(Arlington, Va.) -- Data accuracy is a key aspect of the migration from the Standard Installation and Division Personnel Reporting System (SIDPERS) to the Integrated Personnel and Pay System -- Army, or IPPS-A. If the information in SIDPERS is not completely and accurately converted to IPPS-A, the system will not work to its full capabilities.
To ensure the conversion of information goes as smoothly as possible, states are required to submit a .dmp file in order for IPPS-A personnel to conduct data quality analysis and inform states of any inaccuracies in the transfer of data.
"The .dmp file is a snapshot of their entire SIDPERS structure," said Reggie Alexander, IPPS-A Field Support Program Lead. "It's the primary information maintained within SIDPERS for each state, which includes over 300 fields of data. Some of the data fields are a Soldier's name, social security number, military occupational specialty, rank, date of rank, and position assigned."
The accurate conversion of information is just one part of the .dmp file's purpose. The consistent monthly submission of the .dmp file is critical to each state's ability to track its progress as they prepare for their Rehearsal of Concept (ROC) drill prior to their Go-Live date.
According to Alexander, the purpose of the ROC Drill is to go through each step within IPPS-A that is completed during the live cutover from SIDPERS to see what errors still exist. Without the information on the .dmp file, it is impossible for the ROC drill to be carried out.
"The .dmp file has to be loaded in order for us to do those migrations because otherwise we don't have any information to use," said Alexander. "It's like calling your mechanic and asking him to fix an issue with your vehicle, but never bringing your vehicle to the shop."
States are required to submit their .dmp file each month. The file contains two tables; one being the states paragraph/line information which shows all authorized positions within the state according to the current Army Organizational Server (AOS) feed and the other containing the paragraph/line information that transferred successfully from SIDPERS, which is called the Force Management Identifier Crosswalk Export. The FMID Crosswalk Export shows the Soldiers that are assigned to a valid position within their list of authorized positions and also shows Units that are built with the correct Hierarchy & UIC details according to AOS. Once IPPS-A personnel have received the file, a database administrator takes it and puts it on a server for review. Personnel from the IPPS-A data team take the file and perform a review to see if the information on each table matches, then sends a report to each state letting them know which information has errors.
As the migration process progresses closer to the ROC drill, states' .dmp files need to be at the data accuracy threshold of 95 percent desired by system integrators with the information they've transferred. A state with metrics below the threshold will be subject to a decision point routed through Government Leads and Program Managers on whether or not to proceed as continuing on with the ROC drill may increase the manual efforts required and may not be worthwhile.
If a state is unable to perform a ROC drill, their Go-Live date with IPPS-A could be delayed.
"It's important states send us their .dmp files because we want to ensure the information transferred is accurate so they can stay on the desired Go-Live timeline," said Alexander. "If you're not at that 95% accuracy, your state is hampering its ability to Go-Live on time."
Related Documents:
IPPS-A Deployment Readiness [PDF]
State requirements for cutover ROC drill [PDF]
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