ADP Standards: Army Cancels Restrictive 3-Tier Architecture Standards

Concerns about the Army's continuing dependence on costly and restrictive computer acquisitions and its reluctance to take advantage of the benefits of full and open competition to procure automated data processing (ADP) resources prompted the Chairman of the House Committee on Government Operations to ask us to evaluate specific aspects of the Army's 3-tier architecture policy. Following discussions with the committee, we agreed to determine whether the 3-tier architecture standards comply with the Brooks Act (Public Law 89-306, 40 U.S.C. 759), the Competition in Contracting Act (Public Law 98-369, 98 Stat. 1175,41 U.S.C. 251 note), and the Federal Information Resources Management Regulation (FIRMR); evaluate the potential long-term effects of the Army's 3-tier architecture standards on ADP procurements and provide a perspective on prior Department of Defense and Army standardization efforts; and determine whether the Army continued to refer to the 3-tier architecture standards after the standards were withdrawn by order of the Deputy Secretary of Defense in April 1987.