Summary: GAO reviewed the Federal Procurement Data Center's operation of the Federal Procurement Data System (FPDS), focusing on: (1) user satisfaction with the system; and (2) whether the Center has efficiently and effectively managed the system. GAO noted that: (1) the Center should improve its communication with system users to keep pace with evolving user needs and provide the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and the General Services Administration (GSA) with a forum to address user concerns; (2) GSA and OMB have created a FPDS user committee that will provide a forum for identifying and addressing user data needs; (3) the usefulness of FPDS data in procurement policy analysis is limited; (4) the system's usefulness in analyzing the procurement process and formulating procurement policy could be enhanced if the content of FPDS is broadened; (5) OMB and GSA are considering expanding FPDS to include additional procurement data similar to the data collected in the information technology procurement profile; (6) the Center should implement its plans to transfer FPDS from a mainframe to a more efficient and responsive microcomputer-based system; (7) the new system is expected to reduce operating costs and offer increased utility to FPDS customers; (8) GSA plans to move FPDS to a microcomputer-based system by April 1995; (9) FPDS data accuracy could be improved if data standards are developed and a process is initiated to ensure that these standards are met; and (10) the Center plans to establish standards for the accuracy and completeness of FPDS data.
