Accession Number:

ADA399355

Title:

DC COURTS: Disciplined Processes Critical to Successful System Acquisition

Descriptive Note:

Corporate Author:

GENERAL ACCOUNTING OFFICE WASHINGTON DC

Personal Author(s):

Report Date:

2002-02-01

Pagination or Media Count:

27.0

Abstract:

DC Courts has not yet implemented the disciplined processes necessary to reduce the risks associated with acquiring and managing the IJIS acquisition effort to acceptable levels. A disciplined software development and acquisition process maximizes the likelihood of achieving the intended results performance within established resources costs on schedule. DC Courts officials acknowledged that they do not yet have the disciplined processes in place to reduce the risks from this effort to acceptable levels. However, they also acknowledged that disciplined processes were necessary. They further noted that even though sufficient funding to fully implement disciplined processes would not be available until the system was approved and funded, they had already begun to implement some elements of a disciplined process. For example, at the time of our review, DC Courts was sending several people to be trained and certified in project management skills. The majority of the DC Courts requirements, developed for the draft RFP, lacked the necessary specificity to ensure that the defects in these requirements have been reduced to acceptable levels and that the system would meet its users needs. In addition, the requirements in the draft RFP did not directly relate to industry standards and the terms customization and modification were not clearly defined in the draft RFP. We also noted that the system requirements were not logically grouped. DC Courts officials are electing to use the acquisition process to identify the cost, schedule, and performance gaps associated with their effort. DC Courts officials acknowledged that this approach generally increases risk however, they concluded that the benefit to be obtained-accelerating the Implementation of a badly needed system-justifies those risks.

Descriptors:

• *SOFTWARE ENGINEERING
• *RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
• COMPUTER PROGRAMS
• INTEGRATED SYSTEMS
• MANAGEMENT PLANNING AND CONTROL
• ACQUISITION
• SKILLS
• COST ANALYSIS
• USER NEEDS
• CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
• PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Subject Categories:

• Administration and Management
• Computer Programming and Software

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE