The mission for the FBI has evolved dramatically since 9/11. The FBI is transforming its IT systems to support counterterrorism, intelligence, law enforcement, and administrative missions. BPM is vital to the FBI’s continued transformation and evolution and provides the FBI with a cross-functional view of processes.
The IT challenges for the FBI are many and include:
- Some procedures and processes have been in place for nearly 100 years
- The use of more than 1000 forms with multiple formants, many still manual
- Adaptability?
- Deeply rooted traditions and resistance to change
Azmi said that the FBI is the premier law enforcement agency in the world. It has a business to do, and it is accountable. The stakes are high and the priorities and objectives are clear. The penalty for failure is too high to be an option. 9/11 made it clear that information sharing was woefully inadequate. In fact, there was not even a process in place that allowed the sharing of information with other agencies. It was clear that the FBI needed to change its culture, organization, and operations to:
- Share information in the intelligence and enforcement communities
- Move from prosecution to prevention
- Successfully operate in a “borderless world”
- Use the benefits of today’s technology
In defining a methodology, the FBI is using BPM as the roadmap to develop an enterprise architecture as the vehicle to deliver the incremental capabilities of a SOA that would follow the objectives.
The first change Azmi did as CIO was to put one senior manager in charge of process automation. A senior agent acting as Deputy to the Chief Information Officer, he has the authority from the Director to pick the most senior person in each line of business to run the working groups to automate the processes.
The second action Azmi took was to document all the process. This involves all the users and a room full of yellow sticky notes, the same procedure most businesses are using.
Azmi started by changing some of the smaller processes. It was necessary to prove the concept first and there was an agency-wide resistance to change. This approach worked. The FBI has closed almost 68% of the 9/11 recommendations, which are all new processes. The goal is to standardize all FBI IT processes and methodology, use best practices to achieve repeatability and sustainability while complying with all federal government legislation and regulations. Azmi stressed that IT is an enabler, and the entire process needs to be understood before the technology is brought to it.
The role of the CIO in the FBI has changed over the years. It is becoming that of a Chief Knowledge Officer, who needs to know and be able to explain what the return is for every new IT service considered for implementation.
The elements for success are:
- Centralized management and control of IT assets
- Portfolio management
- Life cycle management directive- a methodology for implementation
- Strategic approach to IT
- Program management at the FBI (methodology, LCMD skills, training)
- Enterprise architecture modeled on FEAF, providing standardized governance
Azmi said that using BPM allows for the creation of an integrated view of the FBI and its business and provides a framework for understanding the relationships between the FBI and other law enforcement communities. It also captures the gaps and provides solutions while defining the tools. The BPM focus is on common solutions, specifications, standards, and processes to use technology to support the business needs.
The objective, according to Azmi, is simple: capture it, put it into an automated system, make it repeatable, and evaluate it every time to make sure the right processes are in the right place. The top priority is information sharing, making sure that the information doesn’t end up in a folder on a shelf somewhere.
Security has the highest priority with the FBI, and this is a factor in its choice for Federal Enterprise Architecture Framework (FEAF). The goal is to move to a Service Oriented Architecture, but Azmi says it is not a done deal because of security concerns.
The FBI has six lines of business. These are:
- Investigative, intelligence, and analysis
- Administrative and managerial
- Collections and electronic surveillance
- Law enforcement support
- Core infrastructure
- Information assurance and security
The BPM objectives are to:
- Standardized approach to form and substance of data collected
- Capture/catalog the changes in high-level business functions
- Define high-level performance outcomes for each Line of Business (LoB)
- Delineate capabilities and components supporting successful completion
The BPM goals for the future include:
- Inter-agency secure access to all information required to pursue the mission
- Extension of capabilities to state, local, and other agencies
- Expansion of ability to capture additional intelligence
- An increase in global capabilities and reach
- Improving international information sharing
- Improving the ability to disseminate and receive information
- The BPM goals for operational agents and analysts are to:
- Extend services and applications to field personnel
- Disseminate and leverage information from multiple sources
- Deploy connectivity from wireless devices such as laptops, cell phone, PDAs, and Blackberries
- Deploy Voice-over Internet Protocol
- Enhance satellite operations
- Deploy technologies that enable real-time communications to capture and disseminate information from the field to anywhere in the world
Azmi said that the Bureau has a Level 3 enterprise architecture maturity level and is looking to achieve Level 5 in the next two years, which is a very high level for any government agency. BPM technologies offer a platform for business-led process improvement with unprecedented flexibility and agility. Azmi emphasized that to succeed, any process redesign should be driven by an overall strategy embedded in the model and enabled through BPM technology.
