Weather Forecasting: Improvements Needed in Laboratory Software Development Processes
AIMD-95-24
Published: Dec 14, 1994. Publicly Released: Dec 14, 1994.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the National Weather Service's (NWS) Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), focusing on whether the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Forecast Systems Laboratory (FSL) and NWS Technical Development Laboratory (TDL) software development processes are adequate to support the AWIPS Forecast Preparation System (AFPS).
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Commerce | In light of the NWS plan to provide the AWIPS contractor with production-quality software for direct integration into AWIPS, the Secretary of Commerce should direct the Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere to have FSL and TDL strengthen their software development processes for requirements management, project planning, quality assurance, configuration management, and tracking and oversight before beginning development of any production-quality code. |
According to NWS officials, both TDL and FSL have initiated some recommended activities to strengthen their practices for producing operational code. For example, FSL is using a formal case tool for analysis and design, and FSL's documentation is under configuration control. In addition, TDL now has a software development plan and a software test plan to guide its software development and testing. However, GAO testified on February 29, 1996, that TDL's and FSL's actions have not been fully responsive to the recommendation. Specifically, GAO testified that NWS has not established a software quality assurance program for AWIPS.
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Topics
Software verification and validationEarth resources satellitesEnvironmental monitoringInformation systemsMeteorological researchSystems designWeather forecastingSoftware engineeringQuality assuranceConfiguration control