Possible Applicability of the Total Architecture, Plans, and Execution System (TAPES) concept to DNSO/DISA operations and administration.

ITEM COMMENTS

77 A TAPES repository, as a network application for DISA/DNSO internal operations and administration, can serve as the base information system for a DoD operations and administration network service.

78 A TAPES is by its very nature intended as a repository bysed corporate life cycle management tool for all categories of resources, with the corresponding planning, programing, developing, executing, and validating actions. These resource life cycles would apply to core products and services for internal and external consumption.

79 A TAPES would display to the appropriate managers the categories and quantities of network services down to the lowest level of managed detail, and their distribution across locations, organizations, staff elements and positions, functions, and business processes.

80 As a corporate repository based life cycle management system, a TAPES would identify the delta between existing baseline (on-hand) resources and requested, required (validated need), authorized (programmed), and allocated (developing/acquired) resources. The transitions between these future resources and the baseline resources would be the incremental plans for improvement.

81 As a repository containing standards (i.e., information technology standards) a TAPES would display a standard in context with other standards of the same family, how that standard is distributed throughout the baseline resource inventory and planned/programmed/developing resources, and the detailed composition of that standard, down to the lowest managed level.

82 A TAPES is an integrating environment for all enterprise recorded data, information, and knowledge. As such it displays the creation, flow, processing, storage, and distribution of all enterprise intelligence. From that logical integration, the physical interconnecting media and processors can be deployed to facilitate the utilization of that intelligence. This would facilitate network management.

83 A TAPES would serve as a library of a project, with each project being managed as one or more requested capabilities to be delivered though a life cycle management process.

84 A TAPES would serve as an planning and inventory system for any managed resource. These resources, referred to as objects, can be interactively associated with each other in a variety of ways, allowing them to be grouped in any form that is convenient for the manager, planner, or worker.

85 A TAPES can be used to manage transformations of existing capabilities into new forms, with great flexibility.

86 Resources can be quickly reassigned within TAPES, simply by picking the object which contains those resources. For instance, to reassign a unit, with its mission functions, business processes, and all resources, you simply associate the unit with its new parent organization and change its object code.

87 A TAPES can be used to track project's fielding status.

88 Identification and compilation of required services or products, using multiple selection criteria, is easily done within a TAPES.

89 An application for connection approval is a basic request for resources. A TAPES would allow this request to be managed from its conception till its dissolution.

90 Analyses of the data within the TAPES would provide immediate visibility of duplications/redundancy with various criteria of location, organization, unit/position, function, business process, resource configuration, and/or resource life cycle quantities.

91 A TAPES would allow rapid processing of all resource life cycle actions, allowing greater responsiveness, and enabling management of exceptions.

92 A TAPES would allow managers and service providers to clearly define the customer base for their products or services. This would provide a more accurate basis for staffing and budgeting.

93 When a TAPES provides a known and dynamic listing of the customer base, staffing levels for the various performance standards can more accurately be applied.

94 Since a TAPES is a Life Cycle Management environment for all corporate resources, the management of improvement, modernization, and replacement projects can be managed at a higher level within the organization, while still providing responsive and accurate data to the project managers, without extended and tedious data calls to the field.

95 A TAPES would serve as a common repository for all resource (Product/Service) standards.

96 A TAPES would contain the majority of information necessary for studies and analyses of all sorts, from highly quantitative to highly qualitative. The more diligently the TAPES concept is applied, the more complete this information will become.

97 A TAPES would manage and track a Telecommunications Service Order as any other request for corporate resources.

98 A TAPES, as a corporate directory of all resources, and as a transaction system to manage those resources, would be accessible to anyone who gained authorized access and permissions. This one information system would fill the majority of requirements for corporate distribution of data, information, and knowledge.

100 By serving as the underlying data structure of a graphic and object-oriented user interface, all objects within a TAPES can be viewed by authorized users in a map, topology, floor diagram, organization chart, hierarchy, and most other forms of data visualization.

101 A TAPES would provide long range planning and programing mechanizms, with an integrated view of dynamic C3 architectures over time.

102 A TAPES would allow dynamic reallocation of resources into new groupings for contingency operations, for continuity of operations plans, or to adapt to system wide disruptions/failures.

103 By providing a detailed matrix of planned and actual resources, grouped by multiple criteria, an analyst or manager could consolidate management actions such as acquisitions, updates, upgrades, or modifications for any project from the largest to the smallest scale.

104 A Counter-Drug Architecture could be developed and managed as a subset of an overall DNSO, DISA, DoD, Federal, or National TAPES.

105 A TAPES would serve as the single source of all C3 Architecture plans, programs, developments, acquisitions, implementations, maintenance, and validations. As such it would allow a consistent, adaptive, and orderly C3 Architecture to be implemented.

106 A TAPES could be operated as an ideal C3 system when used in conjunction with a graphical object-oriented user interface.

107 A TAPES would provide the flexibility and robustness to respond to emergencies of various sorts. It would make an effective emergency management system.

108 A TAPES would be of great value to C4 operations because of its utility in adapting to changes in task organization, as is seen in Special Operations and Rapid Deployment forces.

109 A DNSO/DISA TAPES would enable responsive delivery of services and support resources to contingency forces.

110 A TAPES could be very effectively used in planning the DNSO/DISA portion of various CINC exercises and operations, and for managing those support operations during the conduct of the event.

111 A TAPES could serve as the mechanism by which user/customer requirements would be identified, refined, resourced, and implemented, as those requirements evolve over time.

112 A TAPES, as a common/shared repository, would serve as the single data store for all requirement information, throughout a requirement's life cycle.

113 A TAPES would serve as a comprehensive and dynamic inventory of DNSO/DISA core products and services, and would display the flow of those products and services through the cascading levels of suppliers and customers.

114 A TAPES, as a Life Cycle Management system would provide detailed information about project implementation status.

115 A TAPES could be used to display the transition from baseline capability, through various interim capabilities, to some final objective capability.

116 A TAPES is an ideal tool for planning and development.

117 A TAPES would be used to display project status.

118 A TAPES would provide a management environment by which DNSO could gain orders of magnitude increase in its management abilities and responsiveness.

119 A TAPES would serve as an underlying data structure for managing and displaying network topologies.

120 A TAPES would provide sufficient quantitative data to allow detailed and comprehensive analyses to be conducted to determine the optimum solutions for various customer requirements.

121 By providing a clear picture of the distribution and associations of services and customers, a plan to adapt to a changing customer base, whether downsizing or expanding, can be developed, displayed, and implemented by using a TAPES.

122 A display of the data transport requirements, grouped by location, organization, unit/position, function, business activity, resource configuration (e.g., software unit), and quantity of resources applied (e.g. software unit transaction outputs and inputs) would provide very detailed data flow/processing/storage information, enabling much greater accuracy in determining capacity requirements.

123 A TAPES environment would allow optimization of any capability or resource, by any criteria.

124 The identification and provision of support requirements would be facilitated by the use of a TAPES.

125 Apply a TAPES as a project management system.

126 Apply a TAPES to tracking customers and their requirements.

127 Use the TAPES Catalog as a Table of Contents to the enterprise. This Table of Contents could then be used to access various object functions such as on-line publications/forms, telephone/email directories, organization charts, calendars/schedules, facility layouts, instructions, bulletin boards, and conferences about those objects. These object functions would be accessible from either the Catalog/Table of Contents, or from the Cross-Index.

128 A DNSO/DISA TAPES would contain all requirments of services or support, grouped by any criteria. It would contain all conceptual configurations, and all engineering and transition strategic plans.

129 A TAPES could be used to manage upgrade projects of any size.

130 Variations in the customer base size and budgets can be adapted to with much greater flexibility and responsiveness using a TAPES.

131 Consolidation projects would be a normal application of a DISA/DNSO TAPES.

132 Detailed plans can be developed by managers and analysts and displayed to all authorized users.

133 Mergers or realignment of organizations, units, functions, business activities and resources can be easily analyzed, planned, and implemented using a TAPES.