The  requirements for the interfaces between DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay) and  existing systems are not yet complete because DOD has not yet  determined the extent to which legacy systems will be replaced and thus  require modification in order to interact with the new system. Furthermore, DOD is still determining whether the data requirements  provided to the contractor for system design are complete. Finally, about  77 percent of the detailed requirements are difficult to understand, based  on our review of a random sample of the requirements documentation. The shortcomings in DOD’s efforts to effectively manage DIMHRS  (Personnel/Pay) requirements are attributable to a number of causes,  including the program’s overly schedule-driven approach and the difficulty  of overcoming DOD’s long-standing cultural resistance to departmentwide  solutions. Moreover,  although DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay) is to be an integrated system, it is not  being governed by integrated tools and approaches, such as an integrated  program management structure, integrated DOD business enterprise  architecture, and an integrated master plan/schedule. Furthermore, while DOD is appropriately attempting to maximize the use  of COTS products in building DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay) and is following  some best practices for developing COTS-based systems, others are not  being followed. At a minimum,  this should include    ensuring that joint system requirements are complete and correct, and that  they are acceptable to user organizations;   establishing a DOD-wide integrated governance structure for DIMHRS  (Personnel/Pay) (1) that vests an executive-level organization or entity  representing the interests of all program stakeholders—including the Joint  Requirements and Integration Office, the Joint Program Management  Office, the services, and DFAS—with responsibility, accountability, and  authority for the entire DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay) program and (2) that  ensures that all stakeholder interests and positions are appropriately  heard and considered during program reviews and before key program  decisions;    ensuring that the degree of consistency between DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay)  and the evolving DOD-wide business enterprise architecture is  continuously analyzed and that material inconsistencies between the two,  both potential and actual, are disclosed at all program reviews and  decision points and in program budget submissions, along with any  associated system risks and steps to mitigate these risks;   developing and implementing a DOD-wide, integrated master  plan/schedule of activities that extends to all DOD program stakeholders;    ensuring that all relevant acquisition management best practices  associated with COTS-based systems are appropriately followed; and    ensuring that an event-driven, risk-based approach that adequately  considers factors other than the contract schedule continues to be used in  managing DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay). This lack of resolution is important because not attempting to  obtain some level of stakeholder acceptance of requirements increases the  risk that the system will not adequately meet users’ needs, that users will  not adopt the system, and that later system rework will be required to  rectify this situation. In particular, DOD has begun taking steps to ensure that the system requirements  and the system design are consistent with each other. However, DOD  has not ensured that the detailed requirements are complete and   has not obtained user acceptance of the detailed requirements. November 2004. These challenges increase the risk that the delivered system’s capabilities will not  fully meet DOD’s needs. Furthermore, DOD’s program plans do not recognize the end-user  organizations’ time and resource needs associated with integrating DIMHRS with  their respective legacy systems, and JPMO is not actively managing these end- user operational changes. Our objectives were to determine 1. whether the Department of Defense (DOD) has effective management processes in place for managing the definition of the requirements for the  Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System (DIMHRS  (Personnel/Pay)) and 2. whether DOD has established an integrated program management  structure for DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay) and is following effective processes  for acquiring a system based on commercial software components. Furthermore, DOD’s comments contain no  evidence to show that it has addressed the limitations in the  requirements’ completeness and correctness that we cite in the report,  such as those relating to the interface and data requirements, and they  do not address the understandability issues we found relative to an  estimated 77 percent of the detailed requirements.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Defense (DOD) has long-standing problems with its information technology (IT) systems supporting military personnel and pay. To address these problems, DOD initiated the Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System (DIMHRS) program, which is to provide a joint, integrated, standardized military personnel and pay system across all military components. In November 2004, DOD accepted the design for the first of three phases, DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay). GAO reviewed DOD's management of the requirements definition for the system as well as the program's management structure.

What GAO Found

DOD faces significant management challenges with DIMHRS, a major system acquisition program that is expected to lead to major changes in the processing of military personnel and pay. To its credit, DOD has begun taking steps to ensure that the requirements and the design for the first phase of the program are consistent with each other by tracing backward and forward between the detailed requirements and the system design, and it did obtain formal user acceptance of the DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay) high-level requirements. However, it has not obtained user acceptance of the detailed requirements. Furthermore, it has not ensured that the detailed requirements are complete and understandable. For example, requirements for the interfaces between DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay) and existing systems have not yet been fully defined because DOD has not yet determined how many legacy systems will be partially replaced and thus require modification. Furthermore, DOD is still determining whether the data requirements provided to the contractor for system design are complete. Finally, an estimated 77 percent of the detailed requirements are difficult to understand, based on GAO's review of a random sample of the requirements documentation. These challenges increase the risk that the delivered system capabilities will not fully meet the users' needs. Moreover, although DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay) is to be an integrated system, its development is not being governed by integrated tools and approaches, such as an integrated program management structure, enterprise architecture, and master schedule. Furthermore, while DOD is appropriately attempting to maximize the use of commercial, off-the shelf (COTS) products in building the new system, it has not adequately followed some important best practices associated with COTS-based system acquisitions. For example, DOD's program plan/schedule does not adequately recognize the needs of end-user organizations for the time and resources to integrate DIMHRS (Personnel/Pay) with their respective legacy systems and to prepare their workforces for the organizational changes that the system will introduce. DOD's requirements definition challenges and shortcomings in program governance can be attributed to a number of causes, including the program's overly schedule-driven approach and DOD's difficulty in overcoming its long-standing cultural resistance to departmentwide solutions. Unless these challenges are addressed, the risk is increased that the system will not provide expected capabilities and benefits on time and within budget. Given the limitations in some DOD components' ability to accurately pay military personnel, it is vital that these risks be addressed swiftly and effectively.