Defense ADP

Corporate Information Management Must Overcome Major Problems Gao ID: IMTEC-92-77 September 14, 1992

The Pentagon's Corporate Information Management (CIM) initiative is one of the largest information-management efforts ever undertaken. Its success is threatened by three interlocking problems--issues that center around whether the Defense Department (DOD) can change longstanding, fundamental ways of doing things and whether business processes or technology becomes the driving force in managing DOD information. First, DOD has not established formal policies or directives on how the roles of the military services and the Secretary of Defense should change to meet CIM goals, despite the fact that CIM requires centralized control over business operations. Second, control over funds for managing functional areas is not shifting. As a result, even though the Secretary of Defense will be responsible for managing business decisions, control of these funds remains with the services. Third, in what represents a business-as-usual approach, DOD is focusing on choosing specific technology without also determining what the goal of its operations should be and what, if anything, needs to be changed to accomplish that goal. GAO argues that if this approach is to succeed, incremental business decisions must be made before technology is selected. To do otherwise invites risk and creates the illusion of progress, potentially undercutting billions in potential CIM savings by locking the Pentagon into existing and possibly inefficient ways of doing business--ways that, although automated, may not serve the business goals of tomorrow.

GAO found that: (1) CIM is the largest information-management initiative ever undertaken; (2) the success of CIM is threatened by DOD inability to change longstanding, fundamental aspects of its culture and by whether business processes or technology becomes the driving force in managing defense information; (3) DOD has not established formal policies or directives that address how the roles of the military services and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) should change to meet CIM goals; (4) control over funds for managing functional areas remains with the services, but OSD is responsible for managing business decisions; (5) DOD is focusing on selecting specific technology without determining what the goal of its business operations should be and what it needs to change to reach that goal; and (6) DOD needs to make incremental business decisions before selecting technology to avoid inefficient business methods that do not serve the business goals of tomorrow.

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