DoD Biometrics Task Force (BTF), Biometrics Integration Division

Customer: DoD Biometrics Task Force (BTF), Biometrics Integration Division.

Challenge: Today our enemies rely on anonymity to provide freedom of action to carry out operations. Individual identity has become an enemy center of gravity and a compelling tactical, operational and strategic target for defeating the enemy. Biometrics has significant potential to be an effective asymmetric weapon for the US to take away our enemy’s freedom of action. The Department of Defense (DoD) challenge is to develop an enterprise solution that empowers the warfighter by improving the operational effectiveness of battlefield biometrics.

Approach: A three-year DoD Biometrics Capabilities Integration and Architecture Initiative (BCIADI) began in 2008 to transform present day ad hoc biometrics systems, hardware and business processes to enduring and effective biometric capabilities across the DoD (Services, Combatant Commands) and its mission partners (Interagency and international). WBB provided a team of expert consultants who worked with eleven other subcontractors developing an initial integrated strategy to provide the process structure within which biometric program activities could be coordinated across the DoD enterprise. WBB consultants identified and documented in-place and required business processes, system architectures, and policies, standards and procedures for the 2010 to 2025 timeframe. Thirty-four deliverables were sequenced, coordinated, produced and synchronized in the first year in order to position the customer for a 2009 Milestone B, System Development and Demonstration decision. Deliverables included a business plan to support the integration of biometrics across the enterprise, evaluation and assessment of processes, concept of employment development and refinement, requirements identification, systems architecture development of “as-is” and “to-be” DoD Architecture Framework (DoDAF) operational states, Military Operational Utility Analysis, and a quantitative analysis of capabilities including military utility analysis, cost benefit analysis, and policy and cultural analysis.

Value: As a large project with many interdependencies, WBB added independent, unbiased studies analysis capabilities, contributed subject matter experts and experienced former DoD and Interagency employees to an integrated team, brought an extensive portfolio of existing Combatant Command contacts, and helped establish a well reknowned Senior Review Group Team. By meeting Milestone B deadlines, WBB’s added value successfully positioned DoD for developing technologies to improve the quality of biometrics-derived information necessary for operational forces to identify and classify anonymous individuals. The first year of the study enabled execution of a DoD and Interagency coordinated biometrics science and technology (S&T) plan to support technology transition to acquisition programs out to 2025.