OFFICE OF DATA PROCESSING STRATEGIC PLAN FY 1984 - FY 1993

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP85B01152R000700910013-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 11
• Document Creation Date: December 21, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 27, 2008
• Sequence Number: 13
• Content Type: REPORT

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9 TIVE-INTERNAL USE J#Y
OFFICE OF
DATA PROCESSING
STRATEGIC PLAN
FY 1984 - FY 1993
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ROLE OF PLANNING IN ODP
1. Strategic planning, in the Office of Data Processing, is the process by
which senior management articulates the overall direction for the office for
the next ten year period. The plan consists of a small number of strategic goals
(this year just two) and an expanded list of areas for strategic emphasis (for
want of a better term referred to as objectives). These objectives are divided
into several theme categories for convenience. The current plan focuses on the
categories of Personnel, Management, Organization, and Computer Services.
As will be discussed later, the order of these categories is not accidental.
Personnel is the key resource in ODP.
2. This plan does not come from a vacuum, nor does it propose to create a
perception de novo. It builds upon the traditions, actions, and policies of an ex-
isting, vibrant organization.
3. The strategic goals and the supporting objectives serve as the frame-
work for the far more detailed and specific planning that must follow. The
continuing challenge for ODP line managers is to develop new initiatives and
programs that support the priorities of this strategic plan. This follow-on
implementation planning will, of course, be central to the success of the
strategic plan. The planning process represents a creative opportunity for ODP
line managers and technical personnel. The originality and quality of the
implementation plans, and the energy and skill devoted to their realization,
will determine the focus of ODP's role in the organizational changes caused by
the long-predicted information revolution. The planning process is, therefore,
fundamental to the success of the office and, more importantly, can signifi-
cantly improve the effectiveness of the Agency in satisfying its vital mission.
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THE ENVIRONMENT
1. A strategic plan is one means of defining the dynamic relationship
between an organization and the environment in which it exists. Because of
the strategic nature of this plan, a detailed projection of the environment is not
required. Identification of key trends is essential. Two trends are readily
apparent:
? GROWTH OF INFORMATION NEEDS
and,
? CONSTANCY OF CHANGE
2. Data processing and information handling requirements continue to
expand in magnitude, and vary in their nature. The technology available to
satisfy these requirements continues to change and improve. The strategic
plan sets directions in this unstable environment. As a corollary, the strategic
plan likewise must be flexible and be designed to accommodate change. A rig-
id plan in a dynamic world is doomed to failure.
3. Further complicating our planning task, is our third environmental
factor:
? AMBIGUITY OF GOALS
4. Senior Agency management is beset by an increasingly complex world
in continual flux. It is not surprising that guidance for service organizations,
such as the Office of Data Processing, is, at best, implicit rather than explicit.
We are left with the responsibility and the opportunity to determine our own
direction.
5. Finally, the environmental factor that gives us the most hope in the
next ten years is the:
? CREATIVITY OF OUR PEOPLE
6. This creativity has served us well since the inception of the office. The
challenge is for senior management to harness this creativity and channel it to-
wards satisfying the goals of the Agency. This is, of course, the primary
purpose of the strategic planning process.
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OUR STRATEGIC GOALS
1. We have identified two strategic goals for the Office of Data
Processing. These recognize the historic role the office has played as a
provider of centralized automatic data processing (ADP) services to Agency
customers. They also recognize the increasingly more important role ADP
services will play in the world of organizations and intelligence organizations,
in particular. Our primary goal is, therefore:
? TO PROVIDE ALL AGENCY EMPLOYEES ACCESS TO SE-
CURE AND COST-EFFECTIVE ADP AND OFFICE AUTOMA-
TION SERVICES. THESE SERVICES SHOULD BE DESIGNED
TO ENHANCE EMPLOYEE PRODUCTIVITY AND IMPROVE
EMPLOYEE EFFECTIVENESS IN THE PERFORMANCE OF
THEIR ASSIGNED TASKS.
2. In addition to our role as a provider of services, it is essential we also
become an innovator of new information services. We have, therefore, selected
a complementary strategic goal that both supports and extends the primary
goal described above.
3. It is an ODP strategic goal:
? TO SERVE AS A CATALYST AND LEADER IN THE INTRO-
DUCTION OF NEW INFORMATION SYSTEMS TECHNOL-
OGY INTO THE AGENCY ENVIRONMENT.
4. Implicit in both these strategic goals is a pluralistic view of Agency in-
formation systems. ODP recognizes that there are many valid management
and technical reasons why one office, such as ODP, cannot and should not be-
come the exclusive provider or innovator in the information systems arena.
5. Also implicit is the recognition that though the roles of provider and
innovator can be in conflict, they are also inextricably linked. The provider
only ignores innovation at the risk of obsolescence. Increased emphasis must
be placed on renewing our technological base, if we are to remain relevant in
the dynamic Agency environment.
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OUR SUPPORTING OBJECTIVES
1. Four areas have been selected by ODP senior management as
requiring special emphasis, if the office is to meet its two overall strategic
goals. The four areas are Personnel, Management, Organization, and Com-
puter Services. As mentioned earlier, Personnel is viewed as the ODP resource
that is "on the critical path." The complexity of customer requirements and
the information processing environment continues to grow. Without personnel
who are highly dedicated and technically sophisticated, our ability to manage
this complexity is in doubt. It goes without saying, that in addition to
requirements for increasingly skilled and dedicated technical specialists,
managers with unusual drive and vision will be essential to our success.
Fostering an environment for our employees that is creative, challenging, and
rewarding is our major personnel focus. Therefore, under the Personnel
category, we believe four interrelated objectives must be emphasized:
PERSONNEL
? STRENGTHEN PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
- RECOGNITION THAT PEOPLE ARE THE KEY RESOURCE
? RECRUIT AND RETAIN A COMPETENT AND MOTIVATED
WORKFORCE
? EMPHASIZE PERSONNEL DEVELOPMEN'
- MANAGEMENT
- TECHNICAL
? ESTABLISH A UNIVERSAL "MZ" CAREER SERVICE
2. The first two items are self-explanatory. Personnel development, a
conscious and planned effort to enhance the skills and experience of our
workforce, is the only viable approach that will assure that our people are
equipped to meet the challenges they will inevitably face. In addition, we now
recognize the requirement for a "two-track" development system. Not all
technical personnel desire or have the skills to become managers. Senior
technical positions must be established with the appropriate technical chal-
lenges and reward structure. Only a dual approach, such as this, will permit us
to make optimal use of our talent. Finally, the expansion of the "MZ" (i.e.,
ADP) career service to encompass individuals in offices other than ODP, is an
attempt to expand the career path possibilities of all ODP and Agency ADP
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specialists. This is believed an important management initiative that will
expand Agency personnel development options and have a secondary effect of
ensuring a degree of coordination and standardization in systems development
and operations Agency-wide.
3. The second category of supporting objectives is Management. Three
areas have been identified as requiring renewed strategic emphasis:
? ENSURE AN OPEN AND RIGOROUS MANAGEMENT
PROCESS
? ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY AT ALL ORGANIZATIONAL
LEVELS
? FORMALLY ESTABLISH PRIORITIES FOR NEW AND EXIST-
ING REQUIREMENTS
4. The next ten years will present new management challenges. Custom-
er requirements will grow in numbers and desired utility, and the resource im-
plications of these requirements will continue to expand. The level of
management complexity will increase concomitantly. Grappling with these
problems will require management approaches that may differ from those
practiced in the past.
5. Coordination must be improved, among office components and with
our customers and our co-providers of ADP services. In order to make
decisions which will have Agency-wide influence, we must have the confidence
of the Agency. Our decisionmaking must be analytical and open to scrutiny.
This will ensure that our decisions are in the interests of the Agency and do
not emphasize parochial concerns.
6. We also recognize that our managers must continue to be held fully
accountable for their performance and decisions. Full acceptance of account-
ability is necessary for organizational success and personnel development.
7. Finally, our resources will continue to be less than we believe needed.
The prudent allocation of our limited resources will become even more
essential. We accept the fact that we cannot "do it all." The challenge we face
is choosing what to do; selecting what systems to build, and what services to
provide.
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8. Organization is the third category of strategic objectives. The two key
objectives are summarized below:
ORGANIZATION
? ENSURE OFFICE IS OPEN TO ITS ENVIRONMENT
- TECHNOLOGICAL
? DECENTRALIZE USER SUPPORT
9. The first objective emphasizes our commitment to openness. We must
avoid the development of a "Not Invented Here (NIH)" syndrome. We must
objectively evaluate all technical and operational options and not be averse to
change, to different methodologies and, indeed, different goals. Valuable ideas
and perceptions can come from many sources. We must continue to be
receptive to new concepts.
10. The second organizational objective is to move user support out-
ward-to the users. This should improve responsiveness and allow for
increased specialization and expertise among user support personnel. Our
belief is that decentralized user support will better meet the needs of our
customers and reduce ODP resource requirements.
11. The final set of objectives supportive of OD.P strategic goals are
categorized as Computer Service objectives. These are, in turn, broken down
into those related to the ADP Utility and those associated with Systems
Development. These objectives address the nature of ODP services during the
next ten years. Operating the Agency ADP utility has historically been an
ODP function-it will continue to be a critical objective.
COMPUTER SERVICES-THE UTILITY
? CONTINUE TO OPERATE COMPUTER SERVICES TO MEET
NEEDS OF THE AGENCY
? DEVELOP AN INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE
FOR THE WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA
? ESTABLISH AN ENVIRONMENT THAT PERMITS AGENCY
CUSTOMERS TO EFFECTIVELY UTILIZE DATA PROCESS-
ING SERVICES
? ESTABLISH A BACK-UP FACILITY OUTSIDE THE WASH-
INGTON METROPOLITAN AREA
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12. The first objective states that our current concept of providing a
central ADP service, in effect, a secure ADP utility for Agency customers, is
to be continued. We must provide these services through an integrated
Headquarters area information systems architecture. Developing such an
architecture will require leadership on the part of this office and close
coordination with the Offices of Communications and Security. Paramount
requirements of this architecture will be compatibility, security, and availabil-
ity. Data exchange, when security requirements permit, should also be
possible.
13. The area of user support, as the third objective states, is to be given
renewed emphasis. User-friendly systems and the information systems center
concept, for example, are approaches to improving user access. Our thrust will
be to improve accessibility through improved software, consulting services,
documentation, training, and other approaches that are cost-effective.
14. The last objective relates to the establishment of a back-up facility
outside of the local area. This will ensure the continued delivery of critical
data processing services in the event of a national or local emergency.
15. The second class of services that have historically been performed by
ODP is systems or applications development. Systems development require-
ments will continue to play a major role in ODP in the next ten years.
COMPUTER SERVICES-SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
? EXPEDITE SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
? EMPHASIZE DEVELOPMENT OF "CORPORATE SYSTEMS"
? UTILIZE CONTRACTOR RESOURCES FOR LARGE SYSTEMS
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
? UTILIZE ODP RESOURCES FOR MEDIUM-SIZE SYSTEMS
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS (3-10 STAFF-YEARS)
? UTILIZE COMMERCIAL PACKAGES FOR SMALL SYSTEMS
DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
- END USER RESPONSIBLE FOR MODIFICATIONS
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16. As mentioned earlier, we expect that information needs and related
systems development requirements will continue to grow. In fact, the enor-
mous current backlog, by itself, would occupy our development resources for
several years into the future. This will cause significant: time delays prior to
project initiation and, due to the increasing complexity of development tasks,
an ever-expanding systems development life cycle. Therefore, expediting
systems development is a primary office objective.
17. Due to limited staff and budget resources, we will increasingly be
forced to make difficult choices as to what systems we develop. Because of
their importance to the Agency and the lack of viable development alterna-
tives, Agency-wide administrative systems, so-called "corporate systems," will
receive increasing ODP emphasis.
18. It will furthermore be necessary to reorient O]DP resources based on
project size and scope. It will be the ODP objective to rely on contractor re-
sources (utilizing ODP or customer funding) for large systems development.
The size and complexity of many of these projects make reliance on limited
staff resources impractical.
19. ODP staff resources will concentrate on so-called medium-sized
systems development. In our judgment, projects of this size are more cost-ef-
fectively handled in-house. Our final objective in this group is to move small
systems development out into the customer offices, emphasizing the use of
commercially-available software. ODP will provide enhanced support, such as
consulting, to customers accepting development responsibilities. It is our belief
that this overall allocation of systems development resources is the most cost-
effective approach and in the best interest of the office and Agency.
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CONCLUSION
The purpose of this strategic plan is to articulate overall office goals
and key objectives during the next ten years. It is recognized that other
choices of goals and objectives are possible. The goals and objectives described
above are not intended to be exhaustive. They have been selected because of
the perception of senior ODP management that increased attention to
satisfying these objectives will pay major dividends in future office perfor-
mance. It is our belief that the payoff will become even more apparent during
the next planning phase, which involves the development of the implementa-
tion plan. It is during this final process, and in the resulting implementation
plan, that we can further clarify issues and make the hard choices that will de-
fine the nature of the office and its contribution to the Agency during the next
ten years.
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