Given the urgency of the wars we are in, the daunting global security
environment we will inhabit for decades to come, and our country's economic
problems, we simply cannot afford to move ahead with business as usual.
—Secretary of Defense Robert Gates
The Real Property and Installations Lifecycle Management (RPILM) Core Business Mission (CBM) oversees the suite of all information technology initiatives and systems (i.e., manages the IT portfolio) related to its functional scope across DoD. This responsibility includes aligning systems with desired strategies, priorities, capabilities, and outcomes; reducing redundant investments and implementations; verifying architecture and standards; protecting information assets; and ensuring the portfolio supports the warfighter. Organizationally, this CBM responsibility is delegated to the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Installations and Environment) (ODUSD(I&E)), who is supported by the Business Enterprise Integration (BEI) office.
The scope of the RPILM CBM encompasses all phases of an installation asset's lifecycle, including (but not limited to) functionality related to real property accountability and management; environmental management; safety and occupational health; environmental liabilities; and, geospatial visualization.
The CBM manages its scope and portfolio through its Investment Review Board (IRB). The IRB reviews all initiatives and systems with lifetime modernization investments of more than $1,000,000 as well as those deemed of special interest to the IRB regardless of investment size; validates their compliance with strategy, objectives, architecture, and value; and recommends them for certification by the Certification Authority (CA) and subsequent approval by the Defense Business Systems Management Committee (DBSMC) in accordance with the 2005 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The IRB members are:
Additionally, the IRB is charged by the NDAA with annually reviewing certified and/or special interest systems for continued compliance. It is also within the IRB's purview to deny, modify, or revoke a certification if an initiative or system does not meet requirements, fails to comply with identified conditions, is poorly managed (e.g., behind schedule or over budget), or represents excessive risk. Finally, the IRB commissions and approves business process modernization or reengineering efforts, data standards, and complementary business rules which are implemented via the DoD Business Enterprise Architecture (BEA).
Tiered accountability is an approach in which each "tier" (e.g., Component, such as a Service or Agency) is responsible for developing its own architecture as well as aligning its transformation with the strategic direction of the DoD. Through its federation strategy, DoD coordinates business transformation across the Enterprise and within Components. Through this approach, the individual system program offices, Component pre-certification authorities (PCAs), the RPILM IRB Support Staff, and the RPILM IRB work together to identify, document, support, and review proposed and existing IT system and programmatic investments with the following objectives:
Portfolio management (PfM) is driven primarily by the business capabilities described in the DoD Business Enterprise Architecture (BEA), by direction ratified by the IRB, and by the CBM's functional scope. Systems are inventoried and their capabilities classified in relation to the CBMA scope. Analyses are performed to develop system architecture views and to assess redundancies and gaps in functionality on behalf of DoD. Funding profiles are prepared and reviewed; in particular, plans, budgets, and returns on investment are inspected to ensure the funding support is available and business case made for each initiative. Informed certifications decisions are then made based on the analyses.
The RPILM IRB Support team supports RPILM's IRB in all matters relating to the FY 2005 NDAA. The team is responsible for:
In general, the IRB meets on a monthly basis, although their business may be conducted "virtually" (i.e., through e-mail) depending upon its nature. Before the meetings, the IRB members are provided with a certification or annual review package for each initiative or system. During the meetings, they vote to certify, deny, or revoke. Certifications and revocations are forwarded to the DBSMC for approval.
