Information Required for Milestone Decisions Takes Significant Time and Effort to Document, but Does Not Always Add High Value

Programs we surveyed spent on average over 2 years completing the  steps necessary to document up to 49 information requirements for their  most recent acquisition milestone. These 49 requirements also  took, in total, on average 5,600 staff days for programs to document. All four programs needed about 24  months to complete the process. DOD has recognized that its extensive review process is a challenge. The program  managers considered the value added to 10 percent of the  documentation to be high. DOD Has Experience Using a Streamlined Process, and Commercial Firms Also Offer Alternative Approaches

DOD has proven it can streamline its process. Programs we surveyed spent over 2 years completing information  requirements that in some instances can be reviewed by as many as 56  organizations at eight levels. The  challenge is to find the right balance between having an effective  oversight process and the competing demands such a process places on  program management. The pilot programs could rely on practices used by  some DOD classified programs and private industry companies we  visited—namely, fewer information requirements and levels of review and  more frequent interaction between the program office and actual decision  makers. Recommendations for Executive Action

To help improve DOD’s milestone decision process, we recommend that  the Secretary of Defense direct the Under Secretary of Defense for  Acquisition, Technology and Logistics in collaboration with the military  service acquisition executives, program executive officers, and program  managers take the following two actions:  In the near term, identify and potentially eliminate (1) reviews  associated with information requirements, with a specific focus on  reducing review levels that do not add value, and (2) information  requirements that do not add value and are no longer needed. DOD  concurred with both of our recommendations. GAO staff who made  major contributions to this report are listed in appendix V.

Appendix I: Objectives, Scope, and Methodology

This report examines the Department of Defense’s (DOD) weapon  system acquisition process. Specifically we examined (1) the effort and  value involved in DOD’s preparation for a milestone decision, (2) the  factors that influence the time needed to complete the milestone decision  process, and (3) alternative processes used by some DOD programs and  leading commercial firms. In addition, we asked programs to  provide detailed information related to the information requirements they  prepared for the milestone, including the length of time spent  documenting each information requirement; length of time it took the  documentation to make it through the review process; the number of staff  days the program office spent documenting each information  requirement; and the cost to document each information requirement. To determine the factors that influence the time needed to complete the  milestone decision process, we met with officials and functional leaders  and reviewed documents from several organizations within the Office of  the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and  Logistics, including the Under Secretary. To identify practices used by leading commercial firms that might be used  to improve DOD’s acquisition process, we visited five companies to learn  more about how they manage their product development processes.
Why GAO Did This Study

DOD has long sought to improve the efficiency of its weapon system acquisition process, including the time and effort needed to complete the milestone decision process.
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2014 mandated GAO to review DOD's weapon system acquisition process. This report examines (1) the effort and value involved in the preparation for a milestone decision; (2) factors that influence the time needed to complete the milestone decision process; and (3) alternative processes used by some DOD programs and leading commercial firms.
To perform this work, GAO examined the levels of review and information requirements that are part of DOD's process. GAO surveyed 24 program managers and 40 other DOD officials on the value and the time to complete milestone documentation. For 15 program offices, we gathered data on the time to complete the entire milestone decision process. GAO discussed with DOD officials the factors that lead to inefficiencies. GAO also examined practices used by some classified DOD programs and five commercial firms generally recognized as leaders in product development.

What GAO Found

The acquisition programs GAO surveyed spent, on average, over 2 years completing numerous information requirements for their most recent milestone decision, yet acquisition officials considered only about half of the requirements as high value. The requirements, in total, averaged 5,600 staff days to document.
The Department of Defense's (DOD) review process is a key factor that influences the time needed to complete information requirements. The process in some instances can include up to 56 organizations at 8 levels and accounts for about half of the time needed to complete information requirements. Most program managers felt that these reviews added high value to only 10 percent of the documents.
DOD's F-16 aircraft program, some classified programs, and five commercial firms GAO visited use streamlined processes with fewer documents and reviews and offer alternatives to the traditional DOD process. Establishing an efficient process for documentation and oversight is a key internal control to avoid wasteful spending. The challenge is to find the right balance between effective oversight and the competing demands on programs. DOD, however, has not yet identified ways to achieve the right balance by minimizing the time spent on information requirements and reviews that contribute to its inefficient milestone decision process.

What GAO Recommends

GAO recommends that DOD identify and potentially eliminate reviews and information requirements that are no longer needed and select programs to pilot more streamlined approaches to provide only the most essential information to decision makers. DOD concurred with both recommendations.