This document presents and discusses a self-assessment checklist that the General Accounting Office (GAO) developed to enable agency leaders to examine their human capital efforts through a process consisting of the following stages: analyze and plan; implement change; and evaluate and continuously improve. The preface defines the term "human capital," explains why agencies should conduct a human capital self-assessment, and outlines the basis for the GAO's approach to self-assessment. Presented next is an overview of the GAO's five-part framework for human capital self-assessment, which consists of the following components: (1) strategic planning; (2) organizational alignment; (3) leadership; (4) talent; and (5) performance culture. Seven cross-cutting considerations unifying the five components are also briefly considered. The next five sections discuss one of the framework's five parts in detail. Each discussion includes things to consider and key questions to ask when implementing the specific phase of the assessment process. The following items are appended: (1) 8 principles for managing people; (2) 10 key human capital management principles from 9 private sector organizations; (3) discussion of the criteria used to select Baldridge Award and Presidential Quality Award winners; (4) 17 useful measures/risk indicators for human capital management; and (5) list of 32 related GAO products. (MN)