2. Twice the Results in Half the Time:
Redefine Productivity with a Task
Management Tool for Defense
Many defense agencies are losing valuable time and money due to
outdated manual processes and inefficient personnel productivity. But
there are solutions. Imagine the ability to cut approval wait times by
50 percent and save up to US$120,000 per month by addressing the
way defense technology and frontline departments interact, engage and
collaborate. Forward thinking defense agencies are no longer focusing
their defense technology and innovation efforts solely on front line
requirements. Instead, they are looking within to improve cooperation
and communication to better protect national security and equip the
warfighter.
Defense agencies are unique in the sheer volume of tasks and the ever-
increasing flow of information moving into and across the organization.
Maintaining outdated, manual procedures to complete tasks and
collaborate with others compromises time, resources and ultimately,
the mission. Leaders who advance their agency’s defense technology
capabilities and embrace collaboration tools quickly experience
substantial improvements in visibility and efficiency, and a cost effective
means for meeting mission critical objectives.
Twice the results in half
the time
In defense, everyday tasks have a long
reach. Beneath the umbrella of support
for the warfighter, people and processes
are challenged to keep daily business
workflows operating efficiently. Despite
impressive frontline defense technology
capabilities, business capabilities often
fall behind and focus on team level,
rather than full agency collaboration.
As a result, processes can be slow
and uncoordinated. Collaboration and
visibility are limited and agencies are
mired in bottlenecks and backlogs.
Approval wait times drag on and
deadlines are missed.
Defense technology collaboration
tools can transform sluggish
processes, reduce wait times and
enhance efficiency. Those agencies
deploying such tools across agency
enterprises are seeing greater interface
between support and operations and
improvements in their ability to deliver
services strategically and on time.
Task Management Tool (TMT) is a
defense technology collaboration
tool. Currently deployed at 30
U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)
commands and among 75,000
users, it has proven to increase staff
collaboration by 10 to 40 percent in in
every command measured.1
As an example, a U.S. Air Combat
Command report cited user visibility as
the number one benefit of Accenture’s
TMT.2 The report indicated that prior
to deploying TMT, 100 percent of users
expressed frustration with legacy
collaboration methods due to lack of
visibility and time spent looking for
assigned contact points and status
updates. After TMT, users experienced
increased visibility of task status and
the additional advantage of archive
capability. Efficiencies were realized
at every step of a task’s lifecycle, with
an overall cost benefit of US$1.4M
annually in strategic efficiency savings.
3. Late happens – but it
shouldn’t happen in
defense
Digital capabilities are reshaping the
way business is conducted and daily
tasks are managed. TMT simplifies
task management from delegation
through approval. Using a structured
but flexible collaboration platform,
TMT can assign tasks to individuals
or teams in an ad hoc or pre-defined
sequence, offer greater visibility
regarding task completion, and allow
review and approval before the work
is released. Scalable to accommodate
large organizations, it can serve as a
platform for DoD-wide enterprise task
management.
TMT has capabilities designed
specifically for tasking in defense. It can
assign taskers to teams or individuals,
create levels of sub-assignments
as needed, and ensure all staff sees
task information and deadlines in
one location. As situations change,
information updates can be provided
immediately. TMT assignments can be
changed at any time and automatically
send email notifications to affected
parties. As staff respond, real-time
status and responses are visible across
the entire organization. It allows all
users to create approval workflows
and modify them as needed. Over time,
agencies can use the data gathered by
TMT to better identify which staffs have
the longest approval processing times
and where primary sources of tasks
are located. This information can also
serve to help measure and improve staff
performance, and ultimately, provide for
better interaction between agencies.
Defense technology capabilities are
already in the battle space, leading
many defense leaders to believe their
agencies are digitized. Moving, for
example, to the use of PDF files instead
of paper doesn’t mean an agency
is digitized or even shifting in that
direction. Adopting digital capabilities
requires digital thinking. It may be
time for agencies to ask some tough
questions:
• How efficient are interaction
and cooperation between agency
support and operations?
• Are agency processes as efficient
as they could be, and can you
measure it?
• Are capabilities designed for
individual teams or for the entire
agency?
• Does the flow of information
support fast paced operational
needs?
• Are personnel often waiting on
approvals?
• Is there room for improvement in
successfully delivering services and
information?
Leaders who answered those questions
by deploying TMT as a defense
technology collaboration solution
are experiencing typical savings of
about 73 minutes per task, totaling 34
hours of savings per week across each
directorate, and more than US$120,000
in savings per month.3
As agencies shift to greater use of
defense technology capabilities,
many are learning that not all task
management systems are equal. One
U.S. Army organization realized a 35
percent efficiency gain within two
months of moving from a home-
grown system to TMT. Further reports
indicate that the U.S. Army in Europe is
seeing approval wait times shortened
by as much as 50 percent over just
three months. A case in point is Task
Management Tool’s “one page, one
button” approval capability that cuts
total approval throughput time by half.
Time to adopt digital Task
Management is now
Defense leaders must see mission
readiness as bigger than the battlefield.
Defense technology capabilities hold
great potential for agencies, but
restricting them to the front lines
is counterproductive. Shifting the
focus to include agency personnel
collaboration as well as processes will
help ensure that the volumes of tasks
are automated, accurate and completed
on time, while the flow of information
is seamless and secure. Leaders who
deploy defense-focused collaboration
tools recognize that adapting to a
digital environment is critical to the
success of their agencies, the readiness
of the force, and fully supports the
mission of defense at every level
throughout the organization.
References
1. “DOD Task Management Tool
Implementation Credential”, Accenture,
page 1, 2013
2. “Knowledge Operations (KO) Tools Cost
Benefit Analysis (CBA)”, Headquarters,
Air Combat Command, Directorate of
Communications, Warfighter Technology
Division, Knowledge Operations Branch,
Langley AFB, VA, , page 30, September,
2011.
3. “Knowledge Operations (KO) Tools Cost
Benefit Analysis (CBA)”, Headquarters,
Air Combat Command, Directorate of
Communications, Warfighter Technology
Division, Knowledge Operations Branch,
Langley AFB, VA, page 33, September, 2011.
