Weather Forecasting: Recommendations to Address New Weather Processing System Development Risks
AIMD-96-74
Published: May 13, 1996. Publicly Released: May 13, 1996.
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Highlights
GAO reviewed the National Weather Service's (NWS) Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS) and made recommendations to strengthen NWS ability to achieve a fair return on its AWIPS investment.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
---|---|---|
National Weather Service | NWS should ensure that each system build is fully tested and all material defects are corrected before software development associated with the next build begins. |
NOAA does not agree with the recommendation and does not intend to implement it. NOAA believes that judicious overlapping of software builds is efficient and appropriate in some cases.
|
National Weather Service | NWS should establish a software quality assurance program to increase the probability of delivering promised AWIPS capability on time and within budget. |
NOAA does not agree with the recommendation and does not intend to implement it. NOAA does not believe that an independent software quality assurance program would be cost-effective.
|
National Weather Service | NWS should obtain an independent assessment of the cost to develop and deploy AWIPS. |
NOAA does not agree with the recommendation and does not intend to implement it. NOAA does not believe that an independent cost estimate would add value.
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