module (WRAPS Contracts) to include functionalities from its legacy contracting system, Contract Administration & Tracking System (CATS). While the project ended 41.8 percent under the original budget, TWC increased the project’s original timeline by two months due to personnel availability.
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