Annual Report 2003-04

Office of the Chief Information Officer

In the Defence White Paper 2000, the Government directed that Defence ensure a focus and priority on information capabilities to position the ADF to harness advances in information technology. To meet the Government's requirements, the Chief Information Officer was appointed as the coordinating capability manager for the Defence information environment encompassing Defence's information management and operational systems and supporting information infrastructure, and the relevant planning, policy and governance functions.

The role of the Chief Information Officer has evolved during 2003-04, with additional responsibilities allocated as a result of reviews of the organisational, governance and funding arrangements of the Defence information environment. Recent improvements to the information environment concentrated on refining its framework and articulating the manner in which it supports the achievement of Defence outcomes.

Results for 2003-04

During 2003-04, Defence reaffirmed its approach to developing an overall framework for its communications and computing systems that also encompassed the information architecture outlined in the Network Centric Warfare Roadmap. The outcomes of this work were:

• a vision of the 2010 architecture, including descriptions of the future target states for information capability that were developed as part of the Network Centric Warfare Roadmap;
• validation of the Defence Architecture Framework which provides the common methodology for the consistent description of enterprise processes and Defence capability; and
• validation of the work undertaken on enterprise processes, which is the highest level description of processes within Defence.

Defence continues to experience many issues arising from both legacy systems and process issues, and the effectiveness of current systems and processes to deal with reporting requirements. Defence commissioned three studies looking separately into the organisational, governance and funding arrangements for the Defence information environment. The study into organisational arrangements noted that there were issues concerning non-operational enterprise systems and their development in isolation from each other and from the infrastructure on which they are hosted. Defence will implement the recommendations of all three studies, enhancing the responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer to encompass all aspects of the Defence information environment. This will include strategy and planning through to development, implementation, support, operations and disposal to meet enterprise, Group, and Service requirements.

Progress against the initiatives forecast in the Portfolio Budget Statements 2003-04 and the Portfolio Additional Estimates Statements 2003-04 is discussed below. These paragraphs include progress made by the Chief Finance Officer Group, Defence Personnel Executive and the Defence Materiel Organisation in information environment areas pertaining to their responsibilities.

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Enhance the Defence Information Environment's Contribution to Defence Capabilities

Improvements have been made to Defence's preparedness management system to assist in a better understanding and management of the linkages between preparedness levels and costs. The work on the decision support systems project should enable Defence to more accurately cost force element groups and this has facilitated a more comprehensive understanding of the through-life costs.

Considerable concept definition work has been carried out to identify how Defence information management can support a networked ADF. These concepts will enhance our warfighting capability by promoting the sharing and use of information to achieve situational awareness, improved performance and decision making and the coordination of desired effects. A strategic intent for the Defence information environment has been developed and will provide a basis for future planning. It articulates the requirements of the future information environment and how performance may be measured. It also foreshadows improvements to overcome current deficiencies and considers the implications for the Defence Management and Finance Plan.

The Corporate Information Facility, a component of the Defence Decision Support Project, has been developed and is being progressively populated. This tool will enhance Defence's strategic decision making by providing a central point of access to trusted and authoritative information.

Develop Funding Methodologies for Joint Information Capabilities

Reforms to the ADF command and control structures, and the implementation of the Defence Procurement Review, have established a framework to enable seamless planning and conduct of joint operations in a networked environment. The process now involves robust up-front study, planning, formulation and evaluation of options early in the development cycle to ensure information capabilities are better integrated before they reach the acquisition stage.

Optimise Acquisition and Through-Life Management of Information Capabilities

The Defence Information Environment Plan 2003-04 coordinates information and initiatives on activities across the Defence information environment. Initiative monitoring will become increasingly robust as Defence has now developed an holistic view of information environment-related expenditure. Establishing this baseline has given visibility to the real cost of information capabilities. The findings of this review will be further examined in 2004-05, in conjunction with the results of the aforementioned studies on organisational and governance arrangements.

Embrace a National Approach to Information Management

During 2003-04, Defence actively participated in the whole-of-government information management strategies and initiatives on spectrum management, information standards and identity management. Additionally, work commenced on information interoperability at the whole-of-government level.

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Increase the Competence and Sustainability of the Defence Information Environment Workforce

The initial focus has been developing generic job categories and skill sets for professional staff operating the Defence information environment, users of information management terminology and principles, and personnel working with information environment governance, architecture and standards.

Defence has also developed a short enterprise architecture course for personnel, with further specialist training at the post-graduate level to be made available through the University of New South Wales at the Australian Defence Force Academy.

Improve Information Assurance

The Defence information environment framework helps Defence coordinate its approach to information management and the linkage with the information technology infrastructure. It defines how information is created, manipulated, disseminated and protected across Defence. Further clarity is expected as we expand the framework by defining its relation to Defence's business processes and the systems that support them.

Optimise the Integration of Information from Enterprise Resource Systems

A post-implementation review of the 28 July 2003 Standard Defence Supply System upgrade was conducted in February 2004. As a result of this review, a program of activities was initiated under the banner of the Standard Defence Supply System 'Get Well' program. This program aims by December 2004 to develop and implement continued improvement in the integrity of the operation of the Standard Defence Supply System. This will raise the integrity of the Standard Defence Supply System data applied to Defence's financial statements. Good progress is being made in eliminating software defects and improving system performance across the Defence restricted network.

During 2003-04, high-level enterprise architectural descriptions were completed in order to support development of the Personnel Enterprise Resource Program Systems. A finance enterprise architecture and a financial systems strategy were completed. The strategy provides high-level direction for the upgrade of the enterprise financial system, as well as a framework that will direct and guide improvements in Defence's financial systems. While the Defence Materiel Organisation is undertaking work to further develop their enterprise architecture, and is also developing an architecturally-based strategy for future information systems, some concern remains regarding the deficiencies in the records associated with Defence's main systems. Remediation of these deficiencies will take several years.

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