DHS needs to address significant risks in delivering the technology component of its multi-year, multi-billion dollar Secure Border Initiative, GAO has said.
It said the technology component of the border program, referred to as SBInet, involves the acquisition, development, integration, and deployment of surveillance systems and command, control, communications, and intelligence technologies.
Important aspects of SBInet remain ambiguous and in a continued state of flux, making it unclear and uncertain what technology capabilities will be delivered and when, where, and how they will be delivered, according to GAO-08-1148T.
It said for example that the scope and timing of planned SBInet deployments and capabilities have continued to be delayed without becoming more specific, and also that the program office does not have an approved integrated master schedule to guide the execution of the program, and the nature and timing of planned activities has continued to change.
This schedule-related risk is exacerbated by the continuous change in, and the absence of a clear definition of, the approach that is being used to define, develop, acquire, test, and deploy SBInet, said GAO.
It said also that SBInet requirements have not been effectively defined and managed.
The program finalized guidance in February 2008 but that was not used in a number of important requirements-related activities, something GAO said led to a lack of alignment among different levels of requirements.
Testing has also been a problem. A test management strategy was drafted in May 2008, but it has not been finalized and approved, and it does not contain, among other things, a high-level master schedule of SBInet test activities, metrics for measuring testing progress, and a clear definition of testing roles and responsibilities, according to GAO.
