Duplication in the Navy's Management Information Systems Is Costly

During fiscal year 1978, the Navy spent $481 million to operate and maintain automated management information systems (MIS) that support many similar management functions. These different computerized systems produce essentially the same kinds of management reports; have approximately the same automated procedures and processes; and accumulate, process, and store much of the same data.

The Navy does not need separate systems for each of its major commands, and effective use of the systems does not depend on organizational structures or command lines. The Navy does not have the personnel resources to maintain the numerous systems it operates, and when changes in functional procedures are mandated, the scarce personnel must implement the changes in all of the systems. There are a few differences among the systems, but these occur because the systems are designed and developed independently of any uniform standard which, if implemented, could serve all of the needs. The establishment of the Naval Data Automation Command (NDAC) is a step in the right direction to better control and use of the automated data processing (ADP) resources. However, it cannot be completely effective until the determination is made whether the resources should be organized to support separate commands or functional programs.

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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