Patent and Trademark Office

Key Processes for Managing Automated Patent System Development Are Weak Gao ID: AIMD-93-15 September 30, 1993

The Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) houses one of the largest collections of technical information in the world--a resource critical to continued technology growth and to improved U.S. international competitiveness. Increased patent applications have meant a growing paper burden. PTO has sought to meet this challenge through a $1 billion automation effort that is expected to last well into the next century. GAO found that PTO does not have all the necessary processes in place to permit sound management of the Automated Patent System. Although such processes are important to any system development, they are especially crucial in this case because PTO is using an evolutionary development methodology that focuses on managing and controlling near-term development and on the ability to learn from past experiences and make needed adjustments. The inability to effectively gauge progress against defined goals and determine causes for deviation forces PTO and Congress to make major investment decisions on the basis of uncertain system benefits, uncertain cost and schedule baselines, and uncertain performance against baselines.

GAO found that: (1) PTO has adopted an evolutionary system approach that recognizes risks and uncertainties and develops system phases incrementally; (2) PTO system management controls are weak and PTO does not have a process for demonstrating that APS incremental development is worth the cost of investment; (3) the reliability of APS cost and schedule baselines is questionable because of weaknesses in the techniques PTO uses to establish these baselines; (4) APS schedule baselines are not linked to cost estimates; (5) PTO tracking of cost performance is limited; and (6) PTO inability to effectively measure progress against defined goals and the lack of management controls result in major investment decisions based upon uncertain system benefits, cost and schedule baselines, and performance.

Recommendations

Our recommendations from this work are listed below with a Contact for more information. Status will change from "In process" to "Open," "Closed - implemented," or "Closed - not implemented" based on our follow up work.

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