GLAAS  also provides data, such as award value and whether awards were  competed, for reports to Congress on contract support for contingency  operations outside the United States. DOD guidance also provides policy  that data will be made visible and trusted, among other things, for all  authorized users. USAID Has Assessed Resources Needed to Sustain GLAAS, but DOD Has Not Fully Assessed All Resources Needed to Sustain SPOT-ES

USAID has assessed resources that it needs to sustain GLAAS, but DOD  has not fully assessed all future resources that it needs to sustain SPOT- ES. DOD and USAID use the budget process to identify resources they  project they will need in the next budget year to modernize and operate  their systems. DOD Has Not Updated Its Cost Estimates or Fully Defined and Assessed Its Plans for SPOT-ES

DOD has identified resources for fiscal years 2013 through 2015 that it  needs to operate SPOT-ES; however, since 2010, DOD has not updated  its life-cycle cost estimate or fully defined and assessed its plans to  identify all the resources it needs to achieve the system’s objectives. Figure 2 illustrates SPOT-ES’s schedule delays. However, DOD has not defined some of its plans that  involve cost elements that need to be incorporated into SPOT-ES life- cycle cost estimate. Without defining  and assessing plans to provide a full accounting for the system, thereby  fully accounting for life-cycle costs, management will have difficulty  planning program resource requirements and making decisions. DOD Has Developed Business Rules for Entering Data about Contracts and Contractor Personnel, but Lacks Reasonable Assurance that SPOT is Timely and Reliable

DOD has developed SPOT business rules for entering data about  contracts and contractor personnel; however, DOD’s process does not  provide reasonable assurance that the business rules are followed and  SPOT data are timely and reliable. In the context of operational contract  support, various provisions in DOD guidance and the Defense Federal  Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) relate to the accuracy and  timeliness of information in SPOT. These mechanisms include the  Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System (CPARS), which  contracting officers can use to report on contractors’ performance. DOD Has Not Fully Registered or Approved SPOT-ES Data

The SPOT-ES program office has not ensured that the system’s data  are visible and trusted because it has not fully registered the system’s  data in the Data Services Environment (DSE). DOD  Instruction 8320.02 requires heads of DOD components to register all  authoritative data sources, information technology services, and required  metadata in the DSE and further states as policy that data will be made  visible and trusted, among other things, for all authorized users.According to the guidance, data is made visible by creating and  associating metadata. DOD has not used existing mechanisms for tracking  contractor performance that could help provide reasonable assurance  that contractors have abided by business rules to provide timely and  reliable data, and relieve DOD officials of the need to continue to devote  resources to conducting the quarterly manual census. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help improve DOD, State, and USAID’s ability to track contracts and  contractor personnel in contingency operations, we are making the  following five recommendations to DOD:
To ensure SPOT-ES cost estimates are accurate and comprehensive,  we recommend that the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel  and Readiness in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense  for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics direct the system’s program  office to regularly update its life-cycle cost estimate to include defining  and assessing its plans for SPOT-ES. If  DOD uses available mechanisms to improve compliance with contract  requirements, that would address the intent of the recommendation and  improve timeliness and reliability of data in SPOT-ES. Appendix I: Scope and Methodology

To determine the extent to which the Department of Defense (DOD) and  United States Agency for International Development (USAID) have  assessed resources needed to sustain the systems used to track  contracts and contractor personnel, we reviewed and compared agencies’  funding information, cost estimates, systems plans and schedule for  DOD’s Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker–Enterprise  Suite (SPOT-ES) and USAID’S Global Acquisition and Award System  (GLAAS) to accepted cost-estimating guidance and internal- control  standards. To determine the extent to which DOD has completed interoperability  testing and registered and approved SPOT-ES data, we reviewed DOD  guidance on sharing data and information in the department, as well as  guidance on interoperability.
Why GAO Did This Study

SPOT-ES contains data on almost 1 million contractor personnel who have supported DOD, State, and USAID in contingency operations. Also, USAID's GLAAS provides data, such as award value, for reports to Congress on contract support. The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 mandated that GAO review the data systems of DOD, State, and USAID related to certain contract support.
This report evaluates the extent to which, among other things, (1) DOD and USAID have assessed resources needed to sustain the systems used to track contracts and contractor personnel; (2) DOD has developed business rules and processes to help ensure the timeliness and reliability of SPOT-ES data; and (3) DOD has completed interoperability testing and registered and approved data for SPOT-ES. GAO reviewed DOD and USAID documents, such as cost schedules, business rules, and user manuals, and interviewed cognizant officials.

What GAO Found

The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has assessed resources that it needs to sustain its contract data system, the Global Acquisition and Assistance System (GLAAS), but the Department of Defense (DOD) has not assessed all resources that it will need to sustain the Synchronized Predeployment and Operational Tracker–Enterprise Suite (SPOT-ES). DOD, the Department of State (State) and USAID use SPOT-ES as a repository of information on contracts and contractor personnel in contingency operations; USAID also uses GLAAS to record information about contracts. DOD uses the budget process to identify resources it projects it will need in the next budget year to modernize and operate its systems, but DOD has not updated its life-cycle cost estimate or fully defined and assessed its plans to determine all resources needed to sustain SPOT-ES. For example, DOD has not updated its life-cycle cost estimate since 2010, despite changes to costs due to schedule delays, because officials said the system has proven stable. Also, DOD has not defined some of its plans that involve cost elements that need to be included in the estimate because it accepted the system's previous program management estimates as reported. GAO's Cost Estimating and Assessment Guide states that cost estimates should be current and comprehensive. Without regularly updating life-cycle costs and defining and assessing plans to provide a full accounting for the systems' costs, management will have difficulty planning program resource requirements and making decisions.
DOD has business rules for the entry of contract and contractor personnel data in SPOT—the database component of SPOT-ES—but lacks reasonable assurance that SPOT provides personnel data that are consistently timely and reliable because the department does not use its available mechanisms for assessing contractor performance to track whether contractors enter data in accordance with the business rules. The business rules, DOD guidance, and an applicable Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement clause describe how contractors and contracting officers are to enter data in SPOT. Using existing mechanisms for tracking contractor performance could provide DOD reasonable assurance that contractors have abided by business rules to enter and provide timely and reliable data.
DOD has completed SPOT-ES interoperability testing, but has not fully registered or approved the system's data. DOD Instruction 8320.02 directs heads of DOD components to register authoritative data sources and metadata in DOD's Data Services Environment (DSE), its primary online repository for technical descriptions related to information technology and systems for all authorized users, and provides policy that data will be visible and trusted. GAO found that registration for SPOT-ES data was not completed, although program officials thought they had completed all the steps needed to register the system. Full registration and approval in the DSE would help ensure that data are visible and trusted.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends, among other things, that DOD regularly update its lifecycle cost estimate for SPOT-ES to include defining and assessing its plans for SPOT-ES; use mechanisms to track contractor performance of SPOT-ES data entry; and complete SPOT-ES registration in the DSE. DOD concurred with these recommendations, and described planned steps to address them.