Investment Review Boards (IRBs)
The Department's defense business systems Investment Review Boards and the Defense Business Systems Management Committee (DBSMC) were established in 2005 by 10 United States Code (U.S.C.) §2222 and 186 respectively. The IRBs and the DBSMC constitute a governance and oversight framework for effective investment decision-making, enabling the Department's senior leadership to guide investments to maximize benefits to the Warfighter.
The DBSMC is chaired by the Deputy Secretary of Defense, with direct participation from senior leaders from the Joint Staff, Offices of the Secretary of Defense and the Department of Defense (DoD) Components. The IRBs are chaired by designees appointed by the following offices:
- Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition Technology and Logistics
- Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness
- Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller)
- Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration
- Deputy Secretary of Defense or other Under Secretary of Defense as designated by the Secretary of Defense
The IRBs oversee the investment review process for business capabilities that support their designated areas of responsibility for the offices listed above. They are guided by the Business Enterprise Architecture (BEA) and Enterprise Transition Plan (ETP), as well as Component architectures and transition plans. These products enable the delivery of more robust business capabilities aligned to enterprise priorities.
The IRBs certify defense business system modernizations in excess of $1 million to the BEA and perform annual reviews of certified systems. In their newly expanded roles, the IRBs also provide governance for the Business Capability Lifecycle (BCL) and act as advisers to the DBSMC and Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) for those large business systems that meet the dollar threshold for a Major Automated Information System (MAIS) or MAIS programs that are also Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MAIS/MDAP). BCL reengineers major DoD processes to streamline governance, reduce risk and improve decision support to enable faster delivery of business capabilities.
The Fiscal Year 2010 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) Section 1072, introduced new requirements into the Department’s defense business systems modernization investment management process. It created the requirement a system may not be certified by the DBSMC and IRBs unless appropriate BPR efforts have been undertaken, and it stipulated that the appropriate Military Department CMO or DoD DCMO is responsible for determining whether or not that requirement has been satisfied. Specifically, the appropriate Military Department CMO or DoD DCMO will determine whether or not:
A. The defense business system modernization is in compliance with the enterprise architecture; and
B. Appropriate BPR efforts have been undertaken, to ensure that –
- The business process to be supported by the defense business system modernization will be as streamlined and efficient as practicable; and
2. The need to tailor commercial-off-the-shelf systems to meet unique requirements or incorporate unique requirements or incorporate unique interfaces has been eliminated or reduced to the maximum extent practicable.
The intent of this requirement is to ensure that programs are not simply automating inefficient business processes, but are instead applying process improvement methodologies prior to implementing an IT solution. The Department is embracing this new requirement and has issued interim guidance and an assessment form to comply with the statute while long-term guidance and best practices are being developed.
The Business Transformation Agency’s Enterprise Planning & Investment Directorate (EP&I) supports the IRB process in the following ways: acts as a cross-IRB facilitator and coordinates with all IRBs to establish common operating procedures; develops, updates and publishes all Process and Compliance Guidance related to investment reviews and certification and annual reviews; and provides direct support to the Weapon System Lifecycle Management and Materiel Supply and Services Management (WSLM/MS&SM) and Financial Management (FM) IRBs to facilitate their execution.
Authority
- IRB Roles and Responsibilities (DTM) 08-020
- Title 10 USC §186 and §2222
- FY2010 NDAA §1072
Guidance and Resources
- IRB Process Guidance
- BEA Compliance Guidance
- FY2010 NDAA §1072 – Business Process Reengineering Interim Guidance
- FY2010 NDAA §1072 – Business Process Reengineering Interim Assessment Form