Problems Found With Government Acquisition and Use of Computers From November 1965 to December 1976

Gao ID: FGMSD-77-14 March 15, 1977

During the 11 years since enactment of the Brooks Act, GAO has issued 175 reports relating to the management and use of automatic data processing (ADP) systems in Federal programs. GAO summarizes the information from these reports to assist Congress, Federal managers, and other groups interested in data processing problems.

Problems in ADP management include: acquisition of ADP equipment without adequate determination of needs; lack of adequate studies of work to be done or alternatives; acquisition of computer equipment sooner than necessary; poor design and planning; prescribed procurement practices not followed; problems in acquisition of computers under Federal grant programs; a complicated procurement system for minicomputers; the expense of short term equipment leases; not enough use of alternate equipment supply sources; not enough evaluation of software requirements and sharing opportunities; and not enough standardization of data elements and codes.

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.

Director: No director on record Team: No team on record Phone: No phone on record


The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.