Audit finds flaws in Pentagon’s 2019 digital modernization strategy

The Defense Department’s flagship digital modernization strategy included strategic goals that were not always “specific, verifiable and measurable,” potentially leading to performance gaps or changes in mission needs, according to a new audit from the Pentagon’s Inspector General.

At the same time, leadership and personnel turnover at the DOD Chief Information Office prohibited officials from conducting annual reviews of the strategy’s implementation, the probe found.

Released in 2019, the Pentagon’s first-ever digital modernization strategy (DMS) looked to increase technological capabilities across the department and improve overall adoption of modern systems in response to emerging threats and new tools. The strategy included four strategic initiatives — innovation for advantage, optimization, resilient cybersecurity and cultivation of talent — with accompanying objectives and tasks, known as “strategy elements,” as well as a roadmap for implementation through fiscal 2023.

But an audit from the Pentagon Inspector General’s office, published July 9, found that 54 of the 131 strategy elements were not “specific, verifiable and measurable” in accordance with requirements from the Office of Management and Budget, therefore preventing the DOD CIO from effectively monitoring progress towards goals outlined in the strategy.

“Modernizing its digital environment is crucial for the DoD to ensure the Joint Force has a competitive advantage in the modern battlespace. The DMS should create a centralized and focused path to guide daily decision making to achieve DoD’s digital modernization goals,” the Inspector General’s report stated. “However, without specific, verifiable, and measurable strategy elements, the DoD cannot meaningfully track progress towards achievement of DMS goals.”

For example, the audit notes that the task to “modernize the global command and control system — Joint” does not provide any quantifiable measures or specified end results for the desired system, which also makes it difficult to measure progress on the task. In addition, the goal to “modernize” is not clear or precise enough in this context, according to the review. 

Of the 54 strategy elements flagged as being not specific, verifiable and measurable, the DOD CIO has reported that 17 of them have been completed — although the Inspector General’s audit could not confirm whether or not that was the case. 

Moving forward, the IG report recommends that the CIO “develop and implement standard operating procedures that include definitions for ‘specific,’ ‘verifiable,’ and ‘measurable.’” Since the recommendation, the CIO’s office has reported that the deputy chief experience officer has been tasked to develop and implement the suggested standards, and expects them to be completed by the end of August.

In addition, the audit found that the DOD did not conduct annual reviews of the digital modernization strategy in fiscal 2022 and 2023 — another requirement from the OMB. A former employee of the CIO reported that the office did not conduct reviews due to changes in the office’s leadership and discussions on whether to update the digital modernization strategy or develop a brand new one. 

The audit emphasized that “by not conducting annual DMS reviews in conjunction with DoD’s Annual Performance Plan reviews, the DoD missed opportunities to identify performance gaps or changes to mission needs, priorities, goals, objectives, or strategy elements that require updates.”

As for fiscal 2020 and 2021, CIO personnel “could not provide documentation supporting that the DMS was reviewed alongside the Annual Performance Plan or that OCIO personnel identified performance gaps in the DMS based on changes to DoD mission needs, priorities, or goals,” according to the IG report.

The Pentagon’s CIO did decide to release a new strategy, dubbed Fulcrum, in June that is structured around four lines of effort. Acting DOD CIO Leslie Beavers told DefenseScoop ahead of the new strategy’s release that it represented a more mature version of its predecessor.

“It’s taking into account the new technologies that have been developed and, kind of, the changing world situation and how we are just providing that kind of refreshed vision for how we need to move out in the department in the next five years,” Beavers said.