U.S. Air Force Information Resources Management: An Exploratory Study of Policy

摘要

Information superiority and dominance is identified as Department of Defense and US Air Force critical success factors for mission effectiveness. Information Resources Management (IRM) was established within the Department of Defense (DoD) in 1983 as a tool for better managing its information in the wake of automated information processing and sharing. Over the past 15 years, numerous changes to law, policy, and other directive or guidance material have made the task of implementing an effective IRM program difficult. In light of these numerous changes since the inception of IRM in the DoD, this thesis qualitatively analyzes law, policy, and doctrine to offer a holistic explication of IRM Policy within the current USAF context. Individual and aggregate analysis of Federal, Department of Defense, and Air Force information resources management policies and directives under study for this research suggest a fairly coherent IRM policy framework. Final analysis of this research revealed that for information resources management to be truly effective, it should be approached as a philosophical concept considered in all aspects and levels of information systems and technology management.