An Optimization Approach to Workforce Planning for the Information Technology Field

Abstract : A February 2000 report on Human Resources Strategy produced by the Defense Science Board noted that rapid downsizing in recent years has changed the roles of, and balance between, DoD civilians and military personnel, as well as the roles of government and private-sector personnel (DSB, 2000, p. vi). Because of these changes, the board called for the development of a strategic human resources plan that effectively uses military, government civilian, and contractor personnel. Effectively managing these three sources of manpower is especially important for the Army in the information technology (IT) and information assurance (IA) fields. This report presents a linear programming approach to modeling the IT/IA workforce that will help identify the potential costs and benefits of policy changes that affect how these personnel resources are used. The transformed Army of the twenty-first century will increasingly depend on digitized" tools, such as the Army Battle Command System (ABCS), a vast system of interconnected computers that will provide commanders with a common picture of the battlefield. The Army's 2001 Force Design Update' anticipates that the increased reliance on such systems will require an active-duty Army TOE IT/IA workforce more than two and one-half times larger than the current one.