DOD Business Systems Modernization: Recent Slowdown in Institutionalizing Key Management Controls Needs to Be Addressed Page: 2 of 70
This report is part of the collection entitled: Government Accountability Office Reports and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
SGAO
Accountability. Integrity* Reliability
Highlights
Highlights of GAO-09-586, a report to
congressional committees
Why GAO Did This Study
Since 1995, GAO has designated the
Department of Defense's (DOD)
business systems modernization
program as high risk, and it
continues to do so today. To assist
in addressing DOD's business
system modernization challenges,
the Ronald W. Reagan National
Defense Authorization Act for
Fiscal Year 2005 (the Act) contains
provisions that require the
department to take certain actions
and to annually report to its
congressional committees on these
actions. The Act also directs GAO
to review each annual report. In
response, GAO performed its fifth
annual review of DOD's actions to
comply with key aspects in the Act
and related federal guidance. To do
so, GAO reviewed, for example, the
latest version of DOD's business
enterprise architecture (BEA) and
transition plan, investment
management policies and
procedures, and information in the
department's business system data
repositories.
Because GAO has existing
recommendations that address
most of the weaknesses discussed
in this report, it reiterates these
recommendations and further
recommends that DOD resolve the
issues surrounding key
modernization management
positions and the quality of
investment-related information.
DOD partially agreed with GAO's
recommendations and described
either commitments or actions
being planned or under way to
partially address them.
View GAO-09-586 or key components.
For more information, contact Randolph C.
Hite at (202) 512-3439 or hiter@gao.gov.DOD BUSINESS SYSTEMS MODERNIZATION
Recent Slowdown in Institutionalizing Key
Management Controls Needs to Be AddressedWhat GAO Found
The pace of DOD's progress in defining and implementing key institutional
modernization management controls has slowed compared with progress
made in each of the last 4 years, leaving much still to be accomplished to fully
implement the Act's requirements and related guidance. In particular,
* The corporate BEA continues to evolve and address previously identified
missing elements, inconsistencies, and usability issues, but gaps still
remain. For example, while the BEA now identifies information assurance
laws, regulations, and policies, it still does not include business rules for
all business processes. Further, little progress has been made in the last
year in extending (i.e., federating) the BEA to the entire family of business
mission area architectures, including using an independent verification
and validation agent to assess the components' subsidiary architectures
and federation efforts.
* The updated enterprise transition plan continues to identify systems and
initiatives, but important elements are still missing, as are individual
component plans. For example, while the plan provides a range of
information, such as budgets and performance measures, for key
enterprisewide and component-specific investments, it is missing
information on identified investments.
* The fiscal year 2009 budget submission included some, but omitted other,
key information about business system investments, in part because of the
lack of a reliable comprehensive inventory of all defense business
systems.
* Investment approval and accountability structures have been established
for DOD and the Air Force, and related policies and procedures that are
consistent with relevant guidance have been partially defined. However,
these structures and processes are still lacking for the Navy.
* Business system investments costing over $1 million continue to be
certified and approved, but these decisions are not always based on
complete information. For example, key Navy investments have not fully
demonstrated compliance with the department's BEA, and their economic
justifications were not based on reliable estimates of cost and benefits. In
addition, the information in DOD's authoritative repository of system
investments that is used to make these decisions is not always accurate.
Department officials attributed this slowdown in large part to pending
decisions surrounding the roles, responsibilities, authorities, and relationships
among key senior leadership positions, such as DOD's Deputy Chief
Management Officer and the military departments' Chief Management
Officers. Until DOD fully implements these long-standing institutional
modernization management controls provided for under the Act, addressed in
GAO recommendations, and otherwise embodied in relevant guidance, its
business systems modernization will likely remain a high-risk program. As a
result, it is important that the department act quickly to resolve pending
decisions about key positions..United States Government Accountability Office
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This report can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Report.
United States. Government Accountability Office. DOD Business Systems Modernization: Recent Slowdown in Institutionalizing Key Management Controls Needs to Be Addressed, report, May 18, 2009; Washington D.C.. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc298478/m1/2/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.