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Conditions for Success

• The existence of an Air Force enterprise business strategy is a key condition for successful business transformation. Other conditions for success are summarized below.

Business Case

• There must be a clear understanding of AS-IS environment and of how the desired TO-BE environment achieves enterprise goals.
• The business case should articulate desired benefits and eventually include all associated costs, risks, and a realistic schedule.

Governance

• The governance structure and related decisionmaking criteria should be grounded in the business case, ideally led by a single person and visibly supported by senior leadership.
• Governance should be as simple and responsive as possible with clearly defined authority and roles and responsibilities.

Business Process Reengineering

• BPR activities should be planned and performed prior to any technology implementation, and should drive the enterprise's processes toward achieving the benefits articulated in the business case.
• BPR participants should seek to achieve the desired benefits through process changes and avoid unnecessary customization of the technology solution.
• Decisionmakers and participants should have sufficient understanding and expectations regarding BPR and what it can accomplish.

Organizational Change Management

• OCM should be well planned, appropriately coordinated, and provided with adequate resources. It is the communications, education, and training avenue for the transformation.

IT Acquisition

• If an IT acquisition is required, the full range of potential alternatives should be evaluated against their ability to achieve desired benefits.
• Specific technological expertise should be assigned to the program.
• Careful attention should be paid to tailoring contractor incentives.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems are prime examples of IT systems being pursued by the Department of Defense to enable transformation and improve efficiency and effectiveness. Successful implementation generally entails significant business change because ERP systems typically affect a large number of organizational departments and processes. RAND Project AIR FORCE identified the key conditions that must be achieved to facilitate the success of ERP-enabled business transformation, the challenges the Air Force must address to achieve those conditions, and some options for overcoming these challenges. Recommendations include, among other things, fully developing and articulating the business case, analyzing and documenting both the AS-IS and TO-BE environments, establishing clear governance of the project, developing criteria to determine whether changing the updated business processes or customizing the system is more appropriate, and delivering transformation, via increased capability, in manageable increments. The report clarifies how the decisions and activities inform each other and must be jointly orchestrated to ensure successful transformation.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Business Case

• Chapter Three

  Governance

• Chapter Four

  Business Process Reengineering

• Chapter Five

  Organizational Change Management

• Chapter Six

  IT Acquisition

• Chapter Seven

  Summary and Recommendations

• Appendix A

  Planning Activities

• Appendix B

  Implications for Program Assessment