Summary: Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Air Force Logistics Command's (AFLC) attempt to develop the Depot Maintenance Management Information System (DMMIS), focusing on whether: (1) the adaptation of Manufacturing Resource Planning (MRP II) software would be compatible with DMMIS operations; (2) AFLC acquisition cost estimates were reasonable; and (3) AFLC could meet its development schedule.
GAO found that: (1) AFLC believed that MRP II adaptation to DMMIS would be more difficult than expected; (2) AFLC estimated that MRP II would only meet 65 to 70 percent of DMMIS requirements, which would result in MRP software changes that could delay scheduling, exceed budget parameters, and require more staff hours; (3) at one location, AFLC needed over 4 years and 184,000 staff hours to clean up databases for DMMIS use, and the Air Force expected a similar effort at each of the other five locations; (4) to ensure that DMMIS would stay on schedule and within the budget, AFLC negotiated development changes with its primary contractor, but those modifications could add further risks and delay the prototype completion date; (5) under the new approach, AFLC intends to simultaneously adapt MRP II at five locations; and (6) lack of management continuity increased DMMIS development risks.
