DOD Systems Modernization: Management of Integrated Military Human Capital Program Needs Additional Improvements

In January 2009, the Deputy Secretary of Defense directed the restructuring of DIMHRS to include the development, first, of a DIMHRS core capability that will satisfy DOD-wide requirements. To this end, the Deputy Secretary of Defense directed the military departments, including the Active Guard and Reserve Components, with the support of the Business Transformation Agency, Office of Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and Readiness), and the Defense Finance and Accounting Service to confirm the "core" enterprise requirements, which will primarily be restricted to those common data and process elements that are required to achieve timely and accurate military pay. According to the program manager, a memo was submitted to the Deputy Secretary of Defense acknowledging the completion of the required tasks outlined in the acquisition decision memorandum, one of which was to get agreement on the "core" requirements and ensure that they are complete and correct and acceptable to the user organizations.

In January 2009, the Deputy Secretary of Defense directed the restructuring of DIMHRS to include the development, first, of a DIMHRS core capability that will satisfy DOD-wide requirements. As part of this, the Deputy Secretary of Defense also directed the restructuring of the DIMHRS "core" governance structure. DOD has since established (1) an integrated product team structure to include representatives of all program stakeholders, such as the military services, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and Personnel and Readiness; (2) a governance board chaired by the Deputy Chief Management Officer; and (3) a steering committee chaired by the Director of the Business Transformation Agency. Further details about the status of this recommendation are considered for official use only and will be provided separately. Lastly, DOD has established a governance structure for DIMHRS, headed by two executive-level oversight committees--the Defense Business Systems Management Committee and the DIMHRS O-8 Steering Committee.

According to DOD officials, the Human Resources Management's Investment Review Board certified to the Defense Business Systems Management Committee, which is chaired by the Deputy Secretary of Defense, that DIMHRS is compliant with the business enterprise architecture (BEA), and that there are no material inconsistencies between the BEA and DIMHRS. Program officials stated that they intend to assure continued compliance and alignment with the BEA and consistent with DOD's policy and process, the program will be certified on an annual basis.

According to DIM HRS program officials, the Defense Business Systems Management Committee approved the integrated master program schedule (IMPS) in July 2006 and subsequently in May 2007. The schedule includes the activities--such as data management, testing, and deployment--to be performed by DIM HRS stakeholders. The IMPS also includes the following stakeholders: Army, Air Force, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, and Personnel and Readiness (Information Management). In January 2009, the Deputy Secretary of Defense directed the restructuring of DIM HRS to include the development, first, of a DIM HRS core capability that will satisfy DOD-wide requirements. As a result of the restructuring of the DIM HRS program, the integrated master program schedule will need to be updated accordingly. Further details about the status of this recommendation are considered for official use only and will be provided separately.

According to DOD, all relevant acquisition management best practices associated with COTS-based systems are being appropriately followed, including the three that we cite in our report as not being followed: (1) ensuring that plans explicitly provide for preparing users for the impact that the business processes embedded in the commercial components will have on their respective roles and responsibilities, (2) proactively managing the introduction and adoption of changes to how users will be expected to use the system to execute their jobs, and (3) ensuring that project plans explicitly provide for the necessary time and resources for integrating commercial components with legacy systems.

DOD has adopted a more event-driven, risk management process to allow for the consideration of factors other than schedule. For example, in September 2006, DOD established a Risk Management Control Board that meets monthly and assists the DIMHRS program office in identifying, analyzing, mitigating, tracking, and communicating program risks, such as data interfaces, testing, and data conversion. Further, according to DOD, in April 2008, DOD changed its deployment date from October 2008 to March 2009 to consider critical events, such as conducting adequate testing of the system's performance on payroll processing.