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From page 1... ... Like its predecessors, this report draws on IRS documents, agency briefings, foflow-up meetings of committee subgroups, committee members' expertise, and deliberations. Over the past 4 years, the committee has noted a number of beneficial changes in the IRS during the TSM program, including: � the distribution of a concise business vision document; � an agency-wide evaluation of how best to reorganize processes and people to leverage the capabilities provided by TSM; � the inclusion of the Human Resources organization and the National Treasury Employees Union in the decision-making process; � the creation of the privacy advocate position; � the creation of an architect's office, staffed with experienced system developers; � the use of "technology refresh" clauses in procurement vehicles to reduce the use of obsolete technology; and � the adoption of an incremental development schedule based on realistic functional requirements and existing capabilities. Read the entire page →
From page 2... ... ~ The Concept of Operations, Business Master Plan, Design Master Plan, and Integrated Transition Plan/Schedule must be made more precise during the current revision period by removing duplication, blending the plans from top to bottom, and matching them with the major goals in the business vision. The committee emphasizes that comments and recommendations that appear to be critical of the fRS and TSM should not be interpreted as a diminution of the committee's strong and continued support for TSM. Read the entire page →
From page 3... ... Over time, however, both the committee and the IRS began to discuss the ramifications of TSM for almost every aspect of IRS operations, including human resources, training, operational support, and facilities management. The committee issued an interim report to the commissioner of internal revenue on August 21, 1991, and published a full report in 1992.2 The reports focused on the overall aspects of the TSM project and how the project would affect the IRS. Read the entire page →
From page 4... ... During ~ 994, the committee again met with fRS representatives to discuss what had transpired since the committee's ~ 992 full report and the IRS's plans for the future. Among the significant activities performed by the fRS during that period were: � the refinement of the privacy policy document and the hiring of the privacy advocate, � the publication of the Business Master Plan, including a concise vision of where the IRS hoped to be in operations and taxpayer services by 2001, � a major reorganization of the IRS into core business groups that are headed by chief officers, � the elevation of the TSM program manager to the executive level, and � the start of the detailed planning for the transition of TSM into the operational areas. Read the entire page →
From page 5... ... The Business Master Plan must be revised and seated back to the true essentials that will achieve the business vision without destroying it. � Several "risk scenarios" {i.e., contingency plans} anticipating several different funding levels must be developed to allow the IRS to deal with future changes. Read the entire page →
From page 6... ... Some problems are inherited, while others exist because of the sheer magnitude of the task at hand. Most importantly, there are no coherent software structural descriptions (architecture} by which to judge implementation issues or that will permit rational management of the overall software development effort. Read the entire page →
From page 7... ... Therefore the committee must express serious concern that no such representations of software structural descriptions exist and that no representation standard has been selected for this purpose. An SSD is necessary for understanding and validating the functionality of a system, as well as providing a basis for predicting and measuring the performance of the system against the specified performance requirements. Read the entire page →
From page 8... ... At this time, the committee is concerned that the IRS lacks the proper mix of skilled and experienced technical and management personnel to fully carry out all of the TSM plans. The IRS is clearly aware of this deficiency, and various efforts to improve this situation are under way, including training, recruiting, and process improvement. Read the entire page →
From page 9... ... The committee has three suggestions with regard to process improvement: � The IRS should prepare an overall process improvement plan {including suppliers of software} that is closely coordinated with the schedules and needed capability levels of the technical plans for TSM. Such a plan, at the top level, should spell out needed development capability levels (not just the SE' levels} for various groups of IRS developers {e.g., all personnel involved in database development should be trained in data modeling techniques and structured query language}. Read the entire page →
From page 10... ... These methods have been effective in evaluating contracts before award and in providing incentives to contractors to put software process improvement programs into effect. �~ Hire people experienced in software development management procedures for both contractor selection and contractor supervision. Read the entire page →
From page 11... ... As an initial and general recommendation with respect to privacy, the committee urges the IRS to seek to correct the agency conditions that threaten taxpayer privacy {as discussed below}. If it is successful in this effort, the IRS couIct assume a leadership role among federal agencies regarding the protection of information and personal privacy. Read the entire page →
From page 12... ... The same shared view that helps create teamwork and esprit de corps may also create blinders. For example, in working to increase taxpayer compliance, IRS personnel might assume that citizens who are concerned about their privacy must have "something to hide." The diversity of views among advisory committee members may help sensitize IRS employees to the importance of respecting privacy without simultaneously suspecting fraud. Read the entire page →
From page 13... ... There is not only a possibility that disclosure of taxpayer data to third parties can undermine voluntary compliance, but also the serious possibility that other agencies and organizations will violate taxpayers' privacy through the use of such data. Currently, the IRS has processes to perform compliance reviews to determine whether other organizations using IRS data are abiding by IRS guidelines for the use of the data and for the protection of privacy. Read the entire page →
From page 14... ... A revised TSM security architecture will be developed only after these TSM security requirements have been completed. While this process was started later than both the IRS and the committee desired, the committee strongly endorses the policy-to-requirements-to-architecture flow, providing that the tRS enforces hard deadlines for the accomplishment of each step. Read the entire page →
From page 15... ... It is recommended that TSM security personnel work with the new IRS privacy advocate to develop metrics to be included within the TSM security requirements that will enable the IRS to assess when TSM has succeeded in supporting the IRS's security and privacy policies. These metrics should be approved by the IRS privacy advocate in writing and shouIct be reviewed by IRS privacy stakeholder groups {e.g., the GAO, Commissioner's Advisory Groupl. Read the entire page →
From page 16... ... The committee has reviewed the Business Master Plan, the Integrated Transition Plan/Schedule, and the revised Design Master Plan. The tRS is also currently developing a concept of operations document to serve as the central TSM document. Read the entire page →
From page 17... ... As such, it should be expected to address the tactical plans of the operational leaders in much the same way as the Design Master Plan addresses the tactical plans of the chief information officer. A list of these plans explaining the relationship of each to the chief officers has been supplied to the committee, but the tactical plans have not been reviewed at this time. Read the entire page →
From page 18... ... Integrated Transition Plan/Schedule The Integrated Transition Plan/Schedule {ITP/S} is, by its nature, limited to modernization only. The charts presented to the committee combine all areas except Information Systems {IS} and Management and Administration {M&A} into a catchall category called "business operations." In an industrial business plan, the business operations of the chief officers are usually spelled out individually. Read the entire page →
From page 19... ... The postevaluation mechanisms and consequent rewards should be more clearly described. It would be helpful to indicate what lessons have been learned to date from some of the longer-running projects like the Document Processing System, so that such lessons can be used to guide future management actions. Read the entire page →
From page 20... ... This type of integration facility is often used in large development projects to centralize configuration management and problem reporting and response, and to update distribution and technological evolution. While the merits of such a centralized approach are understood, some individual committee members have expressed the view that this technology transfer will have to take place twice, and at added cost: once from the project to the integration facility, and a second time from that facility to the operating location. Read the entire page →
From page 21... ... � Contractors. As noted previously to the committee, the IRS lacks sufficient competence to manage and lead large contractor efforts. Read the entire page →
From page 22... ... A specific program built around the capabilities needed for TSM should be instituted. HR Organization The Human Resources organization fits into the overall IRS modernization strategic and business plan in the following five major areas: � IRS/National Treasury Employees Union {NTEU}, � Training, � Facilities planning, � Communications, and � Translation of systems to Human Resources programs. Read the entire page →
From page 23... ... In all cases, the curriculum will be linked to the IRS's mission and the Business Master Plan. The key building blocks for the corporate education structure will be the concepts of continuous learning; building on previous skills; delivery of "just-in-time" training; and the use of effective, stateof-the-art delivery methods. Read the entire page →
From page 24... ... TELECOMMUNICATIONS Treasury Communications System Schedule In prior reports, the committee observed that the Treasury Communications System (TCS} is a requisite portion of the infrastructure required to support TSM. Initially scheduled to be awarded in ~ 993 {still pending}, the TCS is intended to replace the Treasury Consolidated Data Network {CON}, providing a data communications utility for TSM well into the next century. Read the entire page →
From page 25... ... These concerns emanate in significant part from an apparent lack of stated targets for this network parameter, particularly in light of the evolving distributed TSM architecture and TSM communications and data security requirements. For example, given maximum connectivity per the IRS's Design Master Plan, an SIRS user's data might need to transit three focal area networks, two bridge/routers, and a voice/data switch to get to TCS, with the potential for similar offTCS connectivity at the data's destination. Read the entire page →

From page 1...

... Like its predecessors, this report draws on IRS documents, agency briefings, foflow-up meetings of committee subgroups, committee members' expertise, and deliberations. Over the past 4 years, the committee has noted a number of beneficial changes in the IRS during the TSM program, including: � the distribution of a concise business vision document; � an agency-wide evaluation of how best to reorganize processes and people to leverage the capabilities provided by TSM; � the inclusion of the Human Resources organization and the National Treasury Employees Union in the decision-making process; � the creation of the privacy advocate position; � the creation of an architect's office, staffed with experienced system developers; � the use of "technology refresh" clauses in procurement vehicles to reduce the use of obsolete technology; and � the adoption of an incremental development schedule based on realistic functional requirements and existing capabilities.

Contents of Report Pages 1-26

Contents of Report
Pages 1-26