IT Dashboard: Selected Agencies’ Investment Ratings Fail to Fully Consider Risks

What GAO Found The Federal Information Technology (IT) Dashboard is intended to show the level of risk for an investment. The Dashboard reflects Chief Information Officers’ (CIO) ratings of risk. Selected agencies that GAO reviewed used different processes to develop their ratings. Most of these processes included some, if not all, of six factors that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) suggested. GAO’s assessments generally identified the presence of more risk compared to the associated CIO ratings. GAO determined its assessments based on investment risk documentation. Of the 53 investments assessed, GAO’s assessments matched the CIO ratings 27 times, showed more risk 24 times, and showed less risk two times (see graphic). Comparison of Selected Investment’s Chief Information Officer Ratings to GAO Assessments Two issues contributed to the differences between GAO and CIO ratings. Specifically, 21 of the 53 CIO ratings were not updated in a timely manner according to agencies’ processes. In addition, two agencies’ rating processes span longer than quarterly, contrary to OMB’s guidance. In April 2026, OMB announced that it was taking steps to sunset the Dashboard and replace it with a new streamlined system but did not provide a timeframe for its release. In the interim, it is critical that selected agencies address issues with their CIO ratings. Without doing so, critical IT investments may not receive proper oversight, and emerging risks may remain unidentified or unma