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Recommendations Database

GAO’s recommendations database contains report recommendations that still need to be addressed. GAO’s priority recommendations are those that we believe warrant priority attention. We sent letters to the heads of key departments and agencies, urging them to continue focusing on these issues. Below you can search only priority recommendations, or search all recommendations.

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As of October 25, 2020, there are 4812 open recommendations, of which 473 are priority recommendations. Recommendations remain open until they are designated as Closed-implemented or Closed-not implemented.

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Subject Term: "Commercial off the shelf"

4 publications with a total of 7 open recommendations
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Information Technology: DOD Needs to Fully Implement Program for Piloting Open Source Software
GAO-19-457, Sep 10, 2019
Director: Carol Harris
Phone: (202) 512-4456

2 open recommendations
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Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should ensure the department implements the pilot program by releasing at least 20 percent of newly custom-developed code as open source software (OSS). (Recommendation 1)

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Defense did not concur with this recommendation and as of July 2020 has not yet implemented it. According to a December 2019 department letter provided to GAO, the 20 percent software release target is unlikely achievable due to the nature of code that is custom developed by the department. However, the department is mandated by law to implement the open source software pilot program established by the Office of Management and Budget's memorandum M-16-21. Releasing at least 20 percent of newly custom-developed code is a requirement of this program. GAO will continue to follow-up on the status of the pilot program.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should ensure the department identifies a measure to calculate the percentage of code released to gauge its progress on implementing the pilot program. (Recommendation 2)

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: The Department of Defense partially agreed with this recommendation and as of July 2020 has not yet implemented it. According to a December 2019 department letter sent to GAO, the department intends to release updated guidance on the release of custom-developed code as open-source software and will include metrics. The department estimated that the updated policy will be completed in the 3rd quarter of fiscal year 2020. GAO will follow-up with the agency to obtain the status of the updated guidance.
Defense Business Systems: DOD Needs to Continue Improving Guidance and Plans for Effectively Managing Investments
GAO-18-130, Apr 16, 2018
Director: Carol Harris
Phone: (202) 512-4456

2 open recommendations
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Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the DOD Chief Information Officer (CIO) develops an IT enterprise architecture which includes a transition plan that provides a road map for improving the department's IT and computing infrastructure, including for each of its business processes. (Recommendation 5)

Agency: Department of Defense: Office of the Secretary of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: In October 2019, the DOD CIO developed a report on the first increment of version 3 of the department's information enterprise architecture (IEA). The report includes high-level descriptions of the current and target architectures, and high-level plans and schedules for transitioning from the current to the target architecture. The report states that because of the incremental approach to developing the architecture, the plans and schedules are notional and depend on several factors over which the DOD CIO has limited or no control, such as funding and changing world events, priorities, and technology. The report also describes plans to integrate the IEA with the department's business enterprise architecture. However, the report did not define a specific time frame for integrating the architectures. According to the report, for the next increment of the architecture, the department plans to develop compliance criteria and plans for developing an ontology, database, and tool suite. The department did not provide a time frame for completing the next increment. We will continue to monitor the department's efforts to implement the recommendation.
Recommendation: The Secretary of Defense should ensure that the DOD CIO and Chief Management Officer work together to define a specific time frame for when the department plans to integrate its business and IT architectures and ensure that the architectures are integrated. (Recommendation 6)

Agency: Department of Defense: Office of the Secretary of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: In October 2019, the DOD CIO developed a report on the first increment of version 3 of its information enterprise architecture (IEA). The report described planned efforts related to integrating the IEA and the business enterprise architecture. However, the report did not define a specific time frame for when the department plans to integrate the architectures.
Biosurveillance: DHS Should Not Pursue BioWatch Upgrades or Enhancements Until System Capabilities Are Established
GAO-16-99, Oct 23, 2015
Director: Timothy M. Persons
Phone: (202) 512-6412

2 open recommendations
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Recommendation: To help ensure that biosurveillance-related funding is directed to programs that can demonstrate their intended capabilities, and to help ensure sufficient information is known about the current Gen-2 system to make informed cost-benefit decisions about possible upgrades and enhancements to the system, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs and other relevant officials within the Department to not pursue upgrades or enhancements to the current BioWatch system until the Office of Health Affairs (OHA): (1) establishes technical performance requirements, including limits of detection, necessary for a biodetection system to meet a clearly defined operational objective for the BioWatch program by detecting attacks of defined types and sizes with specified probabilities; (2) assesses the Gen-2 system against these performance requirements to reliably establish its capabilities; and (3) produces a full accounting of statistical and other uncertainties and limitations in what is known about the system's capability to meet its operational objectives.

Agency: Department of Homeland Security
Status: Open

Comments: DHS told us in June, 2019 that it terminated the Biodetection Technology Enhancements program to enhance BioWatch. Additionally, DHS is transitioning to a new acquisition program called BioDetection 21 intended to replace BioWatch. We will update the status of this recommendation as we obtain more information about DHS's BioDetection 21 acquisition efforts and the extent to which these efforts are consistent with our recommendation.
Recommendation: To help reduce the risk of acquiring immature detection technologies, the Secretary of Homeland Security should direct the Assistant Secretary for Health Affairs, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Science and Technology, to use the best practices outlined in this report to inform test and evaluation actions for any future upgrades or changes to technology for BioWatch.

Agency: Department of Homeland Security
Status: Open

Comments: DHS told us in June, 2019 that it terminated the Biodetection Technology Enhancements program to enhance BioWatch. Additionally, DHS is transitioning to a new acquisition program called BioDetection 21 intended to replace BioWatch. We will update the status of this recommendation as we obtain more information about DHS's BioDetection 21 acquisition efforts and the extent to which these efforts are consistent with our recommendation.
DOD Business Systems Modernization: Additional Action Needed to Achieve Intended Outcomes
GAO-15-627, Jul 16, 2015
Director: Carol R. Cha
Phone: (202) 512-4456

1 open recommendations
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Recommendation: To help ensure that the department can better achieve business process reengineering and enterprise architecture outcomes and benefits, the Secretary of Defense should utilize the results of our portfolio manager survey to determine additional actions that can improve the department's management of its business process reengineering and enterprise architecture activities.

Agency: Department of Defense
Status: Open

Comments: DOD has made progress implementing the recommendation. Specifically, in January 2017, the department issued a business enterprise architecture improvement plan. The plan was intended to address business enterprise architecture usability and deficiencies in information supporting the investment management process. As part of its planning efforts, the department identified opportunities to address the results of our survey. For example, according to the plan, our survey results were used to identify opportunities for improving management and integration of existing enterprise business processes and investments; assessing duplication early in the analysis phase and finding process and capability reuse across the department; and providing a federated business enterprise architecture information environment and capabilities to discover and exchange information from other sources. The plan included delivering three major capabilities. In October 2019, the office of the Chief Management Officer (CMO) demonstrated its new capabilities to GAO. Further, in October 2019, staff within the office of the CMO were working to move the capabilities to a government-approved host environment, although the office had not yet finalized its plan to do so. As of November 2019, the department had not yet deployed the capabilities.