Information Resources Management-National Security and International
Affairs Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years 1995-97 (Letter Report, 03/01/95,
GAO/IAP-95-4).
GAO provided information on its Information Resources
Management-National Security and International Affairs issue area plan
for fiscal years 1995 through 1997, focusing on strategic plans to: (1)
maximize federal agencies' investment in technology by effectively
implementing systems that will support operations and provide returns to
taxpayers; and (2) strengthen agencies' financial management practices.
GAO plans to: (1) improve the Department of Defense's (DOD) efficiency
through strategic information management; (2) identify savings
opportunities from consolidating or eliminating military installations,
activities, and systems; (3) ensure that systems improvement efforts are
technically sound and economically justified; (4) improve DOD accounting
systems; (5) build GAO capacity and technical capability to evaluate
embedded computer systems; (6) examine how DOD can improve its software
engineering practices; and (7) encourage the Department of State, Agency
for International Development, and National Aeronautics and Space
Administration to improve their strategic information management systems
and implement the best information resources management practices.
--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------
REPORTNUM: IAP-95-4
TITLE: Information Resources Management-National Security and
International Affairs Issue Area Plan--Fiscal Years
1995-97
DATE: 03/01/95
SUBJECT: Strategic information systems planning
Information resources management
Information systems analysis
Federal agency accounting systems
Cost accounting
Embedded computer systems
Financial management
International relations
Defense cost control
Defense operations
IDENTIFIER: Defense Business Operations Fund
F-22 Aircraft
CIM
NASA Earth Observing System Data Information System
DOD Corporate Information Management Initiative
AID Information Resources Management Program
FTS 2000
Federal Telecommunications System 2000
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Cover
================================================================ COVER
Accounting and Information Management Division
March 1995
INFORMATION RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT-NATIONAL
SECURITY AND
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
ISSUE AREA PLAN - FISCAL YEARS
1995-97
GAO/IAP-95-4
Abbreviations
=============================================================== ABBREV
DOD -
AID -
NASA -
DBOF -
FOREWORD
============================================================ Chapter 0
The Information Resources Management-National Security and
International Affairs (IRM-NSIA) issue area is one of 35 issue areas
for which GAO periodically develops multi year strategic plans.
Relying heavily on input from congressional committees, as well as
industry, academia, and agency officials and other experts, GAO
develops strategic plans to ensure that our resources are focused on
the most important concerns of the Congress.
For each issue area, GAO's strategic plan describes the significance
of the issues, our objectives, and the focus of our work. GAO's goal
is to serve as a source of timely, accurate information and unbiased
analysis for decisionmakers in the Congress and executive agencies.
Our work results in products such as reports, briefings, and
testimonies.
The IRM-NSIA issue area covers information management and technology
issues within the Department of Defense (DOD), National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), the State Department, and the Agency
for International Development (AID). These agencies spend about $40
billion annually--75 percent of the federal government's expenditure
for computers and software--for everything from automated business
and financial systems to computer systems embedded in space and
weapons materials.
Our work covers a broad spectrum. For example, we focus on (1)
business and financial systems, such as those used to manage DOD's
nearly $100 billion inventory, maintain its weapons systems, or pay
its 6 million military, civilian, and retired personnel; (2) the
operation of the $77 billion Defense Business Operations Fund (DBOF),
a key initiative to identify and reduce infrastructure costs; and (3)
highly sophisticated computer systems, such as those used for the Air
Force's F-22 fighter aircraft or NASA's Earth Observing System Data
and Information System. We also examine how the State Department
manages its financial and information management resources.
GAO's goals in the IRM-NSIA issue area are to help these agencies (1)
maximize their investment in technology by effectively implementing
systems that will support and streamline operations and provide a
high rate of return to the taxpayer and (2) strengthen their
financial management practices. The principal issues in the IRM-NSIA
issue area are
-- development of DOD's information infrastructure;
-- management, development, and operation of DOD's automated
business systems;
-- improvement of DOD's financial management;
-- design, development, operation, and support of computers and
software embedded in weapons and command/control systems; and
-- strategic information management planning and selected
automation projects at NASA, State, and AID.
In the pages that follow, we describe our key planned work on these
issues.
Because events may significantly affect even the best of plans, our
planning process allows for updating the plan and responding quickly
to emerging issues. If you have any questions or suggestions about
this plan, please call me at (202) 512-6240.
Jack L. Brock, Jr.
Director
Information Resources Management -
National Security and International Affairs
CONTENTS
============================================================ Chapter 1
FOREWORD
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:1
1
TABLE I: KEY ISSUES
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:2
4
TABLE II: PLANNED MAJOR WORK
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:3
6
TABLE III: GAO CONTACTS
---------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 1:4
7
TABLE I: KEY ISSUES
============================================================ Chapter 2
Issue Significance
-------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------
Defense information infrastructure: DOD spends over $10 billion annually for
How can DOD develop an information computer and communication
infrastructure that adequately infrastructure needed to support and
supports its operations and better integrate the Department's
effectively uses its resources and thousands of information systems. A
technology? sound information infrastructure is
essential if DOD is to effectively use
technology to improve operations.
However, its efforts to implement an
information infrastructure have been
frustrated by ineffective DOD-wide
strategic information management
planning and technical policy
implementation.
Defense business systems: What should DOD spends over $9 billion annually to
be done to improve the management, develop and operate thousands of
development, and operation of DOD's redundant, overlapping, and incompatible
business systems? business systems. It needs better
business systems to provide credible
information for supporting its business
functions.
Defense financial management: How can Widespread financial management
DOD's financial management be improved weaknesses have resulted in DOD being
to provide the type of information unable to accurately account for
needed to effectively run the billions of dollars. It continues to
department? struggle with implementing a viable
financial management environment, which
is having a crippling effect on
management's ability to adequately
monitor operations.
Defense weapons systems: How can DOD DOD spends about $20 billion annually on
more effectively design, develop, computers and software to enhance the
operate, and support its embedded capability of its sophisticated and
computer systems? complex weapons systems. There are
nearly 100 major systems under
development and many more in operation
that all depend on software. However, it
has had serious problems developing,
acquiring, and supporting its embedded
systems. Billions of dollars in
development and support costs could be
saved if the agency could improve its
software engineering processes.
Other issues: How can State, AID, and State, AID, and NASA need to manage
NASA improve their strategic planning their operations strategically, taking
and management of information advantage of information technologies
resources, technology, and financial where appropriate. These agencies should
systems? employ practices that can help improve
their performance, productivity, and
quality of service.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Objectives Focus of work
----------------------------------- -------------------------------------------
Improve DOD's ability to achieve � Strategic information management and
mission goals, downsize, and reduce corporate information management (CIM)
costs through more effective
strategic information management, � "Migration" strategy
planning, and implementation of
management initiatives. � The Defense Information Systems Agency's
efforts to consolidate data processing and
Identify opportunities for savings telecommunications
from consolidating or eliminating
installations, activities, and � DOD's electronic data interchange
systems. efforts
� Budget/investment analysis
Ensure that improvement efforts for � Implementation of standard systems for
information systems are technically logistics and transportation
sound and economically justified.
� Selected systems modernization
Improve management, performance,
and systems support and identify � Budget investment/analysis
opportunities for savings for key
functional areas.
Enhance DOD's efforts to develop � DBOF operations
integrated budget and accounting
systems as well as improved cost � Unmatched disbursements
accounting systems.
� Implementation of standard financial
Identify actions DOD should take to systems
improve existing systems' accuracy
and reliability and identify � Defense Finance and Accounting Service
opportunities for savings through
management improvements.
Build GAO's capacity and technical � Embedded systems methodology
capability to evaluate embedded
computer systems. � Joint AIMD-NSIAD reviews of computer-and
software-intensive weapon systems
Identify and assess recurring or
systemic embedded computer system � Software engineering processes
development, acquisition, and
support problems and opportunities � Cross-cutting technical issues
for savings.
� Budget/investment analysis
Examine how DOD can improve its
software engineering processes to
reduce costs and improve quality.
Recommend ways for State, AID, and � NASA strategic information management
NASA to improve their strategic
planning and management of � Selected NASA systems and technology
information resources, technology,
and financial systems. � State and AID strategic information
management
Encourage State, AID, and NASA to
implement IRM "best" practices.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE II: PLANNED MAJOR WORK
============================================================ Chapter 3
Issue Planned Major Job Starts
----------------------------- -------------------------------------------------
Defense information �CIM implementation issues
infrastructure
�Viability of DOD's migratory systems strategy
�Electronic commerce/electronic data interchange
implementation
�DOD's information technology investment
strategy
�DOD telecommunications/global command and
control issues
Defense business systems �DOD's maintenance systems modernization
�DOD's materiel management systems modernization
�DOD's transportation systems modernization
�Information technology budget analyses
Defense financial management �Pricing of DBOF services
�DOD's efforts to identify and reduce cost of
DBOF operations
�Reengineering the defense disbursement process
�Defense Finance & Accounting Service
consolidation
�Adequacy of DFAS debt management system
Defense weapons systems �Methodology for assessing embedded systems
�Assessment of selected Air Force systems/
issues
�Evaluation of software development activities
and processes
�Assessment of selected Navy systems/issues
�Assessment of selected Army systems/issues
Other issue area work �NASA's Earth Observing System Data and
Information System
�NASA information resource management
�State Department and AID IRM issues
�Post FTS 2000 Issues
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TABLE III: GAO CONTACTS
============================================================ Chapter 4
DIRECTOR
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.1
Jack Brock (202) 512-6240
ASSISTANT DIRECTORS
-------------------------------------------------------- Chapter 4:0.2
Patricia Daly
John DeFerrari
Franklin Deffer
Larry Logsdon
Joseph McDermott
Gregory Pugnetti
John Reifsnyder
Darby Smith
John Stephenson
Ernst Stockel
Carl Urie
*** End of document. ***