Delivering Results, Innovation, Value, and Efficiency 3 – Optimize Retail Platform
Background
In fiscal year (FY) 2011, the U.S. Postal Service’s Executive Leadership Team (ELT), consisting of senior level managers, developed a plan for profitability under the Delivering Results, Innovation, Value, and Efficiency (DRIVE) initiative framework. This framework was designed to improve business strategy development and execution. Currently, there are 14 active DRIVE initiatives, including DRIVE Initiative 3 – Optimize Retail Platform.
The DRIVE Initiative 3 charter outlines its nine roadmaps for optimizing retail channels and access points, simplifying retail products and services, and enhancing the customer’s experience. These project roadmaps are intended to contribute to the initiative’s overall goals of creating a sustainable retail network, optimizing content and product offerings, and creating a transformative customer centric retail environment.
Our objective was to determine whether DRIVE Initiative 3 used established DRIVE project management processes.
What the OIG Found
Generally, management followed DRIVE project management processes; however, there were two exceptions that did not significantly impact the overall success of the DRIVE initiative. Management made a $276 million change to a roadmap metric’s FY 2016 target in the charter without submitting a change request for the ELT’s approval. Management considered this change an update that did not require a formal change request.
Postal Service policy requires a change control form for changes to charters and full ELT approval if the change adjusts the initiative’s financial target by $100 million or more.
Additionally, the Strategic Management Office manager initially requested and approved two exception requests, which is contrary to the requirement that different individuals request and approve them. Management realized this was an error and the requests were resubmitted; however, the new requestor was not authorized to submit exception requests.
These actions may increase the risk the initiative will not meet its goals and objectives, and the ELT will not be able to accurately evaluate Drive Initiative 3.
What the OIG Recommended
We recommended management reiterate DRIVE policy to specifically address submission of a change request or justification for charter roadmap metric changes, segregation of duties, and adherence to controls for the exception requests policy.