DECENTRALIZED ADP SUPPORT TO DA OFFICES

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP89G00643R000900140001-2
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 8
• Document Creation Date: December 23, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 14, 2011
• Sequence Number: 1
• Publication Date: January 13, 1987
• Content Type: MEMO

Declassified in Part - Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2011/11/14: CIA-RDP89GO0643R000900140001-2
DDA 87-0056
13 January 1987
MEMORANDUM FOR: Director of Communications
Director of Finance
Director of Logistics
Director of Medical Services
Director of Personnel
Director of Security
FROM: William F. Donnelly
Deputy Director for Administration
SUBJECT: Decentralized ADP Support to DA Offices
REFERENCE: Memo for DDA fm D/OIT, dated 2 January 1987,
Subject: ADP Support to DA Offices (OIT 1081-86)
1. In the referenced memorandum, Ed Maloney proposed that OIT should
decentralize its ADP development and production support to DA Offices. With
the exception of the Corporate Data Program and field systems development, Ed
proposed to transfer OIT staff and contractor resources to your Office.
2. I would appreciate your reactions--in writing--to Ed's proposal.
Please respond to me by COB 23 January 1987.
STAT
ADMINISTRATIVE - INTERNAL USE ONLY
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C 2 ~ 1987
NOTE TO: Deputy Director for Administration
FROM: Edward J. Maloney
Director of Information Technology
SUBJECT: Decentralized ADP Support
1. The attached memo is an OIT proposal to decentralize ADP support to
DA offices. The proposal focuses on ADP developmental and maintenance
activities and production support (for batch systems). You asked for my
thoughts on extending this concept to other Directorates, the DCI area and the
IC Staff. In brief, I believe selective decentralization is feasible and
advisable.
2. The following are rough estimates of support to the IC Staff and
Agency (excluding the DA) (based on man-hour data for FY 1986 recorded in the
the Project Activity Report):
Component
FY 1986 Man-years of Support
DCI
1
DI
6
(excludes SAFE)
DO
8
(includes DESIST)
DS&T
10
IC
6
(includes CAMS)
3. Support to the Directorates (particularly DI and DS&T) tends to be
fragmented among the offices making full Agency-wide decentralization
problematical. Selective decentralization would, however, be feasible. OSWR,
for example, is the office which receives the preponderance of OIT's DI
support. OCPAS is another office which OIT supports. If the DA
decentralization proposal is accepted and successful, I would first look to
decentralizing OSWR (within 3-6 months), and second OCPAS (within 6-9
months). Other components Agency-wide would then be selectively evaluated.
(I would not recommend the decentralizing of SAFE activities, due to their
multi-customer nature.) I believe that if decentralization in any component
is feasible, it should be pursued. The rationale is identical to that
provided for the DA; improved customer control, management focus and customer
orientation, and, through retention of MZ career status, enhanced career
development opportunities.
STAT
Attachment:
As stated
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ADMINISTRATIVE-INTERNAL USE ONLY
OIT 1081-86
0 2 JA;": 1987
MEMORANDUM FOR: Deputy Director for Administration
FROM: Edward J. Maloney
Director of Information Technology
SUBJECT: ADP Support to DA Offices
Summary
1. This memorandum proposes a realignment of Directorate resources that
will place ADP specialists from OIT under the direct management of DA
customer offices. I believe such action will improve significantly the
quality of ADP support to the Directorate. This decentralization is in line
with trends in industry, where corporate customers manage the ADP systems
development and support for their own activities under the technical guidance
and standards of the central Management Information Systems organization.
Background
2. It is hardly news that the DA is dependent on ADP systems. Systems
such as FRS, GAS, CONIF, etc. are the lifeblood of the Directorate and, in
turn, of other Agency managers. Historically, the people whose job it is to
manage these and other important information processing tools have not had
direct and frequent contact with the people who depend on these tools.
According to studies published by Gartner Group and other industry observers,
such overcentralization of MIS resources increasingly is being recognized as
inappropriate in both the private sector and government.
3. This tendency has led customer components to fill gaps in important
MIS requirements by acquiring their own ADP personnel. The attachment
provides estimates of total DA resources applied to DA ADP support. In the
aggregate, there are over 200 staff and 50 contractor personnel supporting the
Directorate. These ADP specialists are involved in development, maintenance,
enhancement, and production support (batch systems). They are split between
OIT and other DA offices. There is very little logic behind the split of
resources; the inevitable result of an ad hoc process which has evolved over
the years.
4. Functionally similar ADP activities are performed by OIT in support
of its DA customers and by the DA customers themselves. Frequently these
activities are poorly coordinated and unplanned. Certainly, no
Directorate-wide or joint planning takes place. In fact, I am not aware of a
single office ADP plan and definitely not one that spans both OIT and a
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UJZ,
SUBJECT: ADP Support to DA Offices
customer office. The result of this lack of coordination is a loss of focus,
a difficulty for you, the DDA, in asserting your priorities. The bottom line
is lost opportunities. The DA must apply technology to the solution of
pressing Agency problems. The existing confused organizational situation
frustrates that important goal.
5. While we in the Directorate have sometimes worked at cross-purposes
on ADP support, the demand for ADP services has continued to expand.
Legislative and operational requirements change at an ever-increasing rate.
This, in turn, generates a nearly insatiable workload for maintenance and
enhancement of existing systems. Simultaneously, while OIT and its DA
customers are taking steps to upgrade existing systems, the next generation of
ADP systems is under development. OIT's approach to the latter task has been
the Corporate Data Program, an effort to consolidate and integrate the
Agency's administrative data. The major tasks of development of a new data
environment and the maintenance and enhancement of current systems have led to
a situation where our DA customers are frustrated by our lack of progress on
their problems. In short, ADP organization in the Directorate needs to be
rationalized if we are to develop, maintain, and support systems that meet
Directorate goals and customer requirements. This memorandum proposes an
approach, for your consideration, that will position the Directorate for the
1990s.
The Proposal
6. What we are proposing is the decentralization of existing OIT support
and development resources to the DA offices with two critical program
exceptions: the Corporate Data effort and DA systems development and support
for both the foreign and domestic fields. Our decentralization proposal puts
under customer control MZ careerists and contractors currently performing the
following functions: maintenance and enhancement of existing DA systems;
development of non-corporate Headquarters systems; and production services for
DA systems (i.e., batch systems administration). This team would be under
local office management for everything but the careers of the OIT assignees.
7. The reassigned OIT personnel would form the nucleus of an ADP
component of the DA office. This component would include OIT development and
production specialists currently in MISG/OIT and GOG/OIT respectively, OIT
rotationals currently assigned to the customer office, and customer ADP
specialists. The manager of the team would be an OIT careerist. This will
ensure a strong linkage between OIT and the DA customer office. The
decentralized team approach will permit DA offices to directly manage the
resources committed to the support of their information systems. The first
charge of the MZ manager would be the development of a component ADP strategic
plan. OIT, in turn, would have the responsibility to coordinate the component
plans and to prepare an overall Directorate plan.
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ADMINISTRATIVE-INTERNAL USE ONLY
SUBJECT: ADP Support to DA Offices
8. At the same time, OIT would have as its charter management of the
Corporate Data Program and DA foreign and domestic field development and
support activities. These programs must be managed centrally if they are to
succeed. Corporate data must be administered by a central group to avoid
incompatibility and redundancy. Similarly, the complexity and constraints of
the field environment require a single program manager if our efforts are to
be effective. With respect to career development and as a long-term goal, I
also recommend you consider incorporation of all DA ADP specialist personnel
into the MZ Career Service. This will provide them with the career paths and
opportunities necessary for their development and retention.
The Benefits
9. Under this proposal, Directorate-level goal setting for information
systems would be simplified. The crisper organizational structure would
improve implementation of both Directorate and component plans. DA offices
would have more immediate control of the resources supporting their systems.
They would determine local priorities and approaches. ADP specialists would
be closer to the customer and would, I believe, have a better understanding of
requirements. In order to facilitate a fully coordinated Directorate-wide ADP
program, OIT will provide technical guidance, standards, and training, as well
as acting as the focal point for Directorate planning. These activities will
ensure that the Directorate systems are developed in a uniform manner and play
together to the extent necessary. Retention of MZ Career Service status will
permit full career development possibilities for OIT staffers assigned to a DA
customer office. MZers would receive the typical benefits of the rotational
program. They would be "closer to the action" and develop a better
understanding of customer problems as well as the external focus essential to
a service organization. This rotational experience will enrich their Agency
careers and serve as an excellent preparation for future assignments.
The Risks
10. We recognize that this is a bold initiative, but we judge the risks
to be small. Customer support can only improve with dedicated resources under
local control. There will be some additional costs, as the efficiencies of
sharing centralized ADP personnel will be traded for more effective support to
DA offices. Other types of resource sharing may, however, be facilitated in
this new environment. For example, production specialists may assume more of
the system maintenance burden than is possible under the existing
organizational framework. We propose to implement a proactive standards and
coordination program to ensure that existing and enhanced DA systems continue
to fit together harmoniously. Furthermore, Corporate Data Program planning
will be enhanced to ensure a smooth transition between existing systems and
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ADMINISTRATIVE-INTERNAL USE OtilY
SUBJECT: ADP Support to DA Offices
future systems. We will also begin an aggressive program, working closely
with DA offices, to define an architecture and begin implementation of an
integrated DA ADP systems environment in both the foreign and domestic fields.
The Implementation
11. If this proposal is accepted, we will work with DA customer offices
to develop specifics on the transfer of resources. OIT will transfer a
negotiated number of staff and contractor resources currently targeted on DA
systems (see attachment). The staff positions transferred to components will
be designated as MZ positions. OIT will commit to keeping these positions
filled with fully-qualified personnel. The remainder of the DA-targeted OIT
resources will be applied to the Corporate Data Program and foreign and
domestic field systems development and support efforts. Appropriate OIT team
leaders will be selected (with the concurrence of the recipient office).
Ultimately, we would like to see the full component team (OlTers augmented by
customer personnel and contractors) housed on customer space contiguous to the
majority of the component. The formation of the team and the transfer should
take less than three months from the go-ahead (space will obviously be a
problem).
Conclusion
12. I am excited about this program. Decentralizing development
resources in the DA will be an important achievement. Directorate-wide ADP
planning and resource allocation will be significantly improved. Corporate
priorities will be more controlling in this new, more streamlined
organizational structure. Decentralization will give DA customers more of the
management control of resources that they have always wanted. I expect to see
immediate improvement in customer satisfaction. The decentralized support
concept is not a panacea, but I believe it will go a long way toward meeting
the often-expressed concerns of our DA customers. Concomitantly, OIT
management will be able to focus on the future, Corporate Data and the foreign
and domestic field environments. I look forward to hearing your comments and
those of my fellow Office Directors on this proposal.
STAT
war a oneyj
Attachment:
As Stated
ADMINISTRATIVE-INTERNAL USE ONLY
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