Agencies' information technology plans neglect performance measurements

Federal agencies generally have active plans for information technology but do not do a good enough job of determining whether they have met their goals, according to a General Accounting Office (GAO) report released Wednesday.

Agency goals are not always linked to measurements that are tracked, making it unclear whether their IT investments are wisely spent, the report (GAO-04-49) said.

GAO found that 44 percent had IT plans and measurements in place, while 37 percent partially did and 17 percent did not. Some agencies said their reason for not having a complete process in place was the lack of a chief information officer, while others said the absence of requirements was an oversight that would be remedied soon.

GAO recommended that the agencies implement specific IT planning, implementation and performance measurements.