Pentagon Creates Business Transformation Agency

After resisting the creation of a new bureaucratic office for some time, The Pentagon is creating the Business Transformation Agency, moving dozens of its most extensive business modernization programs under a single roof. The result will centralize management of several department-wide programs, including the Pentagon’s e-mail system, the Defense Travel System, the Acquisition Spend Analysis Service and the Defense Acquisition Management Information Retrieval program. Among others. A two-star general or an equivalent member of the Senior Executive Service with the title of Defense business systems acquisition executive will oversee purchases for the programs transferred to the agency.

Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld is calling to reduce “burdensome, extraneous congressional reporting requirements” and create more flexibility to transfer funds between spending accounts, while moving to address other concerns raised by Congress and the GAO over issues like the defense procurement spiral and concerns about the length of the acquisition process. These kinds of moves are not uncommon in efforts to streamline and improve government services outside the military, and Congress’ own role in creating many of the problems it decries in the military acquisition system is certainly an under-investigated topic.

UPDATES:

Nov 13/08: See “Sharpen Yourself: Communicating Clearly – the BTA Example” for an interview with the head of the BTA, who begins with an explanation of the agency’s job in complete bureaucrateux, then switches to a much better explanation in plain English when prodded. Instructive on many levels.

March 12/07: FCW – “Fisher searches for the optimal organization: New transformation director brings Silicon Valley innovation to DOD’s bureaucracy.” Good overview of the director’s sense of the organization’s priorities and direction.

Nov 21/05: DID – “Business Transformation Agency Web Site Goes Live.” Here’s the address.

Oct 28/05: DID story – “Pentagon’s Business Transformation Agency Makes Key Appointment”