Audit faults state I.T. oversight

SACRAMENTO — The state’s dismal record on creating new computer systems, many of which come in over budget and past deadline, is partly the fault of poor oversight by the California Department of Technology, a state audit has concluded.

The agency lacks guidance for stopping or fixing troubled projects and suffers a high turnover of staff that hinders its work, the report says.

State Auditor Elaine Howle recommended a stronger role for stepping in when projects cost more than the allotted budget and take longer than expected to complete.

“The State has a history of failed IT projects — between 1994 and 2013, for example, the State terminated or suspended seven IT projects after spending almost $1 billion,” Howle wrote to Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers last week.

The state currently has 45 projects under development with a reported cost of more than $4 billion that the agency is supposed to oversee, she said. “Six of these projects with total costs of over $575 million have problems that are negatively impacting the project’s progress, which could result in delays and cost overruns,” Howle wrote.

She concluded that the agency’s oversight should continue to be designated as a “high-risk” issue requiring additional attention.

The auditor cited problem projects such as the Department of Consumer Affairs’ BreEZe system that licenses doctors, contractors, auto repair shops and others. That project has seen its cost increase from $28 million in 2009 to $96 million as of January, and it helps only half of the entities originally planned, another audit found.

Auditors said the Department of Technology was aware of significant problems on two other projects but “it did not intervene to require the sponsoring agencies to correct such problems. The agency ultimately terminated one of these projects and suspended the other.”

Director Carlos Ramos said in a letter to auditors that his agency is aware of the need for improvement and is taking steps to provide better oversight, including new training and changes in how projects are approved. The agency “is committed to continue to improve the services associated with the successful delivery of information technology,” Ramos said.