The Department of Defense (DoD) announced on Friday that it has officially approved a modernization plan for its National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) system, which serves as the Federal government’s one-stop-shop IT system for end-to-end personnel vetting.
Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment William LaPlante signed an acquisition decision memo on Oct. 18, approving the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency’s (DCSA) plan for the NBIS digital transformation.
The DCSA – which operates the NBIS system – said this achievement was the result of close coordination between LaPlante, Acting Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security (A/USD(I&S)) Milancy Harris, the DoD Office of the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Officer (CDAO), and the DoD Chief Information Officer (CIO).
“To reach this milestone, the Honorable Milancy D. Harris, A/USD(I&S) and NBIS program sponsor, oversaw a series of focused recovery sprints to lay the foundation for NBIS program readiness,” DCSA said in a Nov. 8 press release. “The contributions from all partners ensure the NBIS program will exercise rigorous acquisition planning, apply best practices for modern software acquisition and development, and set measures for cybersecurity compliance.”
“These steps position DCSA to launch the migration-and-modernization of NBIS existing capital investments to the cloud and accelerates the retirement of current personnel vetting IT systems,” it added.
The DCSA also said it recently elevated the authority of the agency component acquisition executive to DCSA Director David Cattler. This allows the director to provide effective oversight of cost, schedule, and performance for all DCSA acquisition programs.
“I welcome these decisions as they ensure appropriate oversight, establish clear guidance, and provide the solid foundation we need to move forward,” Cattler said. “This foundation will enable us to address accountability and security in development and deliver a product that supports the personnel vetting mission and optimizes customer experience.”
Originally scheduled for deployment in 2019, the NBIS system has faced persistent development challenges, resulting in ongoing delays.
Harris told members of Congress in July that the department began the focused recovery sprints on April 1, leading to the development of an action plan with several objectives designed to guide the NBIS program back to a successful course.
“[DoD] remains committed to the NBIS program and providing secure and effective personnel vetting processes, services, and systems so that government agencies and members of our nation’s industrial base have confidence in their trusted workforce. While we cannot undo the missteps of the past, I am confident that we are on the path to success for NBIS,” Harris said in July.
NBIS is critical to Trusted Workforce (TW) 2.0, the whole of government effort that aims to overhaul the personnel clearance and vetting process.
