It is intended to allow gao auditors to assess the reliability of the management of processes and technologies critical to the success of capital acquisition programs using an incremental or agile approach to software development and the risk assumed by federal agencies in transitioning from a traditional to agile approach to software development. Software acquisition planning guidelines 3 acquisition strategy. Gao also analyzed program metrics, test and evaluation reports, and external program assessments. In 2015, we added the governments management of it acquisitions and. Inconsistent software acquisition processes at the defense logistics. The ongoing spadoc acquisition is divided into three evolutionary blocks a, b, and c. The current state of federal information technology. Software purchase agreements formerly known as smartbuy offers commodity software and services at deep discounts.
Sullivan currently serves as director, acquisition and sourcing management, at the u. Congress and gao have actively monitored the activities of the federal cio and. Performance against gao, dod, and the office of management. Chapter 19, software risk management, focuses on how to identify risks and manage them before they become problems. Of these, gao said eight organizations, including air force space and missile systems center smc and the national reconnaissance office nro, have space acquisition management responsibilities, 11 have oversight responsibilities and six are involved in setting requirements for defense space programs. Software developers and acquirers at firms that gao visited use three fundamental management strategies to ensure the delivery of highquality products on time.
Efforts to develop appropriate metrics for performance measurement and continual process improvement. The general accounting office took defense department acquisition practices to task last month in two reports. The air forces plan perhaps most closely resembles the theater battle management core system, or tbmcs, a project of the late 1990s and early 2000s to create software to be used across the. Military needs better controls for buying software. Gao says critical space c2 effort at risk breaking. Page 3 gao031073 space acquisition policy dod is now implementing a new acquisition management policy tailored to its space systems. Effective management of software licenses can help avoid purchasing too many licenses that result in unused software. Gao is making two recommendations that dod ensure its guidance that addresses software development provides specific, required direction on the timing, frequency, and documentation of user involvement and feedback. Multiple reports by the gao, the department of defense office of inspector. Gao concludes that the defense departments acquisition and softwaresecurity policies dont fully address the risk of using foreign suppliers to develop weaponsystems software. But navy officials argued that they gained important. Governmentwide acquisition contracts gwacs offer federal agencies access to software, training, and professional services as part of a total it solution. Gao finds dod middletier acquisition pathway needs more. It provides a master schedule for research, development.
Gao expresses pessimism that pdsa will truly improve dod. This memorandum follows recent office of management and budget omb guidance regarding new requirements for purchasing desktops and laptops. Chapter 20, best practices checklist and key points summary provides a final. The dod management technique that integrates all these essential acquisition activities is called the. Usafs space command and control program needs better. Mar 01, 2004 stronger management practices are needed to improve dods softwareintensive weapon acquisitions. Key questions for acquisition success the mitre corporation. Defense acquisition program support methodology guidebook version 2. Dod should manage software by measuring value delivered to the user rather than by. Sullivan director, acquisition and sourcing management team u.
One criticized dods method of purchasing services and the other slammed the defense logistics agency for its software procurement procedures. Stronger management required in dod software acquisitions. It is the framework for planning, directing, contracting for, and managing a program. Gao gao144 federal software licensesbetter management needed to achieve significant savings. The list, released last wednesday, states efforts to shore up problems with dod weapons systems acquisition remain unchanged since gao s last highrisk list in 2017.
While gao discusses the oversight of dod procurements in general, one especially important portion of the report was focused on the implementation of the middletier acquisition process. The government accountability office gao issued a new report of interest to the life cycle logistics and systems engineering communities. Eric fick should establish a process for measuring, collecting, and tracking data on how alis affects the f35 fleets performance and missioncapable rates across the air force, navy, and marine corps variants, which. Gao also was asked to evaluate dods efforts to develop programs for improving software acquisition processes and to assess how those efforts compare with leading companies practices. Gao blasts air forces alldomain battle management effort the air force has not established a plan or business case for abms that identifies its requirements, a plan to attain. Department of homeland security invests billions of dollars each year in new technologies such as facial recognition software, xray equipment, surveillance aircraft, and u. Today well be putting the spotlight on the acquisition and sourcing management asm team, which determines how efficiently and effectively the federal government is spending hundreds of billions in. Gao compiled practices where at least one agency was better positioned to implement a provision or realized an it management improvement or cost savings. In 2015, we added the governments management of it acquisitions and operations to the highrisk list. These investments often suffered from a lack of disciplined and effective management, such as project planning, requirements definition, and program oversight and governance. The current state of federal information technology acquisition. Software acquisition process improvement program requirements include the following. Common risks to consider in software cost estimating.
Its the program manager pm and software engineers job to manage the development of software and should uses standard project management techniques to managing a software project. Licensing stateoftheart software is supposed to help save the federal government money in it efficiency, but a new study by the government accountability office found that software mismanagement is costing many agencies millions in unnecessary costs. Gao19458t, space acquisitions senate armed services. In may 2014, gao reported that better management of licenses was needed to achieve savings, and made 6 recommendations to improve such management. More oversight needed for agile software acquisition. Gaos workforce is organized largely by subject area, with most employees working in 1 of 14 mission teams, many of which we have highlighted on the watchblog. The department of defenses expeditionary combat support system for an.
Military needs better controls for buying software fcw. Improving the management of it acquisitions and operations. Broader in scope, these studies address issues ranging from shortfalls in existing software acquisition policies and management to problems with the delivered software and shortages of qualified personnel. We provide centralized acquisition support for the forest service it program and for incident fire resources such as aircraft. Software management is the art and science of planning and leading software projects. Director, acquisition and sourcing management before the subcommittee on. Dod major defense acquisition programs continue not to fully implement. The government accountability office gao has reported that the federal. Humphrey software engineering institute and others in. June 26, 2019 gao19641t united states government accountability office. Best practices and leading practices in acquisition management. The two agencies are entering into a sprintbased discovery phase to address strategy, acquisition, and technology challenges and solutions, including cloud architecture and security configuration. As noted above, gao is seriously worried about what it sees as a lack of a clear acquisition strategy for the agile software development. Dod weapon system acquisition, gao high risk list dod is taking steps to address challenges faced by certain companies, jul 2017 adopting best practices can improve innovation investments and management, jun 2017.
The washington office acquisition management staff provides policy, oversight and operational support in the areas of acquisition, property management, and grants and agreements for the u. Traditional acquisition process below is a list of the phases that make up the dod acquisition process. Dod agrees with gaos recommendations that pentagon acquisition boss ellen lord and f35 program executive officer lt. Software, usaf weapon system software management guide, aug 08. The current acquisition guidance gives program officials discretion in managing foreign involvement in software developmentwithout requiring them to identify and. Stronger management practices are needed to improve dods softwareintensive weapon acquisitions.
For more on gao s reports and recommendations, see the key reports tab above. As air force acquisition head will roper has explained on numerous occasions, the. Software risk identification and development practices. While omb has a policy on a broader information technology it management initiative that is intended to assist agencies in gathering information on their it investments, including software licenses, it does not guide agencies. Department of education department is implementing this software asset management and acquisition policy sama policy to meet compliance standards, applicable laws, and licensing restrictions as outlined by executive order 103, computer software piracy. The government accountability office has called on the department of homeland security to improve its portfolio management efforts through. Provide acquisition and program management expertise and support for the developmentsee this and similar jobs on linkedin. Management in the defense acquisition education, training, and career. A business and technical management approach designed to achieve program objectives within the resource constraints imposed. A documented process for software acquisition planning, requirements development and management, project management and oversight, and risk management.
In the dod, software management is called software acquisition management. Information technology acquisition management issues testimony before the subcommittee on. Highlights of gao19641t, a testimony before the subcommittee on government. The federal information technology acquisition reform act fitara was enacted on december 19, 2014, to establish. Whats wrong with the air forces connect everything. According to gao, the office of management and budget and several other agencies inadequately manage their software licenses. Gaos acquisition and sourcing management team watchblog. Software and acquisition and practices study defense. It acquisition management makes gaos highrisk watch list. While omb has a policy on a broader information technology it management initiative that is intended to assist agencies in gathering information on their it investments, including software licenses, it does not guide agencies in. The list, released last wednesday, states efforts to shore up problems with dod weapons systems acquisition remain unchanged since gaos last highrisk list in 2017. Block a, which entered full scale development in 1983, is to provide the hardware and software to automate the assessment of foreign activities such as a nuclear detonation that might affect u. To conduct this work, gao analyzed acquisition and strategy documentation, management directives, and lessons learned.