The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommended on Tuesday that the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) begin to independently validate that life extension programs (LEPs) for nuclear weapons are meeting management best practices.
Given that LEPs used to refurbish or replace aging components on nuclear weapons previously exceeded cost projects and experienced years-long delays, NNSA implemented an earned value management (EVM) approach. The approach considers the value of work completed, the planned value of work completed and the cost of work completed to gauge performance.
GAO found that NNSA requires LEPs to meet the EVM national standard but fails to independently verify that the standard has been met. Doing so would improve risk management, GAO said.
“Without requiring validation of EVM systems, NNSA may not have assurance that its LEPs are obtaining reliable EVM data for managing their programs and reporting their status,” the review found.
GAO also recommended that NNSA task an independent entity to conduct surveillance reviews of EVM systems operated by contractors and ensure that LEP critical technologies satisfy readiness level benchmarks at decision points, the review states.