Evaluation Report 14-21: Review of the LMAS Incremental Improvement Projects
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On September 30, 2014, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued Evaluation Report 14-21, Review of the LMAS Incremental Improvement Projects. This report presents the results of our review of the Loan Management and Accounting System (LMAS) Incremental Improvement Projects (IIP).
The OIG found that the LMAS modernization continues to progress, but the overall goal of moving off the mainframe has experienced multiple schedule delays. Current plans call for the completion of the mainframe migration early in 2015 instead of initial planned completion of September 2013. Prospectively, the LMAS project needs to ensure user acceptance testing protocols outlined in its system development guidance are followed.
Additionally, the OIG identified that the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) project oversight can be improved. The SBA’s information technology (IT) governance boards need to actively oversee projects and utilize tool–such as Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) services—to assess progress and initiate accountability reviews, or TechStats to redress underperforming projects, when necessary.
Finally, the SBA needs to ensure its Enterprise Architecture serves as the Agency roadmap for integrating proposed business requirements and technology solutions.
The OIG made four recommendations to the Chief Information Officer to improve project oversight controls and one recommendation to the Director of Systems and Performance Management, Office of Capital Access, to improve testing procedures. Both offices agreed to implement these recommendations.