GAO: Pentagon must improve systems acquisition process

The Defense Department has yet to comply with statutory requirements aimed at improving processes for acquiring software-based computer systems, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Officials in the Office of the Secretary of Defense have not fully implemented enhancements to the department's purchasing of software-intensive information technology systems mandated in Section 804 of the 2003 National Defense Authorization Act, the report (GAO-09-888) stated. The absence of a departmentwide strategic approach to software acquisitions could result in weaknesses in the effectiveness and reliability of the agency's IT systems, GAO concluded.

Under the 2003 authorization act, Defense was required to make several modifications to the software acquisition process, including placing more weight on vendors' past performance during source selection, taking into account the maturity of software products and ensuring adequate technical support.

The department has made some progress by issuing a memorandum that establishes a Software Acquisition Process Improvement Program and by providing guidance for how contractor past performance can be emphasized during source selection, the report noted. But Defense has not taken steps to ensure that its component agencies are complying with the new guidance and did not highlight maturity of software products in the guidance, GAO said.

"Reasons cited by military department officials included changes in senior leadership and not viewing all requirements as necessary," the report stated. "Regardless, this means that neither OSD nor the military departments fully complied with requirements of Section 804, and as a result, have increased the risk that the billions of dollars being spent each year on DoD software-intensive system acquisitions will not benefit from an effectively and efficiently managed corporate approach to software and systems process improvement."

The law also requires OSD to assist the services with improving their software acquisition processes. No one in the secretary's office is directly overseeing the services' efforts, however, and there are no accountability mechanisms.

Absent strong central leadership and strategic planning, Defense is unlikely to successfully comply with the authorization law, GAO found. The watchdog agency recommended that Pentagon officials develop a departmentwide strategic plan and ensure all requirements of Section 804 are met. Defense officials said they partially concurred with the recommendations and are addressing shortcomings in the software acquisition process.