Summary

GAO reviewed Department of Defense efforts concerning military operations on urbanized terrain. Important to these efforts is an Army project to develop a computer model to evaluate the effectiveness of their doctrine and tactics relative to the unique features of urban warfare and to identify future combat development needs for the urban battlefield.

GAO found that several fundamental control and coordination tasks that are essential for successful model development have not been implemented. For example, formal plans have not been developed, cost data for specific developmental phases have not been formulated, periodic reporting between model developers and management has not been established, and user requirements have not been considered in designing the model. As a result, the model may have only limited use in assessing current Army urban warfare programs and in identifying future combat development needs. The failure to follow generally accepted systems development standards and the absence of a project manager have contributed to the fact that these tasks have not been implemented.