Investment planned for the Naval Tactical Command Support
System needs to be reassessed, the Government Accountability
Office has said.
The system, started in1995 to help Navy personnel manage
ship, submarine, and aircraft support activities, has not
been managed in accordance with key aspects of the
department’s policies and related guidance, including
federal and recognized best practices guidance, according
to GAO-06-215.
It said that to date, about $1 billion has been spent to
partially deploy NTCSS to about half of its intended sites
both on and off shore, but that the Navy has not justified
its ongoing and planned investment in the system.
The Navy has not reliably estimated future costs and
benefits and has not ensured that independent reviews of
its economic justification were performed to determine its
reliability, according to GAO.
It said the Navy has not invested within the context of a
well-defined enterprise architecture, necessary to guide
and constrain the system to promote interoperability and
reduce redundancy with related and dependent systems.
The Navy has not effectively measured, reported, budgeted,
or overseen the program, and in particular it has not
implemented earned value management processes to compare
performance against budget and schedule estimates, said
GAO, adding that oversight has been superficial.
Further, it said the Navy has not adequately conducted
requirements management and testing activities, and while
it has started to take steps intended to address some of
the above problems, NTCSS will remain a risky program until
management improves.