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3
TECHNICAL ISSUES IN PLANNING FOR MODERNIZATION
In the development of its information systems the Defense Logistics
Agency (DLA) needs to address technical issues such as the choice of
development tools, its data base architectures, and end-user
computing. Inherent in the technology issues are the
cost-to-performance advantages that microcomputers continue to have
over mainframes and the emergence of networks of personal computers
(PC), Local Area Networks (LAN), departmental computing, distributed
processing and data, and open architectures. These technical issues
challenge all organizations that deal with information. -
In our midterm report, we highlighted several technology issues that
the DLA will have to carefully resolve as its modernization progresses
beyond the initial planning phase. These issues involve: distributed
versus centralized architectures, standards, security, information- and
knowledge-based systems, and logistics research. They are still
relevant.
During the period of our review, we formed subcommittees to examine
the DLA's use of decision support systems, and its plans for a data
base architecture, for information technology standards, and for supply
optimization (see Chapter 4~. As a consequence, we are highlighting
these as the most significant technical issues that confront the DLA at
this point in its modernization.
DATA BASE ISSUES
Data base issues are central to the agency's modernization. After
examination of the DLA's operations and the goals of the LSMP, it has
become clear that a number of issues surrounding data bases are key to
the overall effort. Computer processes have become well established
within the DLA's operations, and data bases constitute the foundation
upon which these processes rest. The answers to a number of questions
-- What level of integration of operations can be achieved across DLA?
What partitioning will segment the overall project -.
portions? Where and how should the LSMP be started?
~ ~ . ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Commuter Drocess;es have become well established
Into manageable
-- are all
fundamentally dependent upon the data bases to be employed within the
DLA? These considerations have led us to conclude that the LSMP
31
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must center upon identification of the major data bases that will make
up the foundation of the DLA's functions, and the technology that will
be used to implement them.
Among the issues that have to be addressed are the makeup of data
bases; the extent of coverage of data bases; the technology to be
employed to implement them; the establishment of data management
centers; the implementation of a transition plan; and standardization
of such things as data base management systems, data definitions, data
dictionaries, and query languages. The makeup and coverage of data
bases will determine how the overall business of DLA is to be factored,
thereby establishing the levels of integration of operations that can
be achieved. The technology and standards to be employed will affect
equipment and software acquisition decisions, and vice versa. A sound
transition plan and the establishment of data management centers will
be crucial to ensuring the feasibility of the LSMP itself. The DLA
needs to take the following actions in regard to the LSMP and its data
base issues.
Identify Major Data Bases
The major data bases that will form the cornerstones of the LSMP
must be identified. Since each major data base defines a primary area
of business, it is not necessary that all data bases be defined before
work can begin. Rather, progress can be incremental, elaborating the
processes that operate on a particular data base as soon as one is
identified, then going on to the next one, and so on.
Establish Data Management Center~s)
In conjunction with the identification of DLA's major data bases,
one or more data management centers must be established or designated
from existing assets. These centers should have the responsibility to
define and maintain data elements and data dictionaries for the data
bases over which they have cognizance. The format for these should be
in accordance with agency standards, which are established and
maintained concurrently with some central authority, such as the Office
of Telecommunications and Information Systems (OTIS). The centers
should have the responsibility for updating and generally maintaining
the data bases and their supporting technology. They should also
distribute portions of the data bases to the sites that use them.
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Select the Technology and Standards
Decisions must be made as to the technology and standards that are
to be imposed. Examples of the technology questions that need to be
answered include whether data bases are distributed or not; whether
they should be based on relational data base technology or not; whether
persistent object-oriented data bases should be pursued; and how to
provide for interoperability. Examples of standardization questions
include settling on the Structured Query Language (SQL); determining
the data dictionary and data element standards to use; and arriving at
common data definitions. These are difficult and complex questions
that require careful and competent study which the agency should
initiate. We urge the agency to adopt standard SQL interfaces and data
base handlers in order to minimize the programming burden if data base
packages need to be changed.
Old Versus New
As part of the implementation process; decisions must be made as to
whether old data bases can or should be modernized or whether new ones
must be built. There are two main reasons why a data base might
require modernization. First, the technology may have become obsolete
so that it is no longer supported and newer capabilities are needed.
For example, the Standard Automated Materiel Management System (SAMMS)
may need to be reconstructed because it is no longer supportable in its
present configuration, and because the DLA decides to take advantage of
relational data base technology. The other reason for modernizing a
data base is because it cannot be extended or reduced to satisfy
changes in the way business is done.
Where to Begin
We believe that the data base identification and implementation
problems are so key to the LSMP, and are so demanding, that the DLA
should focus on undertaking this element of the project as quickly as
possible. The MITRE Corporation has produced a report entitled
"Feasibility of Transitions to Subject Area Databases" (MITRE
Corporation, 1988~. This report addresses a number of the critical
points raised above, and supports our views regarding the importance of
the data base issues. We agree with the DLA's pursuit of the concept
of subject area data bases. We recommend that the agency continue on
this path and suggest that a contractor be selected to assist the DLA
identify and define its core data bases as promptly as is feasible.
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STANDARDS
The use of standards is vital to any Automated Information System
(AIS) development in that they promote inter-operability among the
various data bases and systems within an organization that need to
communicate with each other. Inter-operability is central to the
concept of the LSMP in that it promotes integration of these elements.
Inter-operability also helps to ensure that information exchange links
between the DLA and outside activities, such as the military services,
can be readily established when needed.
The objective in selecting standard approaches is to provide a well
designed systems architecture that will protect the agency's software
investment and minimize its maintenance as technology continues to
improve. The agency should minimize its development of custom code by
designing its systems around an infrastructure of common services such
as query languages, operating systems, and file transfer.
Categories of Standards
There are two kinds of standards that DLA needs to include in its
AIS modernization plans. The formal standards are those established by
the various standards organizations that exist on a national and
international level. These standards often have wide-ranging impact
and can be imposed by higher authorities on AIS developments. The Open
Systems Interconnection (OSI) standards are an example. The other kind
of standards are informal ones that are selected and levied across
project activities to ensure conformance and uniformity. An example
might be data item definitions. Both kinds of standards are needed for
the LSMP and must be imposed.
Selection Risks
Selecting appropriate standards can be a risky business for a number
of reasons. One might select a standard in the absence of direction
from a higher authority, only to find a different standard imposed at a
later date. Another kind of frustration can arise when a certain
standard is selected for use as a matter of policy, which however is
impossible to implement because vendors have not yet fielded the
requested equipment. A third kind of problem results when it is
desirable to settle on a standard such as a particular technology or
product for use across one or more projects, but testing in real
applications has been insufficient to instill a high degree of
confidence.
The DLA is certainly faced with some of these difficulties within
the LSMP project. Current policy decrees OSI as a standard for
computer interconnection, but there is not sufficient hardware
available yet to make implementation of the policy immediately
practical. From the standpoint of imposition of informal standards,
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would be advantageous to support the concept of open systems
architectures: operating systems, languages and data base management
systems that run on multiple vendor hardware provide clear advantages
of wider competition and the ability to be flexible when updating
hardware configurations over time. An operating system such as UNIX
and a database management system such as Oracle are choices that would
fit the open system architecture concept; however, neither of these
software systems has yet been demonstrated in use with transaction
systems of the scale that are common within the DLA.
The DLA has to confront and overcome these and related difficulties
in order to make the best selection of standards possible. There are
many choices and factors that influence choice so we cannot suggest
what specific choices should be made in the matter of standards, but we
can indicate areas of concern that should be addressed.
Although we urge the use of standards, we also point out that they
should be used carefully and selectively. Standards can be misapplied,
either because they are out of date, are too limiting, impose
technology that has not caught up with them, or are stretched to cover
an area for which they were not originally intended. Therefore, each
requirement needs to be carefully analyzed in order to achieve a
delicate balance between anarchy and inflexible mandates.
Networks
Networking not only encompasses computer-to-computer interchange, it
also extends to other forms of communication, such as facsimile and
video transfer. In this area, the DLA will need to be most concerned
about standards that cover LAN technology, OSI, and the Integrated
Services Digital Network (ISDN) standard, which is being developed by
the Consultative Committee on International Telegraphy and Telephony
(CCITT). High bandwidth and generally applicable technology such as
Ethernets and T1 grade lines should be considered for use in
constructing the agency's networks. In the case of OSI, as mentioned
earlier, it is defined but not yet sufficiently supported to be
immediately practical. In the interim, we suggest that the DLA require
the use of Transport Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) in
its procurements. However, the potential bidders should also be
informed that OSI will be adopted by the DLA as soon as possible and
that the agency will give preference to those suppliers who propose the
best means of transition from the one standard to the other. In the
matter of ISDN, it is suggested that the emergence of the standard be
tracked for possible application at the appropriate time.
Computer Hardware
Clearly, some standardization of configurations must be made for
systems within the LSMP. The trade-offs are essentially those of
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minimizing integration problems by prescribing a given suite of
hardware for all projects within the LSMP versus providing wide
flexibility of architectural choice. In providing for architectural
flexibility, the DLA will need to maintain interoperability across a
variety of hardware configurations. We suggest that the DLA maintain
as much flexibility with hardware choice as possible in order to
promote optimum performance and productivity for different functions,
and to facilitate hardware upgrade over time.
We believe that this can be accomplished by making choices of
standards in the areas of networking and software that have a broad and
strong base of support from users and vendors. It seems proper to
consider each major system acquisition on its own merits. This
requires selecting the appropriate suite of hardware for a particular
functional problem area on the basis of competitive proposals that are
required to provide for interoperability. This will require, in
addition to the networking and software standards imposed, that DLA
generate integration specifications, as appropriate.
Operating Systems and Computer Languages
As noted earlier, the DLA must be concerned with issues of
interoperability to foster the ability of machines to intercommunicate,
and be able to maintain significant flexibility in the choice of
hardware architectures. Operating systems and computer languages
greatly affect achieving these abilities. At the present time, most
application programs within the DLA are tightly coupled to proprietary
operating systems. Currently, however, there is a major movement
towards open software systems that is being embraced by all major
vendors. These systems will almost certainly be UNIX-based, and will
permit relatively easy porting of software from one machine to another,
as long as the application is written in a language widely supported
under that operating system. Thus, we suggest that the DLA monitor
developments in this area and promulgate informal standards through the
LSMP that will promote interoperability and reduce the software
maintenance burden. This should not be restrictive to potential
bidders, because we expect that a significant number of them will
supporting common operating systems and languages.
Data Bases
Data bases are of central importance to the DLA's business. Users
will have to contend with a significant number of different data bases
in conducting their work, and there will be a need for data bases to
interact. Imposing standards can alleviate these problems. It is
critical that the DLA mandate standards for data dictionaries, data
elements, and data definitions. It is also important to adopt a
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standard query language. We suggest that these standards be
coordinated through data management centers under the overall direction
of a DLA IRM organization.
DECISION SUPPORT SYSTEMS
The prior-director, DLA, asked the committee to review and assess
the state of the agency's information system support for its corporate
decision-making process. His focus was not only on the support
required for his office, but also for the various management levels of
his staff and subordinate commands and operating agencies.
In our midterm report, we found that the DLA did not have the
capability to easily locate, access, format, or display information
that its decision makers routinely needed, or that its management
needed to make timely, substantiated, and objective assessments of
agency performance. We recommended that the DLA move to enhance its
information systems to better support decisions by incorporating
decision support requirements in its plans for the LSMP. We also
recommended that a pilot project be initiated to develop a prototype
Decision Support System (DSS) for use by the director and his staff.
One possible application area is management of the DLA's stock fund.
We believe that decision support is an essential goal for what the
DLA's modernization should achieve and consequently choose to focus
additional attention on it in this report. This concept cuts across
all of the components of the LSMP and will serve many agency personnel
from the director down to the warehouse worker. If DSS concepts are
properly incorporated into the planning and requirements for the LSMP,
the systems will be better able to provide timely and accurate
information in a form that is directly usable for the decisions being
made.
Possible Applications
To put the DLA's corporate DSS into context, we discussed with the
prior director several examples of the needs that it might serve. They
are as follows:
.
Monthly Management Reviews (MMR). These are operational reviews
by top management for which it is essential that information be
sufficient, relevant, and timely. A Data Base Management System
(DBMS) capability is also needed to correlate different types of
information. For example, if the number of procurement actions
declined in a given period, then the stock fund should show less
of a decrease than projected, procurement clerk productivity
should be down, and the procurement action backlog should be
up .
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.
Standard Automated Materiel Management System (SAMMS): In order
to improve the availability of major weapon systems, the DLA
must be able to look at supply availability of items that are
used in support of those major weapon systems across the
agency. These relationships can then guide procurement and
stocking strategies.
· Defense Logistics Services Center (DLSC): This center maintains
the federal catalog system consisting of about 4 million items.
The major information system used at this center is the Defense
Integrated Data System (DIDS). New management decision support
through usable and timely information is required to assist the
DLSC in the management of DIDS.
· Contract Administration: In order to properly perform its
mission, it is essential that the contract administration
offices have sufficient, current, accurate, and complete
information on the performance capabilities of the suppliers
with whom it deals. Such information, referred to as contractor
profiles, is also needed in the buying offices for determining
potential sources of supply. The DLA's contractor surveillance
system does not provide complete contractor profiles for the
firms under its administrative overview. However, we believe
that contractor information currently exists in the DLA but is
not collected and made available to administrators. Contractor
profiles must not only be compiled, they must be accessible for
a wide range of staff and management personnel who will be able
to compare profiles with the contractor delinquency rate.
Progress and Prospects
We found that the prior director's frustration at not having
adequate DSS tools available for both immediate operational control and
long-range planning for the agency was echoed throughout the DLA
staff. Yet in spite of the directive issued by him, early in his tour
with the DLA, to develop a DSS and in spite of the agency-wide
recognition of the imperative need for a DSS, not one individual nor
staff element assumed responsibility for the project. Therefore, DLA
is no closer today than it was two years ago to developing the process
and system required for responsive, interactive, decision support.
However, as a result of other separate and unrelated efforts, the
agency is in a better position today than ever before to build its
DSS. The agency has undertaken a major effort aimed at defining how
they do business through the Conceptual Functional Requirements (CFR)
and Business Area Analysis (BAA) process. Without even having to wait
for the completion of the BAA effort, the DLA now has greater and more
comprehensive visibility of its current management requirements than do
most agencies as they begin a DSS project.
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Monthly Management Reviews
The DLA has been working with an antiquated management review forum
called the Monthly Management Review (MMR). In the course of our
review of DSS, we interviewed agency personnel and found that the MMRs
were disliked by all and criticized for the following reasons:
While intended to serve the needs of the agency's top
management, they are viewed as serving predominately the needs
of the comptroller and conducted for his benefit alone.
They require inordinate effort and time to prepare.
The various information that is available and used for these
reviews represents a snapshot in time but the vintage is unknown
and variable.
The information presented is displayed using 120 graphic charts
during a 2-3 hour executive staff meeting. This requires that a
great deal of information be presented and digested in a very
short period of time.
The monthly management reviews are not convened on a regular
monthly basis.
The MMR has evolved over time to reflect executive emphasis, so in
spite of its current drawbacks, we believe that it can provide the
basis for a near-term DSS format. The information used in the MMRs is
in typical summary graphic format and the capability exists for further
decomposition into more detailed levels. We noticed that in some cases
the staff had refined its input to the MMR so that the agency's
critical success factors would be better supported. For example, 214
data elements are provided by Contract Management (DLA-A) concerning
the contract administration function that support nine director level
critical success factors for running the DLA.
We believe that including the MMRs, CFRs, and BAAs, the main
information elements are now readily available to meet both the DLA's
near- and long-term DSS requirements. Recognizing the former
director's stated intention to initiate DSS, and having the
wherewithal, the agency should move toward creating a rudimentary
on-line DSS designed for its headquarters. Such a modest preliminary
DSS should be installed with a view to evolving it over time and
extending it to the operating agencies.
Start Slowly
A long-range DSS would provide for on-line access to near real-time
data residing in multiple data bases. The agency should plan for such
long-term objectives and prepare for a long-range DSS implementation.
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functions and programs.
The key to successfully implementing a near-term DSS is not to
Over-promise and raise user expectations beyond the agency's ability to
deliver. We suggest that early objectives for decision support
information not require the data to be near real-time, but rather that
the data supporting the system be updated at a selected frequency and
that it be on-line. Such systems should be interactive to the extent
that the user will be able to quickly and easily access various levels
of predetermined information, as is currently furnished for the MMR or
the computer terminal that serves the information needs of the
executive director of Supply Operations.
In the early stages of development, data can be fed to the DSS in
much the same way as it is done for the MRR, by converting hard copy
from the field to magnetic tape. However, in order to provide useful
information to functions such as the comptroller's, the DLA eventually
needs to integrate its data bases and provide for automated interface
to the DSS. This can be accomplished concurrently but will require the
coordinated cooperation of all headquarters organizations.
40
In addition, it can and should take steps now to satisfy immediate
needs for decision support information.
Based on the agency's knowledge of what it manages and its
Hi To m-:~c:~~r~ of r~c~~1 -= i ~ real rack; 1 = define and use this
knowledge to determine the data it requires to support day-to-day
management-by-exception issues and frequently updated functional,
budget and program reviews. The former will insure more responsive
e ~ _ _ _ ~ _ ~ _ ~~ ~ _ _ ~~ _ _}
_ . ~
support of staff actions, while the latter will facilitate a more
frequent and responsive monitoring and review of significant agency
__O
REFERENCE
MITRE Corporation. 1988. Feasibility of Transitioning to Subject
Area Databases. WP-88W00191. McLean, Virginia.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
major data
