People are the most critical aspect of maintaining our national security, and managing and taking care of our people is one of the most critical missions we have in the Department of Defense (DOD). Our workforce is large, nearly 800,000 civilian employees, in addition to political appointees, military members, and contractor personnel. Our workforce is complex, including appropriated and non-appropriated fund personnel, full time and part time personnel, permanent and temporary personnel, excepted and non-excepted personnel, active duty and reserve, deployed civilians, and many other categories and groups. Given the size and complexity of our workforce, information technology (IT) is essential at every stage of the human resources (HR) management mission. Our continued commitment to the American public and the current fiscal environment of diminishing resources will drive us to be deliberate and make well-informed decisions that achieve the best return on our investment in HR IT solutions. Our ability to manage highly effective and efficient HR IT solutions will depend largely on how well we collaborate to implement standard business processes and how flexibly we build IT systems to adapt to atypical processes and future mission needs.

Comprehensive planning ensures our HR IT strategy is aligned with the overall DOD mission and supports defined outcomes for the HR management mission, specifically. Inclusive and transparent governance ensures all HR IT customers, including employees, supervisors, managers, leaders, and HR specialists, are actively engaged in planning and managing HR IT solutions. Rigorous program management ensures our IT goals are supported by clearly defined activities with performance measures to demonstrate progress in accomplishing the activities, as well as achieving the mission outcomes.

We share our vision and identify strategic initiatives, guiding principles, and expected outcomes to transform HR IT across DOD. We hope you will join with us in the Defense Civilian Personnel Advisory Services (DCPAS) to build knowledge, inform decisions, and increase Force effectiveness by providing innovative and fiscally responsible HR IT solutions for Government employees, supervisors, managers, and leaders.