Photo by Sgt. 1st Class Stephen Roach, G-1Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army Project Manager Col. Robert McVay explains the system’s benefit to Adjutant General subject matter experts.
WASHINGTON — An Army Human Resources system is currently under development and targeted to improve the way the force manages Soldiers’ information and Soldier pay.
Named the Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army, or IPPS-A, the system will help ensure Soldiers are paid on time and accurately. For the first time, the Army will automatically execute pay actions in response to approved personnel information changes, such as a change in grade or dependents. The Army intends to incrementally release IPPS-A over the next five years to accommodate necessary testing and training.
IPPS-A’s automatic processes will help reduce errors and streamline Soldier assignment transitions, particularly those between components. In addition, Soldiers will have 24/7 access to their personal information online and the ability to request changes electronically. These capabilities will empower HR professionals to more efficiently and accurately execute soldiers’ HR and pay actions.
Jeanne Brooks, director of Technology and Business Architecture Integration, explained that IPPS-A will empower commanders with greater visibility over their Soldiers online.
“Today, commanders, S-1s, and HR specialists have to access multiple systems to acquire similar information for Soldiers from different components. In some cases, particularly with the Guard and U.S. Army Reserve Soldiers, data does not exist in any HR system.”
To accomplish IPPS-A’s goal, the Army plans to have IPPS-A subsume more than 50 stove-piped legacy HR systems currently in existence.
“The Army has too many databases that don’t work well with one another,” said Col. Robert McVay, IPPS-A project manager. “IPPS-A will replace many of them to create a single integrated system that improves the way the Army does HR.”
After a recent virtual town hall with Adjutant General, Finance Corps, and other HR professionals, McVay stressed his commitment to the program. “I stand by the program. I believe in this program. And my team and I will make this system a reality,” he said.
When fully fielded, IPPS-A will be the largest Enterprise Resource Planning, or ERP, system in the world, affecting more than 1.1 million Soldiers. It is considered to be the foundation of the Army’s overall strategy to revamp Army HR. IPPS-A will also facilitate the military pay mission transition to HR professionals.
The system is currently under development, and its first release is slated for launch in fiscal year 2013.
To learn more about IPPS-A, visit the program website at http://www.IPPS-A.army.mil.
