Reusing Legacy DoD Systems: Making the Right Choice.

摘要

As a result of the reuse of legacy systems by the Department of Defense (DoD), DoD programs often experience overruns and technical difficulties. With the constriction of DoD budgets, reuse of legacy systems is frequently touted as the solution to cost, efficiency, and time to delivery problems; however, cost overruns and technical difficulties associated with non-optimal legacy reuse can significantly diminish any perceived benefits. Through the evaluation of eight diverse DoD programs, this research shows that the state of a legacy system's documentation, availability of subject matter expertise, and complexity of integration are key factors that must be analyzed in order to properly assess the achievability of successful reuse. A framework, based on these key factors, is proposed to aid both the DoD and defense contractors in the evaluation of legacy systems for potential efficient and effective reuse.