Audit of NARA's Electronic Records Archives (ERA) 2.0 System

Date Issued

Friday, September 1, 2023

Submitting OIG

National Archives and Records Administration OIG

Other Participating OIGs

National Archives and Records Administration OIG

Agencies Reviewed/Investigated

National Archives and Records Administration

Report Number

23-AUD-06

Report Type

Audit

Agency Wide

Yes

Number of Recommendations

Questioned Costs

Funds for Better Use

Open Recommendations

This report has 2 open recommendations.

Recommendation Number	Significant Recommendation	Recommended Questioned Costs	Recommended Funds for Better Use
1	No	$0	$0
We noted that in OIG Audit Report No. 17-AUD-15, a suggestion was made to “modify NARA's SDLC methodology to align it better for agile projects” that has not been addressed. In addition to resolving this issue, we recommend NARA’s Information Services review and update the SDLC Methodology to ensure it reflects current NARA practices related to system development methodologies utilized at the agency. NARA should modify the description of their SDLC methodology processes to be more agile, by adopting the cyclical approach described in GAO’s Agile Assessment Guide – Best Practices for Agile Adoption and Implementation. The system development process should be focused on producing working software for users to test after each agile iteration, and for the software to be updated with user feedback after each cycle.
6	No	$0	$0
We recommend NARA’s Office of the Chief Financial Officer finalize Interim Guidance 400-5, Capitalization Policy for NARA Assets on capitalization of costs for Software Development Projects and enhance to address the scenario where programming and development for internal software is outsourced to external contractors. This should include the types of costs to be capitalized, materiality, and documentation requirements.