FAA Procurement: Major Data-Processing Contract Should Not Be Awarded
IMTEC-90-38
Published: May 25, 1990. Publicly Released: Jun 15, 1990.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Computer Resources Nucleus (CORN) project.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected Sort descending | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Transportation | Because the CORN acquisition has not been adequately justified or planned and has major unresolved problems, the Secretary of Transportation should direct that the CORN contract not be awarded. |
Closed – Implemented
The FAA Administrator requested an independent review of the CORN project in response to the report. Subsequent to the independent review, the Administrator cancelled the original solicitation and issued a new request for proposals.
|
| Department of Transportation | The Secretary of Transportation should direct the Administrator, FAA, to ensure that future procurements of this type and magnitude are properly justified and planned prior to contract award. |
Closed – Implemented
The Department agreed with this recommendation. FAA major revisions to the CORN procurement alleviated GAO prior concerns.
|
| Federal Aviation Administration | Before proceeding with a comprehensive procurement similar to CORN, the Administrator, FAA, should ensure that the evaluation of vendors' proposals involves the use of a representative work-load sample. |
Closed – Implemented
FAA developed a more representative work load in evaluating vendors' proposals.
|
| Federal Aviation Administration | Before proceeding with a comprehensive procurement similar to CORN, the Administrator, FAA, should ensure that planning for conversion includes an accurate inventory of the existing applications, an assessment of their continued need, and complete estimates of the cost and employee-years needed to support the conversion, including the extent to which qualified staff are available. |
Closed – Implemented
In revising the procurement, FAA significantly improved its conversion planning.
|
| Federal Aviation Administration | Before proceeding with a comprehensive procurement similar to CORN, the Administrator, FAA, should ensure that existing system deficiencies are accurately and completely identified and a solution is designed that addresses those deficiencies. Direct, periodic, systemwide monitoring, accomplished through the implementation of a computer capacity and performance management program for FAA general-purpose systems, should be used to determine the presence, extent, and causes of such performance problems as poor response times. |
Closed – Implemented
The Department agreed with this recommendation. FAA major revisions to the CORN procurement alleviated GAO prior concerns.
|
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