Summary: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), like other federal agencies, has been working to safeguard its critical computer systems against possible failures resulting from the Year 2000 problem. OPM's preparedness for the upcoming date change at the turn of the century is vital to ensuring the continuation of important functions, such as processing annuity payments to federal retirees and their survivors. In addition to preparing critical computer systems for the Year 2000, federal agencies need to develop plans to ensure the continuity of their operations in the event of systems failures. The agencies should also prepare for possible disruptions to critical services like power, water, and telecommunications. This report reviews OPM's business continuity and contingency planning efforts to manage and mitigate the risks of Year 2000-related business failures. GAO evaluates OPM's efforts to (1) develop an overall planning strategy for ensuring the continuity of agency operations, (2) assess the risk and impact of system failures on the agency's core business processes, (3) prepare contingency plans that include procedures and timetables for continuing agency operations in the event that critical systems fail, and (4) test the contingency plans to determine their effectiveness.
