Summary
The Department of Defense (DOD) reports data about the operational readiness of its forces. In 1999, Congress directed DOD to create a comprehensive readiness system with timely, objective, and accurate data. In response, DOD started to develop the Defense Readiness Reporting System (DRRS). After 7 years, DOD has incrementally fielded some capabilities, and, through fiscal year 2008, reported obligating about $96.5 million. GAO was asked to review the program including the extent that DOD has (1) effectively managed and overseen DRRS acquisition and deployment and (2) implemented features of DRRS consistent with legislative requirements and DOD guidance. GAO compared DRRS acquisition disciplines, such as requirements development, test management, and DRRS oversight activities, to DOD and related guidance, and reviewed the system's current and intended capabilities relative to legislative requirements and DOD guidance. We did not evaluate DOD's overall ability to assess force readiness or the extent that readiness data reflects capabilities, vulnerabilities, or performance issues.
DOD has not effectively managed and overseen the DRRS acquisition and deployment, in large part because of the absence of rigorous and disciplined acquisition management controls and an effective governance and accountability structure for the program. In particular, system requirements have not been effectively developed and managed. For example, user participation and input in the requirements development process was, until recently, limited, and requirements have been experiencing considerable change, are not yet stable, and have not been effectively controlled. In addition, system testing has not been adequately performed and managed. For example, test events for already acquired system increments, as well as currently deployed and operating increments, were not based on well-defined plans or structures, and test events have not been executed in accordance with plans or in a verifiable manner. Moreover, DRRS has not been guided by a reliable schedule of work to be performed and key activities to occur. These program management weaknesses can, in part, be attributed to long-standing limitations in program office staffing and program oversight and accountability. Despite being a DOD-wide program, until April, 2009 DRRS was not accountable to a DOD-wide oversight body, and it was not subject to DOD's established mechanisms and processes for overseeing business systems. Collectively, these acquisition management weaknesses have contributed to a program that has fallen well short of expectations, and is unlikely to meet future expectations. DOD has implemented DRRS features that allow users to report certain mission capabilities that were not reported under the legacy system, but these features are not fully consistent with legislative requirements and DOD guidance; and DOD has not yet implemented other features. The geographic combatant commands are currently reporting their capabilities to execute most of their operations and major war plans in DRRS, and DOD is reporting this additional information to Congress. However, because DRRS does not yet fully interface with legacy systems to allow single reporting of readiness data, the military services have not consistently used DRRS's enhanced capability reporting features. For example, as of May 2009, the Army and Navy had developed interfaces for reporting in DRRS, while the Marine Corps required units to only report in their legacy system. Recently, the Marine Corps also began developing an interface and has done limited reporting in DRRS. In addition, DRRS has not fully addressed the challenges with metrics that led Congress to require a new readiness reporting system. DRRS metrics are less objective and precise, and no more timely than the legacy system metrics. Users have also noted that DRRS lacks some of the current and historical data and connectivity with DOD's planning systems necessary to manage and deploy forces. Until these limitations are fully addressed, DRRS will not have the full complement of features necessary to meet legislative and DOD requirements, and users will need to rely on legacy reporting systems to support mission-critical decisions.
Recommendations
Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.
| Director: |
Sharon L. Pickup |
| Team: |
Government Accountability Office: Defense Capabilities and Management |
| Phone: |
(202) 512-9619 |
Recommendations for Executive Action
Recommendation: To address the risks facing DOD in its acquisition and deployment of DRRS, and to increase the chances of DRRS meeting the needs of the DOD readiness community and Congress, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Deputy Secretary of Defense, as the Chair of the Defense Business Systems Management Committee, to reconsider the committee's recent approval of DRRS planned investment for fiscal years 2009 and 2010, and convene the Defense Business Systems Management Committee to review the program's past performance and the DIO's capability to manage and deliver DRRS going forward.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: To fully inform this Defense Business Systems Management Committee review, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Deputy Secretary to have the Director of the Business Transformation Agency, using the appropriate team of functional and technical experts and the established risk assessment methodology, conduct a program risk assessment of DRRS, and to use the findings in our report and the risk assessment to decide how to redirect the program's structure, approach, funding, management, and oversight. In this regard, the Secretary should direct the Deputy Secretary to solicit the advice and recommendations of the DRRS Executive Committee.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense, through the appropriate chain of command, should take steps to ensure that DRRS requirements are effectively developed and managed with appropriate input from the services, Joint Staff, and combatant commanders, including (1) establishing an authoritative set of baseline requirements prior to further system design and development; (2) ensuring that the different levels of requirements and their associated design specifications and test cases are aligned with one another; and (3) developing and instituting a disciplined process for reviewing and accepting changes to the baseline requirements in light of estimated costs, benefits, and risk.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense, through the appropriate chain of command, should take steps to ensure that DRRS testing is effectively managed, including (1) developing test plans and procedures for each system increment test event that include a schedule of planned test activities, defined roles and responsibilities, test entrance and exit criteria, test defect management processes, and metrics for measuring test progress; (2) ensuring that all key test events are conducted on all DRRS increments; (3) capturing, analyzing, reporting, and resolving all test results and test defects of all developed and tested DRRS increments; and (4) establishing an effective test management structure that includes assigned test management roles and responsibilities, a designated test management lead and a supporting working group, and a reliable schedule of test events.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense, through the appropriate chain of command, should take steps to ensure that DRRS integrated master schedule is reliable, including ensuring that the schedule (1) captures all activities from the work breakdown structure, including the work to be performed and the resources to be used; (2) identifies the logical sequencing of all activities, including defining predecessor and successor activities; (3) reflects whether all required resources will be available when needed and their cost; (4) ensures that all activities and their duration are not summarized at a level that could mask critical elements; (5) achieves horizontal integration in the schedule by ensuring that all external interfaces (hand-offs) are established and interdependencies among activities are defined; (6) identifies float between activities by ensuring that the linkages among all activities are defined; (7) defines a critical path that runs continuously to the program's finish date; (8) incorporates the results of a schedule risk analysis to determine the level of confidence in meeting the program's activities and completion date; and (9) includes the actual start and completion dates of work activities performed so that the impact of deviations on downstream work can be proactively addressed.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense, through the appropriate chain of command, should take steps to ensure that the DRRS program office is staffed on the basis of a human capital strategy that is grounded in an assessment of the core competencies and essential knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to perform key DRRS program management functions, an inventory of the program office's existing workforce capabilities, and an analysis of the gap between the assessed needs and the existing capabilities.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: The Secretary, through the appropriate chain of command, should take steps to ensure that DRRS is developed and implemented in a manner that does not increase the reporting burden on units and addresses the timeliness, precision, and objectivity of metrics that are reported to Congress.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
Recommendation: To ensure that these and other DRRS program management improvements and activities are effectively implemented and that any additional funds for DRRS implementation are used effectively and efficiently, the Secretary of Defense should direct the Deputy Secretary to ensure that both the Human Resources Management Investment Review Board and the DRRS Executive Committee conduct frequent oversight activities of the DRRS program, and report any significant issues to the Deputy Secretary.
Agency Affected: Department of Defense
Status: In process
Comments: When we confirm what actions the agency has taken in response to this recommendation, we will provide updated information.
