In a review that found ongoing system development issues related to an Enterprise Business System for the Naval Reactors Program, the Energy inspector general has said neither the reactors program nor the project contractors adequately considered the use of a commercial-off-the-shelf product prior to upgrading and modernizing the financial components of the business system, or EBS.
The Naval Reactors Program is within the National Nuclear Security Administration and provides the military with nuclear propulsion plants to power warships and submarines.
According to the IG, the project team was unable to provide any formal analyses or justification for developing the IT system in-house.
Further, it said despite spending over $10 million for the procurement phase of the EBS development effort that the EBS project had not been reported to the Department of Energy and OMB as a major IT investment, as required.
The weaknesses identified were due, in part, to the lack of adherence to federal and Naval reactors policies and procedures, the IG said, noting that a lack of a coordinated effort between the project stakeholders and team members likely contributed to project delays and cost increases.
Management generally concurred with recommendations to ensure that federal and department project management regulations are followed when proceeding with system development efforts, ensure that capital asset plans are completed for all IT investments and submitted to OMB, and to conduct internal assessments to ensure that system development projects are effectively managed.