The Government Accountability Office (GAO) today issued a new report of interest to both the Information Systems Acquisition and Life Cycle Logistics communities entitled GAO-19-136 DoD Space Acquisitions: Including Users Early and Often in Software Development Could Benefit Programs.

In the report, the GAO observed that “developing software for DoD space systems, like GPS, has historically taken longer and cost billions of dollars more than planned. We looked at four software-intensive DOD space systems that had cost growth or delays. While DoD has started using better software development approaches, (the GAO) found some challenges to making them work. For example, program offices and system developers don't consistently involve the systems' end users in development, making it hard to ensure that the systems will meet their needs. (The GAO) recommended DOD provide specific direction on when and how often to involve users, and document the involvement to ensure it happens.”