scope:

Description of Driving Event:

Due to three major factors the Project's budget was not sufficient to meet its primary objectives. One, the Project was the most significant and often times only customer for a very large and unique test resource: the National Full-scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC). This meant that most of the NFAC's operating costs were burdened on the Project since the cost could not be spread over a large customer base. Two, the Center had several emergencies and had to increase the amount of taxes levied on all its projects. Three, while the Project was considered to be a critical component of the Nation's effort to address the goals for improving the civil and military air transportation systems, it was hindered by frequent Agency re-prioritizations and budget realignments. Thus, the Project had to frequently re-plan for diminishing budgets and increasing overhead (reaching almost 50% of the Project's total budget) that was not planned for. As a result the Project could not meet its initial objectives and had to de-scope its requirements.