Independent Project Oversight Report (IPOR) Rating

Key Questions

Is the project on track to satisfy the customer's business objectives?Uncertain

Is the project on track to achieve the objectives in the approved timeframe?No

Is the project on track to achieve the objectives within the approved budget?Uncertain

Project Overall Health

Comments

Yellow

During the September 2026 assessment period, the project’s overall health is yellow, trending red. Phase 1 OL: Control Cashiering/Inventory Management (CC/IM) functionality is now planned to go-live November 7, 2026. Phase 2 VR: The go-live date of January 19, 2027, is unlikely, and the CDT recommends the new date be documented in the Special Project Report #3. The CDT is observing the effectiveness of a new Product-Oriented Delivery (POD) team to accelerate development and testing. Phase 3 DL/ID: The DMV continued working on procurement-related activities. The team released the pre-solicitation in September. California State Transportation Agency reviewed Special Project Report #3.

Focus Area/Rating	Comments
Governance Yellow	During the September 2026 assessment period, the project’s Governance Management health is yellow, based on observations and analysis of governance processes. • The VR go-live date changed from September 14, 2026, to January 19, 2027, and there is a high probability the revised date will not be met. • The CDT recommends that options for a new VR go-live date be presented to the Steering Committee in October to determine a realistic new date. • DMV leadership continues to improve VR defect and release management processes. • The DMV submitted several draft Statements of Work (SOWs) for ancillary workstreams for the VR and DL/ID phases. • Special Project Report (SPR) #3 was under review by the California State Transportation Agency (CalSTA) to add Assembly Bill (AB) 1766 scope, extend the project timeline, and increase the total project cost. • The cadence and required attendees for regular DL/ID project meetings is being established, and the first DL/ID Steering Committee meeting occurred on September 24, 2026.
Time Management Red	During the September 2026 assessment period, the project’s Time/Schedule Management health remains red based on observations and analysis of the Project Schedule Milestones and Deliverables. • The VR Development team regrouped in September and successfully deployed Package 18; lessons learned are being included for Package 19. • Development defect remediation velocity in September is too slow to maintain the VR schedule. • System Integration Testing (SIT) velocity is too slow to maintain the VR phase schedule. The revised SIT end date was missed, and the projection is now early 2027; no new go-live date has been proposed. • CDT recommends that the DMV immediately start working on a DL/ID master schedule with relevant activities, tasks, and dependencies for this phase. • DMV leadership is focused on increasing the velocity of VR SIT and defect remediation and implemented several process improvements in September. • All field offices are now in production for the DL/ID pilot.
Cost & Contract Management Green	During the September 2026 assessment period, the project’s Cost & Contract Management health improved to green, based on observations and analysis of the project’s costs and contracts • Cost is tracking within the approved budget. • The contract management processes have improved and are effective. • The pre-solicitation for the DL/ID Request for Proposal (RFP) was released in September, and responses are due October 15. • The DMV awarded four new DL/ID contracts (Human Capital Design, Foundational Services, Data Profiling, and Legacy Services Sync).
Scope Management Red	During the September 2026 assessment period, the project’s Scope Management health remained red, based on observations and analysis of the project’s scope and related processes. • The CDT recommends the VR phase of the project prioritize urgent defects before Change Requests (CRs). • The Heat Map containing gaps for the VR Minimum Viable Product Scope for Day 1 was formally confirmed. • The Executive Governance Committee classified one VR CR as a defect and conceptually approved two others. • The DL/ID requirements are medium to high-level, increasing risk to scope creep. • The CDT recommends that the IV&V review the requirements before the DL/ID RFP is formally released. • The executive team approved the replanned go-live date for the OL Control Cashiering/Inventory Management (CC/IM) effort.
Resources Yellow	During the September 2026 assessment period, this focus area remained yellow. • The overall vacancy rate remains high at 29%, with 32 vacant positions of 109 authorized. • Leadership approved additional consulting resources. • The CDT recommends accelerating the recruitment process for DL/ID vacant positions so that the key project team members are onboard before contracts are awarded and to minimize risk of overlapping work with Phase 2 - VR.
Quality Red	During the September 2026 assessment period, the project’s Quality Management health is red based on observations and analysis of Quality metrics and performance. • The VR SIT initial pass rate dropped in September: From 22% for Key Functions to 17%, From: 44% for Pre-Integration to 35%, and from 40% for Comprehensive test cases to 29%. • VR Rank 0 (highest priority) was at 11% pass rate with 77% executed. • As of September 30, 2026, VR open defects increased from 744 at the start of the month to 1042. Urgent blockers increased from 132 to 177, but 34 were ready for testing. • The CDT is reviewing the updated DL/ID quality management plan. • The CDT recommends the project strengthen DL/ID requirements traceability and validation processes early to avoid downstream rework.
Risk And Issues Green	During the September 2026 assessment period, the project’s Risk and Issue health remains green. • The risk and issue management process is effective and remains green for September. • The leadership team is actively working on the continued low testing velocity issue. • The project will follow the established Risks and Issue Project Management Plan and processes for the DL/ID phase. • The CDT’s independent observations of the highest risks impacting the project are: o VR Testing velocity o Scope creep o Overlapping VR SIT with User Acceptance Testing (UAT) o VR Code quality issues o External dependencies, such as business partners o Technical cutover data challenges o Phase 3 DL/ID requirements, schedule, resources, and cost, including adding AB 1766 scope.
Transition Readiness Red	During the September 2026 assessment period, the project’s Transition Readiness health was red based on observations and analysis of the activities performed and plans for VR cutover. • VR Training delivery timeline and quality continue to be high risk due to software defects. • The VR partner testing dates need to be revised and communicated. • The CDT recommends the DL/ID phase training team engage with the VR training team to develop a schedule and plan logistics, leveraging lessons learned from Phase 2- VR.
Conditions For Approval Green	There are five conditions associated with SPR #2 approval. • Condition #1, # 2, 3, and #4 were met. • Condition #5 is due by November 1, 2026.
Corrective Action Green	The project has no Corrective Action Plan Items.

• Special Project Report 2 (pdf)
• Special Project Report 1 (pdf)
• Stage 4 Project Readiness and Approval Phase 2 (pdf)
• Stage 3 Solution Analysis (pdf)
• Stage 2 Alternative Analysis (pdf)
• Stage 1 Business Analysis (pdf)