title: Functional Model of the Army's Initial Capabilities Training Plan (ICTP) Generation Process (Transitioning to a Knowledge-Base Enterprise)
Creators: name: Hartzog, Bryon Keith
Publisher: name: Old Dominion University Libraries
Year: 2004

description: Background: The Army's transformation of its requirements and acquisition process to the Joint Capabilities Integration Development System (JCIDS), supporting the paradigm shift from a threat-based to capabilities-based methodology, signifies that the training/ training support business processes must also change. The new Capabilities Integration Development System - Army (CIDS-A) will prevent the development of service-only oriented materiel solutions that do not interoperate. Additionally, the CIDS-A will force early analysis across the Doctrine, Organization, Training, Leader, Material, Personnel, and Facilities (DOTLMPF) focus areas. This early DOTLMPF analysis ensures materiel solutions incorporate dynamic and flexible training/ training support. To efficiently manage the training support for newly integrated materiel systems within a network-centric, knowledge-based force, a robust training support system is required. The Army Training Support System (TSS), a complex system of systems, will provide this networked, integrated, and interoperable training support. The TSS is an enterprise within the Army Knowledge Enterprise, composed of three major components: product lines, architectures and standards, and management, evaluation, and resource (MER) processes. (TP 525-X (coordinating draft), Ch. 1).

One of the training MER processes that support the acquisition of new materiel is the System Training Plan (STRAP). Currently, the STRAP development process conforms to the CIDS-A by conducting early training support analysis, in which the results are captured in the Initial Capabilities Training Plan (ICTP); however, the development process does not comply with Army Knowledge Management Implementation Plan (AKMIP) strategic goals 1, 2, 3, and 4 in developing an enterprise knowledge base that transforms processes end-to-end, "facilitating real time information sharing and collaboration across functional and organizational boundaries."1 This Information Management Transformation is depicted in the AKMIP Model2seen in Figure l (AKMIP Model) of this thesis. The current process is inefficient in the development, staffing and approval of the ICTP and STRAP in regards to the number interactions between business entities, lack of information awareness of participants, and the time required to complete the process. There is a need to share knowledge, increasing information awareness, and to collaborate from distributed locations both asynchronously and synchronously utilizing a distributed virtual collaborative environment.

Purpose: This thesis provides an "as-is" and a "to-be" functional business model of the ICTP development process IA W the CIDS-A. The development of the models is founded on collaboration theory and emerging collaborative business process modeling techniques. The modeling methodology chosen for this thesis is the application of UML collaboration sequence diagrams portraying the interactions between actors and associated artifacts. The "as-is" functional model will allow distributed collaborative process analysis to determine inefficiencies in the current process. The "to-be" functional model will convey how the use of a distributed virtual collaborative environment could, in theory, alleviate some of the inefficiencies. Additionally, the thesis discusses approved collaborative environment strategies and associated technologies that could be used to implement the functions depicted in the "to-be" functional model. These material solutions are validated by DoD and can be used to implement the "to-be" model, complying with the Army Knowledge Enterprise Architecture (AKEA) Model3 (See Figure 2 - AKEA Model in this thesis) depicted in the AKMIP. 3 Army.