Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System
Encyclopedia
The Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System was an enterprise program of the Business Transformation Agency
's Defense Business Systems Acquisition Executive, within the United States Department of Defense
(DoD). As the largest enterprise resource planning program ever implemented for human resources, DIMHRS was to subsume or replace over 90 legacy systems. The first phase of DIMHRS was expected to roll out first to the U.S. Army
in 2009 and bring all payroll and personnel functions for the Army into one integrated web-based system. The U.S. Air Force
, United States Navy
and the Marines
were expected to roll out in that order after the Army had implemented it. After numerous delays, technical problems, and other issues, in February 2010, the DoD cancelled the program, after 10 years and $850 million. (DoD: Integrated pay system is not total loss, 15 March 2010, Air Force Times)
, the USD Comptroller
, and the Assistant Secretary of Defense Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence asked the USD for Acquisition and Technology to convene a Defense Science Board Task Force on Military Personnel Information Management to advise the Secretary of Defense on the best strategy for supporting military personnel and pay functions. In a report published in August 1996, the Task Force concluded that the Department of Defense’s (DoD
) multiple Service-unique military personnel and pay systems caused significant functional shortcomings (particularly in the joint arena) and excessive development and maintenance costs. Their central recommendation was that," “…the DoD should move to a single all-Service and all-component, fully integrated personnel and pay system, with common core software….”.
Development and Integration efforts began in September 2003 when DoD awarded Northrop Grumman a $281 million contract. In September 2005, An Office of the Secretary of Defense review of the program found the validated the objectives of the program and found the DIMHRS system to be a viable solution to meet these objectives with additional development and supported by a restructuring of the program acquisition. In October 2005, the DoD’s newly formed Business Transformation Agency acquired responsibility for DIMHRS as well as 17 other DoD business system programs.
One Record of Service: Once fully developed, each Service member in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps will have one record in DIMHRS that will follow them should they change services or components of Service throughout their career. This feature will not only make it easier to move from one Service to another, it will make for a seamless transition for Reserve personnel and National Guard members to move to active duty. Currently only the Marine Corps has a system with this capability via the MCTFS
.
Integrated System: Once a Service member is moved to active duty, the personnel data and payroll data are integrated, so with a status change, the Service member is given the benefits and pay that they should have. Currently the Marine Corps is the only service with this capability via the MCTFS
.
Self-Service: The self-service functionality within DIMHRS will enable a Service member to view and update his/her record of service. Each member will be able to view and update their designated personal information without assistance from a personnel/pay specialist. Self-service items that will be available through DIMHRS will be categorized as being either personnel or pay related.
Joint System Helps Joint Commands: Leadership will have real-time information to track troops regardless of location or Service branch. A joint system will give the DoD more ability to deploy resources where they are most needed because they will be working with real-time information.
as the COTS solution to provide the basic database
software for DIMHRS. The DIMHRS Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO) under the oversight and direction of the Business Transformation Agency (BTA) will oversee the developer implementor, Northrop Grumman
, through the key phases of the DIMHRS lifecycle
, to include: design and build, system development and demonstration, developmental test and evaluation, operational test and evaluation, fielding decision, deployment and training.
EPMO will work closely with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Services, Defense Manpower and Data Center (DMDC) and Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) representatives regarding data and deployment information, as well as coordinate program operations, cost, business, integrated logistics support
, system engineering, testing and training. The deployment schedule will be solidified once Northrop Grumman provides the program’s implementation plan. Under the current roll out strategy, the Army is the first to implement DIMHRS, followed by the Air Force, Navy and Marines. Once fully implemented, DIMHRS will provide a comprehensive, integrated military personnel and pay system to all Services and their Components within DoD.
In September 2008 the General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report identifying concerns by the Army that DIMHRS may not meet their requirements and outlining problems with its design and implementation. DoD planned for the Army to deploy DIMHRS and has postponed deployment four times with deployment then scheduled for March 2009. Several problems were encountered during the development process. 1. The conversion of Army data into DIMHRS (PeopleSoft) fields - Years of "home-grown" systems built up a myriad of data elements that in many cases did not match similar fields in different systems. The problem was further compounded when data updates fell out of sync due to this exact problem. 2. The failure of properly documenting program specifications. - Fault for this lays on everyone involved in the program with the Army's incredibly intricate processes being generalize too much and the contractor unable or unwilling to make changes to the overall PeopleSoft platform. 3. The requirement to keep the "PeopleSoft" backend system as unchanged as possible. - This began a struggle of trying to make the system conform to normal military business processes and military business processes modified to meet a commercial application's built-in procedures. Simple concepts, such as personel movement became a challenge to replicate using PeopleSoft built-in procedures. A comment during a meeting from NGIT developers, "you guys (Army SMEs) just don't know how to properly manage people..." 4. DoD lack of efficient requirements communication to the Army. - Although DoD has took steps to improve its communication of DIMHRS requirements to the Army, the Army continued to have concerns, including a lack of (1) assurance that Army requirements are covered in DIMHRS and (2) timely access to summary information on system requirements changes. Without effective communication, the Army has difficulty performing the gap analyses needed to determine which business processes to develop or adjust as it prepares for deployment of DIMHRS. If the Army does not have system information in time to adjust its business processes, the Army may not be prepared to deploy the system or may deploy it prematurely, which could affect servicemembers’ pay. DOD’s efforts to improve its communications with the Army regarding the DIMHRS program’s system capabilities does not include clearly defining and documenting a process that maintains effective communications of the differences between DIMHRS’s capabilities and Army requirements. DOD has committed the Army to deploy DIMHRS in March 2009 as a result of postponing its October 2008 date. However, without DOD establishing a clearly defined process for maintaining effective, timely communications, the Army may not be prepared to deploy the system when scheduled, and DOD may deliver a system that will require extensive and expensive investments.
In a recent development, announced 25 Nov 2008, the IOC date of 1 Mar 2009 has been officially rescinded. No new IOC date has been announced.
As of May 2009 the determination from the Department of Defense is that DIMHRS will no longer be implemented as a total force capability. Although the Army and the Air Force may still go ahead with it at some point in the future, DOD announced that the Navy and the Marine Corps will not be required to implement it.
In a time-honored tactic, the Army DIMHRS project has been renamed to Army Integrated Personnel and Pay System (IPPS). All future development, if any, will likely proceed under that banner.
In February 2010 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Michael Mullen
announced the cancellation of the program. Said Mullen, "This program has been a disaster." Added Gates, "Many of the programs that I have made decisions to cut have been controversial within the Department of Defense. This one was not. I would say that what we've gotten for a half billion dollars is an unpronounceable acronym."
Business Transformation Agency
The Business Transformation Agency was an organization of the United States Department of Defense responsible for guiding the Department’s business operations modernization...
's Defense Business Systems Acquisition Executive, within the United States Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
(DoD). As the largest enterprise resource planning program ever implemented for human resources, DIMHRS was to subsume or replace over 90 legacy systems. The first phase of DIMHRS was expected to roll out first to the U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
in 2009 and bring all payroll and personnel functions for the Army into one integrated web-based system. The U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and the Marines
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
were expected to roll out in that order after the Army had implemented it. After numerous delays, technical problems, and other issues, in February 2010, the DoD cancelled the program, after 10 years and $850 million. (DoD: Integrated pay system is not total loss, 15 March 2010, Air Force Times)
Background
"In late 1995, the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and ReadinessUnder Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
The Under Secretary for Personnel and Readiness, or USD is a high-ranking civilian position in the Office of the Secretary of Defense within the United States Department of Defense responsible for advising the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of Defense on recruitment, career development, pay and...
, the USD Comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...
, and the Assistant Secretary of Defense Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence asked the USD for Acquisition and Technology to convene a Defense Science Board Task Force on Military Personnel Information Management to advise the Secretary of Defense on the best strategy for supporting military personnel and pay functions. In a report published in August 1996, the Task Force concluded that the Department of Defense’s (DoD
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
) multiple Service-unique military personnel and pay systems caused significant functional shortcomings (particularly in the joint arena) and excessive development and maintenance costs. Their central recommendation was that," “…the DoD should move to a single all-Service and all-component, fully integrated personnel and pay system, with common core software….”.
Development and Integration efforts began in September 2003 when DoD awarded Northrop Grumman a $281 million contract. In September 2005, An Office of the Secretary of Defense review of the program found the validated the objectives of the program and found the DIMHRS system to be a viable solution to meet these objectives with additional development and supported by a restructuring of the program acquisition. In October 2005, the DoD’s newly formed Business Transformation Agency acquired responsibility for DIMHRS as well as 17 other DoD business system programs.
What Service Members Could Have Expected from DIMHRS
DIMHRS was being designed to provide more accurate and timely pay. In DIMHRS, personnel changes would automatically update pay information in a single integrated system. Rather than separate systems performing two functions (as is currently the case for all services except the Marine Corps), a personnel change will trigger a series of automatic payroll changes based on the rules of each Service. DIMHRS will also provide more self-service features to monitor and take control of the Service member’s own human resource information. Service members will be able to update information, record direct deposit choices and request other personnel and pay actions directly online via the Internet rather than having to go stand in line at the personnel office on their local base.Some Key Features of DIMHRS
There are four key features that DIMHRS will bring to military human resource management:One Record of Service: Once fully developed, each Service member in the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps will have one record in DIMHRS that will follow them should they change services or components of Service throughout their career. This feature will not only make it easier to move from one Service to another, it will make for a seamless transition for Reserve personnel and National Guard members to move to active duty. Currently only the Marine Corps has a system with this capability via the MCTFS
Marine Corps Total Force System
The Marine Corps Total Force System is the single, integrated, personnel and pay system supporting both Active Duty and Reserve components of the Marine Corps. The system also includes the capability to report certain entries to enhance personnel management for Civilians, other service personnel,...
.
Integrated System: Once a Service member is moved to active duty, the personnel data and payroll data are integrated, so with a status change, the Service member is given the benefits and pay that they should have. Currently the Marine Corps is the only service with this capability via the MCTFS
Marine Corps Total Force System
The Marine Corps Total Force System is the single, integrated, personnel and pay system supporting both Active Duty and Reserve components of the Marine Corps. The system also includes the capability to report certain entries to enhance personnel management for Civilians, other service personnel,...
.
Self-Service: The self-service functionality within DIMHRS will enable a Service member to view and update his/her record of service. Each member will be able to view and update their designated personal information without assistance from a personnel/pay specialist. Self-service items that will be available through DIMHRS will be categorized as being either personnel or pay related.
Joint System Helps Joint Commands: Leadership will have real-time information to track troops regardless of location or Service branch. A joint system will give the DoD more ability to deploy resources where they are most needed because they will be working with real-time information.
Issues and cancellation
DIMHRS was being developed through the use of a commercial-off-the-shelf (or COTS) based enterprise system. The DoD procured PeopleSoftPeopleSoft
PeopleSoft, Inc. was a company that provided Human Resource Management Systems , Financial Management Solutions , Supply Chain and customer relationship management software, as well as software solutions for manufacturing, enterprise performance management, and student administration to large...
as the COTS solution to provide the basic database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
software for DIMHRS. The DIMHRS Enterprise Program Management Office (EPMO) under the oversight and direction of the Business Transformation Agency (BTA) will oversee the developer implementor, Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
, through the key phases of the DIMHRS lifecycle
Enterprise Life Cycle
Enterprise Life Cycle in enterprise architecture is the dynamic, iterative process of changing the enterprise over time by incorporating new business processes, new technology, and new capabilities, as well as maintenance, disposition and disposal of existing elements of the enterprise.- Overview...
, to include: design and build, system development and demonstration, developmental test and evaluation, operational test and evaluation, fielding decision, deployment and training.
EPMO will work closely with the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, the Services, Defense Manpower and Data Center (DMDC) and Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) representatives regarding data and deployment information, as well as coordinate program operations, cost, business, integrated logistics support
Integrated logistics support
Integrated logistics support is an integrated approach to the management of logistic disciplines in the military, similar to commercial product support or customer service organisations...
, system engineering, testing and training. The deployment schedule will be solidified once Northrop Grumman provides the program’s implementation plan. Under the current roll out strategy, the Army is the first to implement DIMHRS, followed by the Air Force, Navy and Marines. Once fully implemented, DIMHRS will provide a comprehensive, integrated military personnel and pay system to all Services and their Components within DoD.
In September 2008 the General Accounting Office (GAO) released a report identifying concerns by the Army that DIMHRS may not meet their requirements and outlining problems with its design and implementation. DoD planned for the Army to deploy DIMHRS and has postponed deployment four times with deployment then scheduled for March 2009. Several problems were encountered during the development process. 1. The conversion of Army data into DIMHRS (PeopleSoft) fields - Years of "home-grown" systems built up a myriad of data elements that in many cases did not match similar fields in different systems. The problem was further compounded when data updates fell out of sync due to this exact problem. 2. The failure of properly documenting program specifications. - Fault for this lays on everyone involved in the program with the Army's incredibly intricate processes being generalize too much and the contractor unable or unwilling to make changes to the overall PeopleSoft platform. 3. The requirement to keep the "PeopleSoft" backend system as unchanged as possible. - This began a struggle of trying to make the system conform to normal military business processes and military business processes modified to meet a commercial application's built-in procedures. Simple concepts, such as personel movement became a challenge to replicate using PeopleSoft built-in procedures. A comment during a meeting from NGIT developers, "you guys (Army SMEs) just don't know how to properly manage people..." 4. DoD lack of efficient requirements communication to the Army. - Although DoD has took steps to improve its communication of DIMHRS requirements to the Army, the Army continued to have concerns, including a lack of (1) assurance that Army requirements are covered in DIMHRS and (2) timely access to summary information on system requirements changes. Without effective communication, the Army has difficulty performing the gap analyses needed to determine which business processes to develop or adjust as it prepares for deployment of DIMHRS. If the Army does not have system information in time to adjust its business processes, the Army may not be prepared to deploy the system or may deploy it prematurely, which could affect servicemembers’ pay. DOD’s efforts to improve its communications with the Army regarding the DIMHRS program’s system capabilities does not include clearly defining and documenting a process that maintains effective communications of the differences between DIMHRS’s capabilities and Army requirements. DOD has committed the Army to deploy DIMHRS in March 2009 as a result of postponing its October 2008 date. However, without DOD establishing a clearly defined process for maintaining effective, timely communications, the Army may not be prepared to deploy the system when scheduled, and DOD may deliver a system that will require extensive and expensive investments.
In a recent development, announced 25 Nov 2008, the IOC date of 1 Mar 2009 has been officially rescinded. No new IOC date has been announced.
As of May 2009 the determination from the Department of Defense is that DIMHRS will no longer be implemented as a total force capability. Although the Army and the Air Force may still go ahead with it at some point in the future, DOD announced that the Navy and the Marine Corps will not be required to implement it.
In a time-honored tactic, the Army DIMHRS project has been renamed to Army Integrated Personnel and Pay System (IPPS). All future development, if any, will likely proceed under that banner.
In February 2010 Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
Robert Gates
Dr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is by law the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, and is the principal military adviser to the President of the United States, the National Security Council, the Homeland Security Council and the Secretary of Defense...
Michael Mullen
Michael Mullen
Michael Glenn "Mike" Mullen is a retired United States Navy four-star admiral, who served as the 17th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2011. Mullen previously served as the Navy's 28th Chief of Naval Operations from July 22, 2005 to September 29, 2007...
announced the cancellation of the program. Said Mullen, "This program has been a disaster." Added Gates, "Many of the programs that I have made decisions to cut have been controversial within the Department of Defense. This one was not. I would say that what we've gotten for a half billion dollars is an unpronounceable acronym."
List of Systems that were to be replaced by DIMHRS
Over 100 systems across DOD had been scheduled to be replaced with the implementation of DIMHRS. This table represents the systems that would've been subsumed by DIMHRS if it had been fully implemented.| System Name | System Name Abbreviation | Service | |Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System | DCIPS | Joint | the human resources management system for the Department of Defense (DoD) intelligence components and other intelligence positions as designated by the Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence. | DIMHRS will not replace all functionality |
| Marine Corps Total Force System Marine Corps Total Force System The Marine Corps Total Force System is the single, integrated, personnel and pay system supporting both Active Duty and Reserve components of the Marine Corps. The system also includes the capability to report certain entries to enhance personnel management for Civilians, other service personnel,... |
MCTFS | Marine Corps | Pay and personnel system | DIMHRS will not replace all functionality; MCTFS is currently the only integrated pay and personnel system within the United States Department of Defense |
Links
- DIHMRS Homepage
- Army DIMHRS Website
- Navy DIMHRS Website
- Analysis of Risks and Challenges
- GAO Audit of DIMHRS: Management of Integrated Military Human Capital Program Needs Additional Improvements
- Financial Friendly Fire: A Review Of Persistent Military Pay Problems (Congressional Hearing 4/27/2006)
- DOD Systems Modernization: Maintaining Effective Communication Is Needed to Help Ensure the Army’s Successful Deployment of the Defense Integrated Military Human Resources System
- Army subsumed systems list