Re: SBIRS, Ada and Ignorance

[Robert Love <rblove@airmail.net>]

In <NhHqf.36784$dO2.21414@newssvr29.news.prodigy.net>  wrote:
> Since my name (creatively spelled, but I think Robert meant me) came 
> up in the discussion below, I will research the matter and see if I 
> can get an email off to the right people from my DoD account.

Yes, it was your name I was mangling.

>
> I'll probably get myself in trouble, but it won't be the first time.
> 
> As to the term "bozo," none of the USAF people involved deserve this
> appellation. They
> are simply reacting to the ignorance about Ada that seems to prevail 
> throughout the larger software community.   My experience with the 
> USAF decision-makers is that they are doing their best to make 
> responsible decisions on behalf of the National Defense.   They are 
> being misinformed by contractors whose self-interest sometimes
> preempts what ought to be their better judgement.

At the level of the Secretary and Undersecretary I expect them to be far 
removed from direct knowledge of the progject but somebody dropped the 
ball.  I expect it is in the USAF Project office.  Those managers have 
an oversight responsilbity and since it involves billions of tax payer 
dollars and national defense it is a task that should not just rely on 
the contractors information.  Did this project have a V&V contractor?  
I'll have to look.

I do note that Secretary Wynne has previously worked for LockMart, the 
prime contractor for SBIRS.  It may be that he is too cosy with his old 
employers but I doubt it.

It should be noted that the USAF has several big ticket satellite 
programs all well over budget and years behind schedule.  T-Sat, Space 
Based Radar and others join SBIRS as projects in trouble.  Most of them 
are due to sensor problems and general poor management.  Some should be 
more like R&D programs that operational projects.

Since the Secretary has brought up software as an issue on this 
satellite I want to know what was the real cause of the problem.  I 
can't believe Ada is a cause in its own right.  Was it compiler/tool 
problems?  Was it a bad software architecture?  Was there a valid set of 
requirements that were stable?