Report 2016-125.2 Recommendation 3 Responses

Report 2016-125.2: The University of California Office of the President: Increasing Costs and Scheduling Delays Have Hampered the UCPath Project and Originally Anticipated Savings Are Unlikely to Materialize (Release Date: August 2017)

Recommendation #3 To: University of California Board of Regents

To ensure that they are able to exercise necessary oversight for the university's significant IT projects, the regents should develop status reporting standards for the Office of the President and all university locations to follow by December 2017. Such reporting standards should apply to all university IT projects with more than a specified cost and, at a minimum, should establish the types of significant project risks the Office of the President and all university locations must disclose. The updates should also describe the actions the Office of the President and all university locations are taking to mitigate the risks and the potential effects of those risks on a project's cost, schedule, and scope.

6-Month Agency Response

The Board of Regents approved a new policy related to significant IT project reporting for all projects budgeted or estimated above $5 million.

Policy 5103: (http://regents.universityofcalifornia.edu/governance/policies/5103.html )

The policy establishes the types of disclosures the Office of the President and all university locations must present about each IT project including, changes in scope, projected cost, and schedule. Projects budgeted or estimated above $25 million have an additional reporting requirement, established and agreed by all UC locations and approved by the Regents, to provide more detailed status on the project including specific sections on status and changes in scope, projected cost, risk and schedule. They are also asked to outline the specific actions in response to changes in scope, projected cost, risk or schedule.

The first triannual reporting was made to the Regents at the March 2018 meeting. The next report/dashboard will be provided to the Regents at the July 2018 meeting.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The University will draft a policy for large IT projects of $25M or greater that will establish (1) the frequency with which the Office of the President and all university locations report project status to the regents, (2) the types of disclosures the Office of the President and all university locations must present about each IT project to the regents, and (3) the types of significant project risks the Office of the President and all university locations must disclose and steps being taken to mitigate the risks on significant IT projects. Regental approval for the new policy is targeted for November 2017.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Pending

All Recommendations in 2016-125.2

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.