Summary

GAO reviewed the development of computer software at the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and at the Department of Veterans Affairs' Austin Automation Center. Neither VBA nor the Austin Automation Center had satisfied any of the key process areas required for a level 2 capability, as described by the Software Engineering Institute's five-level software capability model. Under a level 2 capability, basic project management processes are established to track cost, schedule, and functionality. Moreover, the necessary process discipline is in place to repeat earlier successes on projects with similar applications. The upshot is that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has little assurance that (1) investments in new software development will achieve their objectives or (2) software will be delivered consistent with cost and schedule estimates. GAO recommends that VA delay any major investment in software development beyond what is needed to sustain critical day-to-day operations until the repeatable level of process maturity is achieved. VA should also obtain expert advice on how to improve the ability of VBA and the Austin Automation Center to develop high-quality software, develop a strategy to reach the repeatable level of process maturity, implement that strategy quickly, and ensure that any future contracts for software development require that the contractor have a software development capability of at least level 2.

GAO found that: (1) neither VBA nor AAC satisfy any of the criteria for a repeatable software development capability; (2) VBA and AAC do not adequately define systems requirements, train personnel, plan software development projects, estimate costs or schedules, track software project schedules or changes, manage software subcontractors, or maintain quality assurance and software configuration procedures; (3) VBA initiatives to improve its software development processes include developing and distributing interim configuration management procedures, identifying a library structure for all work products, and meeting with the Software Engineering Institute (SEI) to discuss software development; (4) VBA and AAC cannot reliably develop and maintain high-quality software on any major project within existing cost and schedule constraints; and (5) VBA and AAC can use their strengths in software quality assurance and their improvement activities in software configuration management as a foundation for improving their software development processes.