Pentagon CIO issues IT services directive
The directive is the latest move in an ongoing effort by CIO Terry Halvorsen to standardize how all defense agencies measure their IT performance.
Defense Department CIO Terry Halvorsen has issued a directive requiring defense agencies to use a departmentwide framework for implementing and managing IT services.
The Dec. 24, 2015, memo reaffirms the DOD Enterprise Service Management Framework as the baseline by which defense agencies should measure their IT performance.
"IT services will be defined, categorized, published and measured based on the DESMF," the memo states. It covers service management standards "that enable conformance to objectives, integrated operations, audit and capability assessment."
The framework, an evolving document that is updated at least annually, is central to Halvorsen's effort to standardize how military agencies with varied IT footprints measure progress. According to the memo, the framework will include supplemental guidance to support agencies as they adopt IT service management best practices.
The goal is to use the framework as a rubric for improving the way agencies deliver IT services. Agency heads are responsible for measuring the quality of those services at least annually or whenever called upon by the CIO.