The Training Transformation (T2) program instituted systematic assessment as an integral part of the Joint Training System (JTS), in concert with a goal of better enabling integrated operations. As a result, the 2007 Block Assessment provided leadership insights into the impact of T2 on joint training readiness when it was completed in December 2007.

Supporting the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), the assessment team developed issue statements to link the assessment to program goals and strategic guidance. The team supported the issues with metrics and data elements that provided rigor for analytic assessments of processes and procedures. They strived for outcome measures to show the results of joint training, as well as measures of efficiency. Among the hurdles overcome through the cooperation of the military Services and combatant commands were the lack of automated data collection and reporting tools. The team developed interim solutions that met the short-term requirement and resulted in lessons for longer-term solutions.

The 2007 Block Assessment provided leadership with many indications of the impact of joint training and the T2 program. It also included recommendations to improve future assessments, such as: (1) Develop an automated framework (tools and processes) to support both internal and leadership assessments; (2) Organizations should develop performance measures to support assessment of the Combatant Commander Exercise and Engagement program and Training Transformation (CE2T2); and (3) Combat Support Agencies should be included in future assessments to better indicate the full scope of "training the way we intend to operate," a goal of the T2 program.

In both block assessments, analysts spent the majority of their effort collecting, screening, and collating data. To become more efficient, analysts need to automate the process in two ways -- by setting up links to electronically collect data from existing sources and by establishing a framework to use available data. This paper will report on OSD's experience, results, and lessons learned automating an enterprise-level joint training assessment framework.

Annie Patenaude

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Automating Assessment of Joint Training