Defense Acquisitions Stronger Management Practices Are Needed To Improve Dods Softwareintensive Weapon Acquisitions

Author : United States Government Accountability Office
Publisher : Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN 13 : 9781978413078
Total Pages : 54 pages
Book Rating : 4.76/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Defense Acquisitions written by United States Government Accountability Office and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2017-10-19 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Defense Acquisitions: Stronger Management Practices Are Needed to Improve DOD's Software-Intensive Weapon Acquisitions

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 54 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Defense Acquisitions: Stronger Management Practices are Needed to Improve DOD's Software-Intensive Weapon Acquisitions written by and published by . This book was released on 2004 with total page 54 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Department of Defense (DoD) has been relying increasingly on computer software to introduce or enhance the performance capabilities of major weapon systems. To ensure successful outcomes, software acquisition requires disciplined processes and practices. Without such discipline, weapon programs encounter difficulty in meeting cost and schedule targets. For example, in fiscal year 2003, DoD might have spent as much as $8 billion to rework software because of quality-related issues. GAO was asked to identify the practices used by leading companies to acquire software and to analyze the causes of poor outcomes of selected DoD programs. GAO also was asked to evaluate DoD's efforts to develop programs for improving software acquisition processes and to assess how those efforts compare with leading companies' practices. In a review of five DoD programs, GAO found that outcomes were mixed for software-intensive acquisitions. The F/A-18 C/D, a fighter and attack aircraft, and the Tactical Tomahawk missile had fewer additional cost and schedule delays. For these programs, developers used an evolutionary approach, disciplined processes, and meaningful metrics. In contrast, the following programs, which did not follow these management strategies, experienced schedule delays and cost growth: F/A-22, an air dominance aircraft; Space-Based Infrared System, a missile-detection satellite system; and Comanche, a multimission helicopter. GAO recommends that the Secretary of Defense direct the military services and agencies to adopt specific controls to improve software acquisition outcomes. These practices should be incorporated into DoD policy, software process improvement plans, and development contracts. DoD concurred with two revised recommendations and partially concurred with two others.

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ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 78 pages
Book Rating : 4.66/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Best Practices: Better Support of Weapon System Program Managers Needed to Improve Outcomes written by and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 78 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Department of Defense (DOD) plans to increase its investment in the research, development, and procurement of new weapon systems from $144 billion in fiscal year 2005 to $185 billion in fiscal year 2009. U.S. weapons are among the best in the world, but the programs to acquire them often take significantly longer and cost more money than promised and often deliver fewer quantities and other capabilities than planned. It is not unusual for estimates of time and money to be off by 20 to 50 percent. When costs and schedules increase, quantities are cut, and the value for the warfighter-as well as the value of the investment dollar-is reduced. In view of the importance of DOD's investment in weapon systems, we have undertaken an extensive body of work that examines DOD's acquisition issues from a different, more cross-cutting perspective-one that draws lessons learned from the best commercial product development efforts to see if they apply to weapon system acquisitions. In response to a request from the Chairman and Ranking Minority Member of the Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support, Senate Committee on Armed Services, this report assesses (1) how successful commercial companies position their program managers, (2) how DOD positions its program managers, and (3) underlying reasons for the differences.

Author : Michael J. Sullivan
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1437914748
Total Pages : 22 pages
Book Rating : 4.40/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Defense Acquisitions: Measuring the Value of DoD¿s Weapon Programs Requires Starting with Realistic Baselines written by Michael J. Sullivan and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-10 with total page 22 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In 2006, the cumulative cost growth in DoD¿s portfolio of 96 major defense acquisition programs was $296 billion and the average delay in delivering promised capabilities to the warfighter was 22 months. These are very poor outcomes. The auditor has used metrics to review the mgmt. and health of these programs from within the framework of best practices. This testimony discusses: (1) ¿knowledge metrics,¿ used to determine how well programs manage tech., design, and manufacturing risks; (2) outcome metrics -- concerning cost, schedule, and capability -- that serve as ¿health indicators¿ of how well programs are being executed in terms of predicted outcomes; and (3) the prerequisites that must be met in order for a program¿s plans and goals to be realistic.

Author : Michael J. Sullivan
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1437915183
Total Pages : 25 pages
Book Rating : 4.81/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Defense Acquisitions: DoD Must Balance Its Needs with Available Resources and Follow an Incremental Approach to Acquiring Weapon Systems written by Michael J. Sullivan and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2009-08 with total page 25 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A broad consensus exists that weapon system problems are serious, but efforts at reform have had limited impact. Last year, it was reported that DoD's portfolio of weapon programs experienced cost growth of $295 billion from first estimates, were delayed by an average of 21 months, and delivered fewer quantities and capabilities to the war-fighter than originally planned. This testimony describes the systemic problems that contribute to the cost, schedule, and performance problems in weapon system programs, recent actions that DoD has taken to address these problems, proposed reform legislation that has recently been introduced, and additional steps needed to improve future performance of acquisition programs. Charts and tables.

Author : Gene L. Dodaro
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1437914691
Total Pages : 190 pages
Book Rating : 4.96/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Defense Acquisitions written by Gene L. Dodaro and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This report examines how well DoD is planning and executing its weapon acquisition programs. The report includes: (1) an analysis of the overall performance of DoD's 2008 portfolio of 96 major defense acquisition programs and a comparison to the portfolio performance at two other points in time -- 5 years ago and 1 year ago; (2) an analysis of current cost and schedule outcomes and knowledge attained by key junctures in the acquisition process for a subset of 47 weapon programs -- primarily in development -- from the 2008 portfolio; (3) data on other factors that could impact program stability; and (4) an update on changes in DoD's acquisition policies. Includes a one- or two-page assessment of 67 weapon programs. Illustrations.

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Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 9781422308240
Total Pages : 80 pages
Book Rating : 4.43/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Defense Acquisitions: Assessments of Major Weapon Programs written by and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2008 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Author : United States. Government Accountability Office
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 46 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Defense Acquisitions written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2020 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: DOD invests tens of billions of dollars each year in major defense acquisition programs, designing and developing technologically advanced weapon systems that warfighters expect will meet specific performance requirements, including reliability requirements. Systems that are not reliable make it more difficult for warfighters to perform their missions. This report addresses (1) how selected companies in the commercial sector address reliability, (2) how selected DOD acquisition programs addressed reliability, and (3) the extent to which DOD leadership has highlighted key reliability practices. GAO recommends the Secretaries of the Air Force, Army, and Navy highlight the importance of three key reliability practices: leveraging reliability engineers, establishing realistic reliability requirements, and employing reliability engineering activities to improve a system’s design throughout development.

Author : Michael J. Sullivan
Publisher : DIANE Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1437934714
Total Pages : 19 pages
Book Rating : 4.17/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Defense Acquisitions: Observations on Weapon Program Performance and Acquisition Reforms written by Michael J. Sullivan and published by DIANE Publishing. This book was released on 2010-11 with total page 19 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The past two years have seen the Congress and the DoD take meaningful steps towards addressing long-standing weapon acquisition issues -- an area that has been on the high risk list since 1990. This testimony focuses on the progress DoD has made in improving the planning and execution of its weapon acquisition programs and the potential for recent acquisition reforms to improve program outcomes. The testimony includes observations about: (1) DoD's efforts to manage its portfolio of major defense acquisition programs; (2) the knowledge attained at key junctures of a subset of 42 weapon programs from the 2009 portfolio; (3) other factors that can affect program execution; and (4) DoD's implementation of recent acquisition reforms. Illus.

Author : United States. Government Accountability Office
Publisher :
ISBN 13 :
Total Pages : 55 pages
Book Rating : 4.40/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Weapon System Acquisitions written by United States. Government Accountability Office and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "DOD's weapon system acquisition programs have a total estimated acquisition cost of over $1.4 trillion. Portfolio management is an approach used by organizations to evaluate, select, prioritize, and allocate resources to projects that best accomplish strategic or organizational goals. In March 2007, GAO recommended that DOD implement a department-wide portfolio management approach for weapon system investments. Senate Report 113-44 accompanying the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 included a provision that GAO review DOD processes for identifying duplicative and inefficient acquisitions. This report assesses the extent to which (1) DOD uses portfolio management to optimize weapon system investments; (2) DOD conducts integrated portfolio reviews; and (3) the military services conduct portfolio reviews. GAO compared DOD and military service policies and portfolio reviews with best practices and standards for portfolio management"--Preliminary page.