Report 2014-116 Recommendation 21 Responses

Report 2014-116: California Department of Consumer Affairs' BreEZe System: Inadequate Planning and Oversight Led to Implementation at Far Fewer Regulatory Entities at a Significantly Higher Cost (Release Date: February 2015)

Recommendation #21 To: Consumer Affairs, Department of

If Consumer Affairs determines that a new IT project is warranted in the future, it should develop a process to ensure the success of that project that includes, at a minimum, planning and implementation of effective organizational change management.

1-Year Agency Response

The Department has deployed a skilled Organizational Change Management (OCM) team to assist the Release 2 boards and bureaus with their transition to BreEZe. This OCM team is charged with working with the Release 2 boards and bureaus to develop and assist in the implementation of new or revised business processes specific to each entity's business. At the conclusion of BreEZe Release 2 OCM activities the OCM documentation will be available. The Department has developed a process to ensure that its IT projects meet all project management documentation requirements during their planning phase (Attachment 2). This Department process requires any future IT project to include appropriate organizational change management activities as a project critical success factor.

Completion Date: March 2015
Response Date: February 2016

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

The Department has deployed a skilled Organizational Change Management (OCM) team to assist the Release 2 boards and bureaus with their transition to BreEZe. This OCM team is charged with working with the Release 2 boards and bureaus to develop and assist in the implementation of new or revised business processes specific to each entity's business. At the conclusion of BreEZe Release 2 OCM activities the OCM documentation will be available. Prior to any new IT project in the future, the Department will initiate this new organizational change management process making any refinements based on additional lessons learned and on the needs of the new project.

Completion Date: July 2015
Response Date: August 2015

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

Until Consumer Affairs develops a formal process to ensure that, at a minimum, it includes planning and implementation of effective organizational change management as part of a new IT project in the future, we will not consider this recommendation fully implemented. According to Consumer Affairs, it plans to provide us with a status update on its implementation of this recommendation in its one-year response.

Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation

60-Day Agency Response

Completion Date: November 2014
Response Date: April 2015

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

We followed-up with Consumer Affairs on the status of this recommendation as reported in its 60-day response, and learned that it intends on developing a plan that will include activities that address this recommendation after it implements BreEZe at the phase 2 regulatory entities. Thus, although Consumer Affairs has taken action to assist the phase 2 regulatory entities as it relates to organizational change management, not until it develops and finalizes a plan for future IT projects will we be able to fully assess its progress in implementing this recommendation.

Auditee did not substantiate its claim of full implementation

All Recommendations in 2014-116

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.