Case Studies 1, 5, 6, and 16: From DOD Business Transformation, GAO-11-53, October 7, 2010

The Department of Defense (DOD) invests billions of dollars annually to modernize its business systems, and the DOD business systems modernization program has been on our high-risk list since 1995. In its modernization, DOD is implementing nine enterprise resource planning (ERP) efforts that perform business-related tasks such as general ledger accounting and supply chain management. These efforts are essential to transforming DOD’s business operations. We were asked to determine whether selected ERPs followed schedule and cost best practices. We found that none of the four programs we assessed had developed a fully integrated master schedule as an effective management tool. Such a tool is crucial to estimating the overall schedule and cost of a program. Without it, DOD is unable to say, with any degree of confidence, whether the estimated completion dates are realistic.

In particular, we found that selected project schedules for the Air Force’s Expeditionary Combat Support System (ECSS) did not meet best practices. We recommended that the Secretary of the Air Force ensure that the Chief Management Officer of the Air Force direct the program management office for ECSS to develop an IMS that, among other things, sequenced all activities, assigned resources to all activities, and established a valid critical path. In November 2012, DOD cancelled the ECSS program, citing the lack of an IMS as a major cause of its failure.