Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Advanced Automation System (AAS)

In 1981 the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced the Advanced Automation Program, which was established to modernize air traffic control computer systems. A centerpiece of the project was the Advanced Automation System (AAS). AAS was the largest project in FAA’S history to modernize the nation’s ATC(Air Traffic Control) system: AAS would replace computer hardware and software and controller work stations at tower, terminal, and en-route facilities; and it allow the ATC system to accommodate forecasted large increases in traffic through the use of modern equipment and advanced software functions (GAO 1992).

Vignette Description

Substantial cost growth and schedule delays beset the AAS project over it history. The FAA originally proposed AAS in 1982 as a project that would cost $2.5 billion and be completed in 1996; however, there were numerous problems in the AAS development:

The project began with a design competition between Hughes and IBM. The competition involved numerous extensions and took four years to complete. Analysis by the FAA and others pointed to inadequate consideration of user expectations and improper assessment of the technology risks. (Barlas 1996)
The FAA pushed for 99.99999 percent reliability, which was considered by some “more stringent than on any system that has ever been implemented” and extremely costly. (DOT 1998)
Unworkable software testing schedules - “Testing milestones were skipped or shortcutted and new software was developed assuming that the previously developed software had been tested and performed.” (Barlas 1996)
There were an extraordinary number of requirements changes. For example, for the ISSS (Initial Sector Suite System), a key component of AAS, there were over 500 requirements changes in one year, 1990. Because of the 1990 changes, 150,000 lines had to be rewritten, at a cost of $242 million. (Boppana 2006)
IBM’s cost estimation and development process tracking used inappropriate data, were performed inconsistently, and were routinely ignored by project managers. The FAA conservatively expected to pay about $500 per line of computer code, five times the industry average. The FAA ended up paying $700 to $900 per line for the AAS software. (Gibbs 1994)
In 1988, FAA estimated that the AAS program--contract and supporting efforts--would cost $4.8 billion. By late 1993, the FAA estimated that it would cost $5.9 billion. Before the program was dramatically restructured in 1994, FAA estimated the program could cost as much as $7 billion with key segments expected to be behind schedule by as much eight years. In 1994, with significant cost and schedule overruns and concerns about adequate quality, usability and reliability, the AAS program ceased to exist as originally conceived, leaving its various elements terminated, restructured, or as parts of smaller programs. (DOT 1998)

The AAS problems could be associated with the non-use or misuse of a number of system engineering concepts and practices: system requirements, system architecture complexity, project scheduling, risk analysis, change management, system analysis and design, system reliability, system integration, system testing, and management oversight.

Summary

The AAS Program was the centerpiece of an ambitious effort begun in the 1980s to replace the computer hardware and software, including controller workstations, in en-route, terminal, and tower air traffic control facilities. Also, AAS was intended to provide new automated capabilities to accommodate increases in air traffic. After sustaining serious cost and schedule problems, FAA dramatically restructured the program into more manageable pieces. This action included terminating major segments of the contract. (DOT 1998)

References

Citations

Barlas, S. “Anatomy of a Runaway: What Grounded the AAS.” IEEE Software 13, no.1(1996): 104-106.
Boppana, K, et al. 2006. Can Models Capture the Complexity of the Systems Engineering Process?. Proceeding of the International Conference on Complex Systems (ICC2006), June 2006.
DOT. April 15, 1998. Audit Report: Advance Automation System, Federal Aviation Administration. U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of Inspector General.
GAO. September 1992. Advanced Automation System Still Vulnerable to Cost and Schedule Problems. United States General Accounting Office, GAO/RCED-92-264.
Gibbs, W. Wayt. “Software’s Chronic Crisis.” Scientific American, September 1994.