Lessons learned from the 14-year systems development of the Marine Corps' Standard Accounting, Budgeting and Reporting System (SABRS)

Abstract

In August of 1978 the Marine Corps initiated the development of a consolidated financial management system. On October 1, 1992, after 14-years of systems development eilon, the Standard Accounting, Budgeting and Reponing System (SABRS) was finally implemented throughout the Marine Corps. This thesis chronicles the 14-year SABRS systems development effon using the historical case study research method. Data is presented from both archival sources and personal interviews. The SABRS project reveals some imponant general lessons about the systems development process that will prove useful to future project managers tasked with developing large-scale administrative information systems. These lessons learned include, but are not limited to, (I} the imponance of top management suppon. (2) the role of the project manager as leader, rather than technical expen, (3) the use of adaptive prototyping, (4) the imponance of fitting the right people to the right task, and (5) the ability of management to alter its commitment to a failed course of action.