GAO, DOD differ on biz architecture

“DOD Business Systems Modernization: Important Progress Made in Establishing Foundational Architectu

The Defense Department’s new Business Enterprise Architecture Version 3.0 provides a future, or “to be,” architecture for its business systems and processes but not a current, or “as is,” one, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

“Without this element, DOD could not analyze the gaps between the two architectures — critical input to a comprehensive transition plan,” according to the report, “DOD Business Systems Modernization: Important Progress Made in Establishing Foundational Architecture Products and Investment Management Practices, but Much Work Remains,” released Nov. 23 by GAO.

DOD disagreed with the GAO report’s two major points: “the level of development of the as is architecture and instances of nonintegration within the architecture and transition plan.” The department did not comment on most of the report.

The information in this report is similar to a report issued earlier this month by GAO. The agency again lauded DOD for progress made in modernizing its business management capabilities but said more work needs to be done, including adding a way to measure progress to the transition plan.

The new report marks the second consecutive fairly positive report on DOD’s business transformation, a multiyear, multibillion-dollar effort. The department made a bold move last month by creating the Defense Business Transformation Agency to unify the military’s programs and funding related to business systems and processes.