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TITLE VIII--ACQUISITION POLICY, ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT, AND RELATED MATTERS

Subtitle C — Provisions Relating to Major Defense Acquisition Programs

P. L. 115-

House Conference Report. 115-404

(a) Additional Test And Evaluation Duties Of Military Secretaries And Defense Agency Heads.—

(1) REPORT ON COMPARISON OF OPERATIONAL TEST AND EVALUATION RESULTS TO LEGACY ITEMS OR COMPONENTS.—Concurrent with the submission of a report required under section 2399(b)(2) of title 10, United States Code, the Secretary of a military department or the head of a Defense Agency may provide to the congressional defense committees and the Secretary of Defense a report describing of the performance of the items or components evaluated as part of the operational test and evaluation for each major defense acquisition program conducted under such section by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation in relation to comparable legacy items or components, if such items or components exist and relevant data are available without requiring additional testing.

(2) ADDITIONAL REPORT ON OPERATIONAL TEST AND EVALUATION ACTIVITIES.—Within 45 days after the submission of an annual report required by section 139(h) of title 10, United States Code, the Secretaries of the military departments may each submit to the congressional defense committees a report addressing any concerns related to information included in the annual report, or providing updated or additional information, as appropriate.

(b) Requirements For Collection Of Cost Data On Test And Evaluation.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act and subject to paragraph (2), the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, the senior official of the Department of Defense with responsibility for developmental testing, and the Director of the Test Resource Management Center shall jointly develop policies, procedures, guidance, and a method to collect data that ensures that consistent and high quality data are collected on the full range of estimated and actual developmental, live fire, and operational testing costs for major defense acquisition programs.

(2) CONCURRENCE AND COORDINATION REQUIRED.—Before implementing the policies, procedures, guidance, and method developed under paragraph (1), the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, the senior official of the Department of Defense with responsibility for developmental testing, and the Director of the Test Resource Management Center shall—

(A) obtain the concurrence of the Director for Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation; and

(B) coordinate with the Secretaries of the military departments.

(3) DATA REQUIREMENTS.—

(A) ELECTRONIC DATABASE.—Data on estimated and actual developmental, live fire, and operational testing costs shall be maintained in an electronic database maintained by the Director for Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation or another appropriate official of the Department of Defense, and shall be made available for analysis by testing, acquisition, and other appropriate officials of the Department of Defense, as determined by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation, the senior official of the Department of Defense with responsibility for developmental testing, or the Director of the Test Resource Management Center.

(B) DIAGGREGATION BY COSTS.—To the maximum extent practicable, data collected under this subsection shall be set forth separately by costs for developmental testing, operational testing, and training.

(c) Major Defense Acquisition Program Defined.—In this section, the term “major defense acquisition program” has the meaning provided in section 2430 of title 10, United States Code.

The House bill contained a provision (sec. 833) that would amend section 139 of title 10, United States Code, to require the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) to document specific circumstances that require the addition of smaller programs to the OT&E oversight list and to summarize those circumstances in the annual OT&E report. This provision would also amend section 2399 of title 10, United States Code, to require the Director of OT&E to provide data in test reports on how the capabilities of new systems being tested compare to those of legacy systems. This provision would also amend section 139 of title 10, United States Code, to enhance the opportunity of the military departments to comment on the annual OT&E report to ensure that OT&E information is complete, accurate, and timely. The section also would require improved transparency of T&E cost data to enable oversight entities to better evaluate the adequacy of a program's T&E plans and resources. It would also require the Department of Defense to develop an enterprise approach to T&E knowledge management to leverage T&E data across programs. The Director of the Test Resource Management Center and the senior Department official responsible for developmental testing would be required to submit a report to the congressional defense committees, within 1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, on the Department's enterprise approach.

The Senate amendment contained no similar provision.

The Senate recedes with an amendment that would authorize Service Secretaries and heads of Defense Agencies to provide a description of the performance of the items or components evaluated by the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation in relation to comparable legacy items or components. The amendment would also clarify the role of the Director of the Test Resource Management Center and the Director of Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation in collection and analysis of test and evaluation cost data.

The conferees note the importance of developing an enterprise approach to knowledge management to leverage T&E data across programs to improve program outcomes. The conferees direct the Secretary of Defense, working through the Director of the Test Resource Management Center and the senior Department of Defense official with responsibility for developmental testing to provide to the congressional defense committees a report on the development of an approach for managing test and evaluation knowledge across the entire Department of Defense.

The report shall include the following elements, along with other elements as directed by the Secretary:

(A) The detailed concepts, requirements, technologies, methodologies, and architecture necessary for an enterprise approach to knowledge management for test and evaluation, including data, data analysis tools, and modeling and simulation capabilities;

(B) Resources needed to develop and adopt an enterprise approach to knowledge management for test and evaluation;

(C) Roles and responsibilities of various Department of Defense entities to develop and adopt an enterprise approach to knowledge management for test and evaluation;

(D) Time frames required to develop and adopt an enterprise approach to knowledge management for test and evaluation; and

(E) A description of pilot studies ongoing at the time of the date of the enactment of this Act or previously conducted related to developing an enterprise approach to test and evaluation knowledge management, including results of the pilot studies (if available) and lessons learned.

The report should be transmitted to the Congress no later than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.