Summary

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) central software design activities, specifically the: (1) number of central design activities in each military service; (2) number of automated information systems that support these activities; and (3) resources for these activities and the systems they support.

GAO used DOD definitions and reporting guidelines to report central design activities; however, its results differed from the defense budget information. GAO found that: (1) DOD reported 12 activities with estimated fiscal year 1988 costs in excess of $400 million, but did not identify those activities in its budget submission; (2) there were inconsistencies in the number and cost of activities DOD reported, as well as the number and cost of the automated information systems supported by the activities; (3) as of May 1987, DOD was still updating budget data concerning the number and costs of design activities; and (4) there was a lack of required cost accounting procedures for ensuring that software development and maintenance costs were consistently recorded and reported.