DEFENSE IRM: Management Commitment Needed to Achieve Defense Data Administration Goals
Abstract
The Department of Defense (DOD), faced with the challenge of maintaining a strong military with fewer resources, began its Corporate Information Management (CIM) initiative to help streamline operations and manage resources more efficienfly. As you know, CIM is a top-down effort to simplify and improve functional processes by first documenting business goals, methods, and performance measures; identifying the supporting business processes and data requirements; and then evaluating and applying information technology to support the improved business processes. Defense initially estimated that implementing CIM could save the Department $36 billion by fiscal year 1997. This report is one of several responding to your request that we review key Defense efforts supporting CIM implementation. Our objective was to determine the effectiveness of the Department's efforts to implement Defense data administration. Data administration is concerned with the planning, definition, documentation, management, control, and use of data resources for the benefit of an organization as a whole. Defense's goals for improving data administration include (1) improving the quallty and timeliness of data and (2) encouraging data sharing, both within and outside the Department. Poor data management practices impede the exchange, integration, aggregation, and comparison of data used within Defense, thereby hindering effective decision making and increasing business costs. The need to effectively manage data as a corporate asset is therefore essential to the success of CIM in achieving large-scale cost reductions and improved operations. Appendix I details our objective, scope, and methodology.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1994
- Accession Number
- ADA344889
Entities
People
- F. W. Deffer
- K. E. Conway
- M. S. Laemmle
Organizations
- United States Government Accountability Office