towards the next generation army it procurement system · towards the next generation army it...

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Towards the Next Generation Army IT Procurement System In 2013, the Army purchased over $1.6 billion dollars in information technology equipment from sources other than enterprise procurement vehicles through the Army Chief Information Officer/G6 Goal 1 Waiver system. Of these requests, $1.1 billion were unable to be categorized in any way, and the remaining $500 million that could be generically sorted did not provide enough information to reprogram any requests back into an EPV. As the number of waivers continues to grow each year, the Army CIO/ G6 seeks to transform the Goal 1 Waiver system to meet the accountability needs of the Army while providing high quality service to the Warfighter. BY MAJ Alexander Vukcevic Michael R. Grimaila and James N. Mark 63 Army Communicator (Continued on page 64) Disclaimer The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy of the U.S. Army, the U. S. Air Force, nor the Department of Defense.

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Page 1: Towards the Next Generation Army IT Procurement System · Towards the Next Generation Army IT Procurement System In 2013, the Army purchased over $1.6 billion dollars in information

Towards the Next Generation Army IT Procurement System In 2013, the Army purchased over $1.6 billion dollars in information technology equipment from sources other than enterprise procurement vehicles through the Army Chief Information Officer/G6 Goal 1 Waiver system. Of these requests, $1.1 billion were unable to be categorized in any way, and the remaining $500 million that could be generically sorted did not provide enough information to reprogram any requests back into an EPV. As the number of waivers continues to grow each year, the Army CIO/G6 seeks to transform the Goal 1 Waiver system to meet the accountability needs of the Army while providing high quality service to the Warfighter.

BY MAJ Alexander Vukcevic Michael R. Grimailaand James N. Mark

63Army Communicator

(Continued on page 64)

Disclaimer The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not reflect the official policy of the U.S. Army, the U. S. Air Force, nor the Department of Defense.

Page 2: Towards the Next Generation Army IT Procurement System · Towards the Next Generation Army IT Procurement System In 2013, the Army purchased over $1.6 billion dollars in information

Inthisarticle,wepresentthepreliminaryfindingsofourresearchintothestrengthsandweaknessesoftheexistingGoal1Waiverprogram.Wethenproposeashorttermmethodtoprioritizerequests,discussthebenefitsofaunifiedtaxonomy,andexploreanautomatedcollaborationsolutiontostreamlinetheprocess.Thiscentraltoolwouldmanagetherequestprocessfromsubmissiontoformalaccounting,deliverinformationtostakeholders,managedigitalsignatures,andprovidedecisionmakerswithrelevantmetricsandanalysis.

Background Technologyisthecornerstoneofbattlespacesuperiorityintheinformationage,andadecadeatwarhasgiventheArmyaravenousappetiteforIT.In2010,theU.S.Armyspentinexcessof$15billiononITrelatedproducts,programs,andservices.Weknewthemoneywasspent,butwhatdidwebuy?DidourpurchasesmeetInformationAssurancerequirements?Didwemakesmartpurchases?Arewebeinggoodstewardsoftaxpayerdollars?Theurgencyofwarcloudedtheanswerstothesequestions,andintheyearsfollowingFiscalYear2010theannualITbudgetbegantodecline.TheArmyisnowtryingtomaintainthelevelofITsupportithascometoexpectatafractionofthebudget.Tothisend,westudytheevolutionoftheArmyITprocurementprocess,whyitisn’tworking,andproposephasedchangesthatimprovemissionsupportwhileenablingtheaccountabilityandvisibilityrequiredbydecisionmakersandthosewhowillbeheldfiscallyresponsible. MaintaininganITacquisitionsystemfortheUSArmyisnotaneasytask.AdecadeofwartimeurgencyhasmadetheITneedsoftheArmymirrorthoseofatechgiantinthegrowthphaseofitslifecycle.Tacticalunitsrequiretoolsthatshowthemrealtimebattlespaceinapackagesmallenoughforthemtocarry.Thenetworkenterpriseneedsconstanthardwareandsoftwareupgradestofeedthegrowingarrayofbandwidthhungryenduserapplications

whilecontinuingtomeetingsecurityrequirements.Asaconsequence,thegatekeepersofthissystemareovertaskedandliveinreactionmode. TheArmyturnedtoa‘decentralizedplanning’and‘decentralizedexecution’modeltokeeppacewiththeITcentricneedsofdiverseanddynamicwartimemissions.Thismodelcomeswithrisks.ProcessesthatwereoncequantitativelymanageddevolvedtobarelymeetingtheCapabilityMaturityModelbasecriteriaformanagedprocesses. TheregressionismostvisibleinuseofEPVssuchasComputerHardwareEnterpriseSoftwareandSolutions.AunitcommanderismandatedtouseCHESSforCommercial-Off-the-ShelfITneeds.WhenCHESSisoutofstock,doesnotsupportexactrequirements,orcannotmeetoperationaltimelines,thecommandercancontractwithanothervendor.However,theseproductshaven’tbeenvettedthroughsecuritychannelsandmaynotmeetCertificationandAccreditationstandards.Thisbypassalsoremovestheautomatedpurchasingrecordthatenablesbudgetingandaccountingtoeasilykeeptrackofthemoney.Forthetime,commandersacceptedthislossofaccountabilityinordertomeetcriticalmissionneeds. In2010,theArmyshiftedtoapostwaroutlookonfundingandtriedtomendthisprocesstoimproveaccountabilityandtransparency.TheCIO/G6tookapprovalcontroloflocalandnon-ITbudgetedfundsthroughtheGoal1Waiversystem.Sincethen,Goal1Waiverhasbecomethehubforspecialapprovalrequests,andanythingthattheEPVscannotaccommodate.ApprovedGoal1requestshavegrownexponentiallysince2010,surgingover$1.6billionby2013.Awebinterfacemeanttovalidateafewnon-budgetedrequestsbyasmallstaffisnowusedtoprocess,analyze,andautomatetheITneedsoftheentireArmy.

Goal 1 Waiver Analysis InanefforttoredirectrequestsbacktotheEPVs,weanalyzedthewaiversintheGoal1systemfrom2013.Uponreviewofthenearly9000ITrequests,wefounditdifficulttoconductausefulanalysisdue

tothelackofstandardizationintheinformationprovidedforeachrequest.Ofthe$1.6billionintotalrequests,$1.1billionwasunabletobecategorizedinanymeaningfulwayandtheremaining$500millionthat

couldbesortedgenericallydidnotprovideenoughinformation

tobeabletoreprogramtherequestsbackintoanEPV.WhiletheGoal1systemexcelsatitsprimaryfunctionofverifyingandvalidatinguserrequests,theautomatedsystemisnotcurrentlydesignedtocollectdecisionqualityinformationneededtoexpediterequests. TheRequestPackagesthatcannotbehandledbyArmyCHESSarebytheirnaturevariedandunique.TheexistingGoal1menusarebuiltinawaythatarequestmaymeetmultiplecriteria.Forexample,fundingforasystemadministratortoperformupkeeponanexistingSQLservermeetsthree‘Item’criteriaandismarkedas‘Other.’TherequestorthenexplainsthedetailsatgreatlengthintheDescriptionfield.WhiletheDescriptionfieldprovidesthemeansfortherequestortoprovideclarificationoftheneedforrequest,theunstructurednatureofthedataresultsingreatdifficultywhentryingtocomparecompetingrequests. Inordertounderstandthemagnitudeoftheproblem,Table1belowshowsthatin61%ofall2013submissions‘ItemType’weremarkedas‘Other’orleftblank.Figure1showsthatthislackoffidelityresultedin$1,108,449,363ofnon-standardArmyITrequestswhichcannotbesortedatall. ItiscleartheArmyneedsanewsystemtomanageITrequests.Intheremainderofthisarticle,weidentifytheshorttermneedsofITacquisition

stakeholders,proposeneartermchanges,andproposeanautomatedandsustainablesolution.

Short Term Reform Proposal Inordertoremainflexibletonewsoftwareplatforms,wewillfocusonthegeneralelementsnecessaryforasustainableITacquisitionprocess.The scope of this proposal will focus on collaboration forprocessingrequests,andwillnotaddressgovernanceissuessuchaspolicy,roles,andenforcement.Theobjectivesofthisproposalareto:

• ReduceaveragetotalprocessingtimeforallITrequeststolessthan10days.• AccuratelyaccountforallITfundsspentthroughouttheArmy.• Reducetheamountoffundsbeingplacedonhighercostnon-enterprisecontracts.• Maximizecost-effectivenessbyempoweringEPVstoremainrelevanttothecustomer.• Enabletrendanalysis,projections,anddynamicreportingforcostandprocurementdecisionmaking.• Minimizetheuseofnon-standardequipment.

Figure2showsamodifiedJointCapabilityAreaCapabilityViewtoillustratewhatCapabilitiesthisprocessusestoenableEnterpriseServices,howtheyalignwithArmyObjectives,andtheActivitiesrequiredtosupportthem.TheJCAgoalofthisprocessis,“Theabilitytoprovidetoall

Table 1. Goal 1 Waiver Requests for 2013 (Goal 1 Query as of 2/7/2014)

Figure 1. Total 2013 requested IT dollars by ‘Item’ Criteria (Goal 1 Query as of 2/7/2014)

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Figure 2. Modified Joint Capability Area (JCA) Capability, Objectives, and Activities View

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authorizedusersawarenessof,andaccessto,allDODinformationandDOD-wideinformationservices.”Toaccomplishthistask,theprocessmustprovideAccountabilityandVisibilityusingthestandardssetbyInformationAssurance,andArmySupplyandAcquisitionRegulations,whileimprovingacquisitionefficiencyfortheWarfighter.

Prioritization TheexistingGoal1Waiverinterfaceisasimple,homegrownplatform.ThedatabasereceivesuserinputandemploysaFirst-In-First-OutpresentationofRequestPackagesforapproval.Itdoesnotconsiderwhatisinthepackageorwhosubmittedit.MuchlikeaSharePointportal,itfunctionsasarepositorythatrequirestheusertodecidewhatisimportant.BeforeweconsideralongtermsolutiontheCIO/G6mustbeabletosortandaddressrequestsinorderoftheirvaluetotheArmy.CriteriamustbechosenandweightedtoscoreallRequestPackages.BaseduponareviewofArmydoctrine,instructions,andpolicies,weidentifiedthefollowingpolicydirectedcriteriaassignificant:

Army Mission Support TheprioritiespublishedintheArmyResourcePriorityListbytheForceManagementDirectoratetellunitshowtoprovidethegreatestbenefittotheArmy.ThefourARPLcategoriesare:Expeditionary,Critical,Essential,andEnhancing.ThesecategorieswouldserveasanArmylevelupdateandreplacementtotheRiskAnalysisforArmyPropertyguidance.

Unit Mission Criticality TheArmyG8equippingguidanceandtheannualunitITtransformationplanwilldriveunitpurchasingpriorities.Theseguidelinesshapeunitlevelfocus,andcanbeeasilycategorizedinevaluationfactorsforloss.However,insteadofloss,theunitwillcategorizepurchasesas:Critical,Essential,Significant,Moderate,andMinortoevaluatetherisksofnon-acquisition.

Asset Replaceability Timerequiredtoreplaceanassetisastrongmetricwhenevaluatingservicesthatare“Alwayson.”DAPAM190-51usescutoffsof5,30,90,and180days,butcouldbeadjustedtomeetServiceLevelRequirementsforthebroadspectrumofservices.

Total Cost of Ownership

Purchaseprice,lifetimeoperationsandmaintenance,anddisposalallfactorintothisvalue.Currentpricebreaksof$25,000,$100,000,$250,000,$500,000and$1millionappeartobearbitraryroundvalues,butdoserveasrelevantdivisionswhenevaluatedagainstbudgets. Wehaveidentifiedthefollowingmissionrelevantprioritizationcriteriaassignificant:

System State ThisattributedefinesthedispositionoftheITneed:NewAcquisition,LifeCycleReplacement,ITSupport,Upgrade,Maintenance,andMoratorium.ThisfieldwouldbeapplicabletoallITpurchases,butmaynotprovidepriorityvalueinallcases,orcouldbegiventemporaryvaluedependingonguidance.

O&M Asfundingdecreases,theArmyseekstooutsourceOperationsandMaintenanceofcertainfunctions,inordertofocusonourcorecompetencies.The IT contribution to this effort is to shift from purchasinghardwareandsoftwarewemaintain,topurchasingtheservicesofhardwareandsoftware.Inthisvein,theArmycanmanagethelevelatwhichArmyownedandoperatedpurchasesarefavored.

Time Sensitivity Thisattributewouldcarryaslidingweightbasedonthemissionneeddate.Thereisriskinvolvedwithaddingaweightbasedonuserperceivedtimerequirement.However,AR25-1directsunitstocreate annual IT transformation plans, which this systemwouldeventuallysupportasanannualunitITprocurementplanningtool.Thepotentialforabuseofthisfieldwouldbemitigatedbyeachofthefollowingfields.

Time in Queue ThisattributewouldbecalculatedinthesamewayasTimeSensitivity,andactasabalanceforabuseofthepreviousfield.Thelongerarequestsitsinthequeuethemoreweightitreceives.WhenaddedtotheTimeSensitivitydatethesefieldsenablelowpriorityrequeststhatwaitpatientlyatthebottomofthequeuetobepurchasedintime.Thisisanincentiveforcommandstoplantheirpurchasesearly,astheyaremorelikelytohavetheirrequestsapprovedbythetimetheyneedtheirequipment.

ScopeScopeaddressesthebreadthofSoldiers,andcivilians,

impactedbytheRequestPackagebyconsideringwhobenefitsfromthepurchase:SingleOrganization,MultiCommand,MultiInstallation,ArmyWide,Joint,orMultinational.Scopeaccountsfortechnologysuchas‘BigVoice’whichhasabroaduserbase,butmightnotscorehighlyonArmyMissionSupport.

Command AllcommandsintheArmyarenotcreatedequal.TheCIO/G6wouldweightcommandsbasedonseniorleaderguidance.MuchlikeScope,thegreaterareaofinfluencewillbetakenintoaccount.

Commander’s Flag ThecurrentFIFOsystemhascreatedaconditionbywhichGeneralOfficersarecallingtheCIOlookingtoadvancetheircriticalpurchasesthroughthelineofrequests.Ifanalyzedandweightedcorrectly,theabovecriteriashouldeliminatetheneedtobypassthesystem.However,theCommander’sFlagactsasamechanismfortheGOtopusharequesttothefrontofthelinebydigitallysigningthisfield.TheFlagwouldholdanadditivevalueequalforeachcommand,meaningtworequestswithCommander’sFlagswouldmovetothefrontofthelineinorderoftheiroriginalweight.GOswouldnotbeabletodelegatethisrequestsignatureauthority,andbeheldaccountabletotheCIO/G6foreachuse,givingthisfieldalowpotentialforabuse. Thelistabovecouldbeweightedinmanydifferentwaystoyieldasingleprioritizedlist.Whileourproposedformulathisbeyondthescopeofthispaper,stakeholdersinthisprocessmustdeterminethecategoryweightsforthissystemtowork.

Unified IT Acquisition Taxonomy Onceprioritizationisinplace,thetermsshouldserveasastartingpointforthedevelopmentofaUnifiedITAcquisitionTaxonomyforfixed,concise,andrelevantfields.Thesefieldswillenablevisibilitythroughanalysis,trendprojections,grouping,andseamlesslytransferdatatobudgetandfinancesystems.Commonlanguagedecreasesprocessingtimeandaccelerateslongtermcollaboration.AUnifiedTaxonomyrequiresinputfromArmyelementsbeyondthescopeandauthorityofthisresearch.Belowarerecommendationsforstartingpoints.

Business Function Attributes BusinessFunctionsarefixed“bigpicture”fields,notdirectlyrelatedtotheITneed.Thesefieldsfocus

onadministration:RequestingCommand,Scope,Purpose,ManagementDecisionPackages,andArmyProgramElements,etc.IfanITAssetdoesn’thaveitsowndiscreteselectionwithinthelargerRequestPackagetheCIO/G6mustdetermineawaytoseparate them, or accept the multiple selection criteria forthegivenfield.Thesevaluesshouldaimtobediscrete,“pickone”drop-downmenus.

IT Need Attributes ITNeedsshouldbe“pickone”inbroadITcategoriesand“pickallthatapply”forBinsdealingwiththespecificequipment.Forexample,TierOnemayconsistof:Tactical,DataCenter,Office,orInfrastructure.TierTwomaybeashortlistofdevicetypes.TierThree,whereunitrequirementsbecomeunique,providescheckboxesofalluniquefieldspreviouslyrequests.TierFourwillprovideashortanswer‘Other’sectiontoallowgrowthinTierThree.InashorttimetheCIO/G6couldbuildarelevantandaccurateThirdTiercomprehensiveenoughtoonlysee‘Other’withemergingtechnologies.

Finance Centric Taxonomy Duringthisresearch,weexaminedtheAirForceandNavyITprocurementsystems.TheAirForcecurrentlyoperatesinasimilardecentralizedsystemtotheArmy.TheNavy,however,hasconsolidatedtheir‘non-weaponsystem’ITprocurementintotheNavyInformationDominanceApprovalSystem. TheintentandscopeofthiscontractedsystemaresimilartothoseoftheArmy.NAV-IDASfunctionsasintended,butdoesnotaccountfornavalfinancialsystems.TheNavycurrentlyfacesthechallengeoftyingrequeststofunding.TheArmyhasanopportunitytolearnfromthischallengebyintegratingtheArmyPortfolioManagementSolutionandtheGeneralFundEnterpriseBusinessSystemintotheearlystagesofprocessrestructure. BybuildinganITprocurementtoolwithbudgetingandaccountingatitscore,theArmywouldmaximizeitsabilitytobuildafullyintegratedcollaborationtool,whileprimingitformigrationandconsolidationintothefinancialcoreatanypointinthe future.

Long Term Collaboration and Automation Oncetherestructuringoftheexistingwaiversystemiscomplete,thefocuswouldturntowardsmodifyingthesystemimplementationinorderto

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improvetheoverallefficiencyoftheprocess.Figure3showstheexisting“asis”andtheproposed“tobe”architecturefortheGoal1Waiversystem.ArmyIT procurement is currently a cumbersomeprocess.Requestsareprocessedviaemailinchangingformatsdependingonthedestination,andtrackingisdonebyphone. Bybuildinganautomatedcollaborationdashboardunitscouldtracktheirrequestfromstart to finish in one place. The dashboardwouldproviderealtimetrackingupdatesforallRequestPackages,toincludeindividualITAssetprogressthroughthesystem. Whenastakeholderfinishestheiractionthedashboardwouldroutetherequesttothenextstakeholderandgenerateanemail notification for action. Unitswouldbeabletoseethecurrent action owner, for how long,whatactionsothershavetaken,andcommentsinaformat

thatcouldbebriefeddirectlyfromtheinterface.Finally,stakeholderscouldcustomizetheirinterfaceoptions,allowingthemtoarrangeanddisplaydatainawaythatbestsuitstheirneeds. Formattingchangeswouldbe transparent between stakeholders,allowingtheDODCIOtoqueryandreviewarequestwithouttheArmyinvestingmanhoursindocumentconversion.

Army Service BrokerTofurtherimprovetheefficiencytheArmywouldbebestservedbyconsolidatingallITservicecontracting.TheArmyServiceBrokerwouldberesponsibleforallexistingcontractsandbecomethenegotiatorforanynewserviceswithagenciessuchastheEPVsandtheDefenseInformationSystemsAgency.Armylevelmanagementisnotrequiredforallservicerequests,butanArmyServiceBrokershouldevaluateandconsolidateArmylevelcontractswhen

possible.

Software Platform The most efficient software solutionwouldbetocontractwithaproviderthathasexperiencewiththisneedandtobuildthedashboardintoanexistingArmyfundedplatform.The robust infrastructure of the Armyfinancialplatformswouldbeideal.AswesawwithNAV-IDAS,integratingITacquisitionintoArmyfinancialprocessesatthestartwillimproveefficiency,andmitigatefutureintegrationissues.

Streamlined Purchase Process Inthissection,wewalkthroughthegeneraluseofthissystem from submission to acquisition.First,weaddressthestakeholdersinthe“HappyPath,”whichisaRequestPackageandassociatedITAssetsthatrequirenointerventionandmovesdirectlytopurchase.Then,wediscussstakeholdersthatbecomeinvolvedintheexception process. ThefullworkflowdiagramforthisprocessisincludedinaproposedCONOPSdocument,but contains too many scenarios androutingactivitiesforinclusion in this article. This processistheintendedendstateforthisstageofthesystemandlookstofieldnolessthan90%oftheITrequestssubmittedbytheArmy.

Request Packages EachsubmissionisconsideredaRequestPackagethatmaycontainavarietyofITAssetsneededtoaccomplishthemission.TheRequestPackageasawholemustbeapprovedprior

tothepurchaseofanyITAssetscontainedwithin. ThisdashboardwouldhelpunitsmeettheArmystandardofsubmittingtheirannualITtransformationplanbyloadingprojectedpurchasesintothesystem. Unitswouldberewardedforlongtermplanningthroughthepriorityweightingcriteria.Thoughpricingandavailabilityfieldsmaybecomestaleoverthe year, they offer reference for planningandeventualpurchase.Oncemature,thesubmissionmenushouldprovideunitswithanexhaustiveselectiontoolthateliminatestheneedforexternaldocumentattachment.

Army Portfolio Management Solution

APMSprovidesvaluetothissystembyintegratingresourceplanningdata.Unitscan use their own projections toguidetheirrequestsanddeterminehowmuchmoneytheyshouldspend,andthroughwhichfundingstreams,allinthe interface they use to submit requests.APMSauthorizationwillbealargelyautomatedprocess.APMSwillnothavetheauthoritytorejectasubmittedRequestPackagefrombeingprocessed. IfarequestisnotassociatedwithafundingcodeAPMSwillmerelyannotatetheunfundedrequirementforstakeholdersintheunit’schainofcommandtomakeadetermination.

Enterprise Procurement Vehicle

RelevantEPVswouldreviewtheITAssetsinthepackageanddeterminewhattheycanandcannotprovide,andatwhatprice.ThedispositionofeachIT

AssetwouldthenbeannotatedwithintheRequestPackageintheDashboard.LikeAMPS,theEPVwillnotstoparequestwhoserequirementsitcannotfill.Rather,itwillsendtheITAssetbacktotherequestorforanaddendumofvendorquotestobeaddedtotherequest.ThedashboardwillonlyforwardthetotalRequestPackageontotheCommandonceallrequiredITAssetinformationhasbeenadded.

Command Onceallbudgetingandavailabilitydetailsaregathered,therequestingunit’scommandwoulddecidewhetherornottoapprovetherequest.IftheCommandrejectstheRequestPackagetherequestwouldremaininthesystemasavalueaddeddatapointwiththereasonforrejection.Therejectedrequestisavailableinthedatabaseforanalysis,andiftheCommandwishestoapprovetherequestatalaterdatetheprocesscan easily resume.

Higher Command TherequestthengoestothehigherArmyCommand,ArmyServiceComponentCommand,orDirectReportingUnitforapproval.IftheRequestPackageanditsITAssetsarefullyfundedthecommandwoulddigitallysignandforwardtoGFEBS.Ifunfundedexceptionsexist,thiswillbethefirstlevelofdivergentactionintheExceptionssectionsbelow.

General Fund Enterprise Business Systems

OnceallITAssetsintheRequestPackageareapprovedGFEBScommitsandobligatesfunds,thenroutestherequest

totheappropriatecontractingoffice.

Exceptions Inthissection,wediscussRequestPackagegatekeepersandITAssetsortingforexceptions.ThissectionrepresentsadirectchangetotheexistingGoal1Waiverprocess,whichwillnow become a component of thelargerrequestmanagementsystem.Figure4depictstheproposedworkflowfortheprocess.

CIO/G6The primary function of the CIO/G6istoreviewexceptionsforIAcompliance,andconductanalysisonITAssetexceptionsthataren’tbeingaddressedthroughEPVs.AtfullsystemmaturitytheCIO/G6shouldfocusprimarilyontrends,projections,andcontractformingwiththeArmyServiceBroker.

DOD CIO TheDODCIOonlyentersthisprocessforITAssetrequeststhatrequireDODapproval,suchasmoratoriumsandspecifiedpurchase restrictions.

Hardware Thehardwareapprovalprocesswillremainunchanged.RequestspecificationswillbereviewedandannotatedforuniquerequirementsthatarenotbeingmetbyEPVs,thenapprovediftherearenocomplianceissues.HardwaremayprovetobethehardestITAssetcategorytostandardize,andcouldmaintainalongtermplaceintheExceptionprocess.

Software

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Figure 3. Process Concept Change

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TheSoftwareExceptionprocesswouldbesubjecttotheArmyApplications/SystemsMigration–RationalizationandDispositionProcess.IfthesoftwaremeetstherequirementsofthemodernizationchecklistitwillbeforwardedtotheArmyServiceBrokerforprocessing.Ifthesoftwareisdeterminedtobetemporarilysustained,shorttermlicensesmaybeissued.Ifthesoftwaremeetsnorequirements,theRequestPackagewillberejecteduntilthesoftwareisremovedormodified.

Army Service Broker TheArmyServiceBrokerwouldbecomethegatekeeperforcontractserviceswhichwouldacceleratetheArmy’sintendedmigrationintothecloud.TheArmyServiceBrokerwouldworkcloselywiththeCIO/G6todeterminewhatcontractmodificationswouldbeofthemostbenefittotheacquisitionprocess.

General Fund Enterprise Business Systems OnceallexceptionsintheRequestPackageareaddressedtheRequestPackageisapproved.GFEBScommitsandobligatesfunds,thenroutestherequesttotheappropriatecontractingoffice.

Analysis and Reporting ThisconsolidatedprocessprovidesitsgreatestvaluetotheArmyintheformofITmetrics.Throughreal-timeanalysistheArmywillbeabletocustomizeandautomatefinancialaccountability,trendanalysis,programthresholdtriggers,valuemapping,andanyotheranalysisrequirementthatmay arise in the future.

Financial Accountability ThissystemwouldserveastheconnectinginterfacebetweenAPMSbudgetingandtheGFEBSspendinguntilalongtermintegrationsolution

couldbeagreedupon.

Decision Analysis Tools TheCIO/G6wouldberesponsibleforanalyzingthedatabase,buttheywouldnothavetobuildtheirtoolsfromscratch.TheArmamentAnalyticsMultipleObjectiveDecisionAnalysisToolisValueBasedAnalysistooldesignedforweaponprocurementthatcouldserveasamodelforfindingfurtherefficienciesinITprocurementprocess.

Trend Analysis TrendanalysiswouldenabletheCIO/G6andtheArmyServiceBrokertomakedatadrivendecisionswhennegotiatingEPVcontracts.WithenoughtrenddatatheCIO/G6wouldbeabletoprojectwhenaprogramwouldneedtobeestablished,andsetthresholdtriggersinthesystemthatwouldprovideanalertwhencriteriaismet.Inadditiontocommonmetrics,theCIO/G6couldtoeasilycombinefieldstogeneratenewinformationwithoutanymodificationtothe

system.

Value Mapping Asthedatabasegrows,priorityfactorswillbegintotrendincorrelationtotheirtotalcost.Thiswouldeventuallyyield“soft”upperandlowerlimitbandsfornormalpurchases.Thisvaluemapcouldprovideaguidetodeterminethecosteffectivenessofanygivenrequest.Thiswouldnotbehardcutoff,butratheradditionalinformationfordecisionmakerstoconsiderwhenpresentedwithaRequestPackage.Figure5showsavaluemappingexamplewhichprovidesacostversuspriorityviewofrequests.Suchafigureprovidesdecisionmakerswithavisualunderstandingofrequeststosupportdecisionmaking.

Total Integration ThedevelopmentofITprocurementtoolsbasedoncollaboration,automation,andconsolidationhaslongtermimplicationsforhowtheArmyallocatesfunds,spends,andbalancesitsbudget.

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Figure 4. Proposed Work Flow

Figure 5. Value Mapping Example

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BycontinuingtointegratetheArmypurchasingandfundingprocessbecomesaWikiofinformation,givingstakeholdersaccesstoallmissionrelevantcontentthroughasingleinterface.

Conclusion Inthisarticle,wediscussedtheITAcquisitionschallengesfacingtheArmybroughtonbyadecadeofwar.Weproposeda possible course of action for prioritizationandaUnifiedITAcquisitionTaxonomy.ThiscourseofactionwouldlayafoundationfortheGoal1Waiversystemtomigrateintoanautomatedcollaborativedashboard.Thisdashboard

wouldprovidetheArmywarfighterwithastreamlinedITacquisitionprocessfromsubmissiontodelivery.Beneaththedashboard,thecentralrepositorywouldallowtheCIO/G6totrackrequests,managedigitalsignatures,conductanalysisonpurchasingtrends,establishthresholdsandprojections, automate financial reporting,andprovidedecisionmakerswithrelevantmetricsinrealtime.BybuildingthesetoolsintotheArmyfinancialplatformsandworkingbacktowardstheITneedsofthewarfighter,theArmycanrealizeasustainablesolutionforefficient,accountable,andvisibleIT procurement.

.

MAJ Alexander Vukcevic is a Functional Area 24, currently enrolled in the Masters of Engineering Management program at the Air Force Institute of Technology.

Michael R. Grimaila, PhD, CISM, CISSP is a professor and head of the Department of Systems Engineering and a member of the Air Force Cyberspace Technical Center of Excellence (AF CyTCoE) at the Air Force Institute of Technology.

James N. Mark, MA, MBA, MSCE is the ARFIT and Goal 1 Waiver Program Lead within the IT Investments Division of the HQDA CIO/G6.

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APMS–ArmyPortfolioManagementSolutionARPL–ArmyResourcePriorityListARFIT–ArmyRequestforInformationTechnologyCIO–ChiefInformationOfficerCHESS-ComputerHardwareEnterpriseSoftwareandSolutionsDOD–DepartmentofDefenseFIFO –First-In-First-OutGFEBS-GeneralFundEnterpriseBusinessSystem

GO–GeneralOfficerEPV-EnterpriseProcurementVehicleFY –FiscalYearFIFO–FirstInFirstOutIA–InformationAssuranceIT–InformationTechnologyJCA–JointCapabilityAreaNAV-IDAS–NavyInformationDominanceApprovalSystem

ACRONYM QuickScan