OBT

Congressional efforts to drive business transformation within DoD began as financial management reform in the 1980s and 1990s. Initially, efforts were viewed as an issue for the Department’s Comptroller, but this view evolved to be recognized as an enterprise issue due to the cross functional nature of data, processes, and systems. Congress established CMO positions at the Deputy Secretary of Defense and Under Secretary levels to facilitate enterprise level efforts and cultural change. Congress then established service-level offices to support the CMOs, so with the NDAA ‘09, Sec 908, OBT was born!

OBT supports the Chief Management Officer (Under Secretary of the Army) in driving business transformation initiatives, performing army business system portfolio management, achieving an integrated management system, developing enterprise architecture, and ensuring continual business process reengineering (NDAA ‘10, Sec 1072). Army Business Transformation focuses specifically on improving the business processes and information technology that drives the Institutional Army. The Institutional Army generates the trained and ready land forces that fulfill a broad array of defense missions. The magnitude and scope of the Army’s business transformation effort makes it one of the most complex projects ever attempted. The interdependencies between functions and processes defy simply, directed solutions. With the unpredictability of future missions and fiscal challenges, neither the Army nor the Nation can risk mission failure. In addition to improving the way we generate forces, we must properly manage the demands we place on our ecosystems, environment, electromagnetic spectrum and supplies of energy and water. The Army’s multi-faceted approach enables the Army to preserve readiness and fulfill commitments within lower budgets. In preparation for this responsibility, the institutional Army must perform its activities faster, smarter and cheaper to provide trained and ready forces at best value for the Nation today and in the future.

Mission: Provide analytical services for the Army’s senior leadership and innovative data and application integration and architecture consulting across the Department of Army Enterprise.

Broadly, AAG provides three key services to support Army-wide data integration and analysis. Problem solving that requires enterprise data integration and analysis, applying the most advanced statistical analysis and information technology (IT) solutions. This includes development of special purpose tools and configuring emerging software applications for rapid test and evaluation. Management and improvement of secure remote access IT environments research and analysis. AAG’s development of the Person-event Data Environment (PDE) is the foremost example of its efforts to integrate data which can be accessed and analyzed remotely. Research and analysis facilitation for other Army organizations. AAG provides access to a wide range of data and research expertise, e.g., from universities, to assist other Army organizations.

The Business Planning and Assessment Office works with leaders in the Army, industry, and academia to develop, test, and implement innovative ideas. The office also enables Army Business Mission Area performance management, supports the development, review, and update of Army business strategies, and conducts annual Business Strategy assessments.

Develop, refine and promulgate Department of the Army strategy, policy and guidance in support of Army business operations and business transformation to provide ready forces in the most efficient and fiscally responsible way to the Nation.

AI2 supports the Army Innovation Strategy by collecting innovative ideas from across the force and presenting them to experts for consideration and implementation.

The Balanced Scorecard is an enterprise performance tool that aggregates key performance indicators from multiple functional domains in order to better inform resource allocation decisions.

The IMS initiative advances IMS concepts and practices across the business enterprise through advocacy, education, and incorporation into Army doctrine.

The Business Process Improvement Office develops and implements strategies for shifting resources to high-value activities. It develops and implements reforms to eliminate unnecessary or obsolete compliance requirements and reduces the cost of mission-support operations.

The Army Contracting Efficiencies (ACE) Course is designed to equip a cadre of Army soldiers and civilians with the skills to increase efficiency of the requirements-to-procurement process. The course will empower participants with the approaches and mindsets to drive efficiencies across the Army, to improve the timeliness and efficacy of requirements, and to ensure best practices are applied across the acquisition process. The course is an immersive, 10-day, in-person “Boot Camp” followed by a ~12- week Capstone project. The Boot Camp will impart leading technical and execution best practices. Technical modules include discussions on ways to identify efficiencies in requirements generation, supply market analysis, total cost of ownership evaluation, and contracting. The execution skills will provide in-depth problem solving and communications training designed to help shape “how” participants think – not “what” they think. The Capstone project will serve three primary purposes. First, the Capstone will provide the Army tangible benefit in terms of efficiencies and cost reductions achieved. Second, organizations will be able to have this newly developed expertise deployed against their toughest challenges. Finally, participants will be able to apply the lessons and skills developed in the in-person phase thereby deeply ingraining the new way of working. While the topic for Capstones may vary across participants, Capstone projects will serve a mission-critical need that may identify solutions that may be employed more widely. The course is designed for soldiers and civilians with a current position focused on and expertise in requirements generation, contracting, acquisition, and/or category management. Participants should have sufficient time remaining at their current organization to enable skill and knowledge transfer and radiation across the organization. An ideal participant should be comfortable using Excel to manipulate and analyze data. There are no grade or rank requirements.

The CPI program trains and enables practitioners across the Army to improve the performance of Army business operations. The programmatic approach is a synthesis of scientific management systems thinking, systems dynamics, and Army performance improvement methodologies.

BPR is a logical approach for assessing process weaknesses, identifying capability gaps, and implementing innovation and optimization opportunities to achieve breakthrough improvements in operational performance. The approach goes beyond traditional process improvement by focusing on the holistic environment including the people, process, policy, technology, and information affecting the current and future states. BPR focuses on end-to-end business processes rather than functional silos, producing new process outcomes and maximizing the use of commercial best practices in enabling technology. BPR milBook

The EBM course is designed to help students become familiar with principles of business management within the business mission area. The course enables students to maximize reform opportunities, develop the civilian workforce, and increase operational readiness IAW AR 5-1 Management of Army Business Operations.

Lean Six Sigma is a team-focused managerial approach that seeks to improve performance by eliminating waste and defects. It combines Six Sigma methods and tools and the lean manufacturing/lean enterprise philosophy, striving to eliminate waste of physical resources, time, effort and talent while assuring quality in production and organizational processes. LSS milBook

The Business Systems Governance Office is responsible for Business Mission Area governance, validation of business system requirements, conducting portfolio management and certification of funds.

The EBS project ensures industry best-practices are incorporated by organizations supporting the Army Business Mission Area. This transformation enables the Army to leverage commercial-of-the-shelf and best of breed solutions, modernizes back-bone business systems, and increases readiness from the headquarters level to the tactical edge.

The Business Training and Education Office is focused on transforming the Army’s educational culture and structure by incorporating business best-practices into Army course curricula (ILE, CES, Advanced Course, and SSC, GO and SES).

Army regulation 5-1 , Management of Army Business Operations, prescribes policies and responsibilities for managing business operations supporting the Army's execution of its primary functions (organize, man, train, equip, and sustain force) under U.S. Code: Title 10.

The Army Enterprise Architecture office manages the evolution, development and maintenance of the Army Business Enterprise Architecture (ABEA), maintains the Enterprise Knowledge Repository (EKR), assists with the execution of the annual Organizational Execution Plan (OEP)/Portfolio Review (PfR) processes, assists with DBS Acquisition process (BCAC), and provides Architecture-based analytics to inform Portfolio Management.

ABEA captures functional domain, subject matter expert, and policy EA information in order to model and document Army Enterprise Architecture directly in the Enterprise Knowledge Repository. Interactive workshops and training are conducted on a a regular basis to assist the Army architecture community in providing and developing their respective portions of the ABEA.

EDA manages an enterprise-wide scalable data analytics capability that enables both analysts and their leaders to predict and solve problems, optimize resourcing decisions, and deliver enhanced readiness.

The Army's Community of Interest (COI) for Data Science and Intelligent Automation is a collaboration and learning forum for communication addressing Data Science & Intelligent Automation related issues with respect to knowledge about and access to platforms, tools, experts, and events, etc. within the Army Analytic Mission Areas. The forum aid in the Advanced analytic community meeting the evolving demand for enterprise-level data analytics solutions by leveraging descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, prescriptive, and cognitive analytics and intelligent decision-support.

Deep Green is an emerging collaboration capability designed to leverage the spirit of competition, bringing together cross-functional teams and executive sponsors to solve the Army’s acute business and analytics problems.

HAL, or the Army's Analytics Center of Excellence (ACE), is focused on leveraging analytics to address enterprise-level questions, developing and deploying strategic direction throughout the Army, and maturing the broader data analytics community.

The Reform Management Office, in support of Army strategic priorities, facilitates the implementation of Army reform initiatives that free up time, money, and manpower for investment into higher priority efforts (readiness and modernization), and empower commands to make more efficient, timely, and effective data-driven decisions.

ARI 2.0 focuses on driving reforms to improve processes, procedures, and structure at the Army enterprise level. Commanders and Staff Principals are empowered to conduct internal reforms that result in efficiency gains and enable timely data-driven decisions at the lowest possible level.

Army category management (CM) is the business practice of buying common goods and services as an enterprise to eliminate redundancies, increase efficiency, deliver more value and identify savings which can be reinvested into higher Army priorities. CM uses a structured approach to manage strategic requirements, maintain oversight of acquisition and cost management processes to enable elimination of redundancies, increase efficiency and effectiveness, and improve end-user satisfaction.

The Solutions Architecture office leads the Business Solution Integration Practice Area, which works to sustain current levels of efficiency and effectiveness while simultaneously pivoting to meet strategic objectives best enabled by modern technologies. The office also incorporates six enterprise-level activities: decision analytics, transition strategy, capital planning and investment control, demand management, data management, and ERP integration.

The Strategic Management System (SMS) is the Army Enterprise Program of Record for Performance Management that aggregates key performance indicators from multiple functional domains and provides a strategically focused representation to the Army's Senior Leadership. SMS provides executive dashboards with SUCCESSFUL (green), PARTIALLY SUCCESSFUL (amber), or UNSUCCESSFUL (red) ratings with metric data, while providing a dynamically updated briefing capability with live data, embedded email, alerts, and interactive comments.