August 10, 1998

Review of the U.S. Department of Energy's Information Management Systems

The Federal emphasis on reinventing Government and the end of the Cold War have driven change at the Department of Energy. In the midst of this change, the Department’s Information Architecture Program was initiated. Over the past several years, the Department realized that information management and strategic planning efforts must focus on the utility and management of information, rather than management of technology. The importance of an information architecture was also recognized by Congress through the Clinger-Cohen Act of 1996. This law required the establishment of a Chief Information Officer position in each Federal agency with the responsibility to develop and implement an integrated information architecture. The objective of this audit was to determine whether the Department had developed and implemented an Information Technology Architecture.