The Department of Defense needs to use new controls in
acquiring and developing software, the General Accounting
Office has said.
After studying the acquisitions and development processes
in various military programs, its found that successful
managers use three fundamental strategies to ensure quality
and stay on schedule and within budget: working in an
evolutionary environment where expectations are realistic
and improvements incremental, following a disciplined
development process, and measuring progress in a meaningful
way by focusing on cost, schedule, project size, performance
requirements, testing, defects, and quality.
Such controls were the difference between successful programs
GAO looked at, such as those for the F/A-18 C/D fighter and
the Tomahawk missile, and programs facing schedule delays
and cost overruns, as in the case of the F/A-22 aircraft, a
space-based infrared system, a missile-detection satellite
system, and Comanche helicopters.
DoD’s plans to improve software programs are not yet complete
and more work is required to ensure controls that would help
managers increase the chances of successful acquisition
outcomes, said GAO. www.gao.gov
