International Services, Information Technology Management Program

This USDA contract has been used to help APHIS International Services (APHIS IS) Management Policy and Services program unit develop a Concept of Operations to design, staff, support, and sustain an APHIS overseas workforce. The Concept of Operations was to include sufficient detail to expedite both routine and extraordinary critical processes and to allow successful implementation of procedures by individuals who are not necessarily the experts in each process. Consulting Services task areas and include strength in collecting data, improvement opportunity diagnosis, laying out a framework for improvement, strategizing and implementing corrective actions, and effecting measurable organizational advancements. CPS-PS Staff visited Indonesia, India, Thailand and Mexico to interview USDA and State Department Subject Matter Experts.

Joint Contingency Contracting System Support Tasks

CPS-PS activities on this contract fully support SIN 874-1 Consulting Services task areas and provide the Business Transformation Agency consultation on process improvement and user interface design for the Joint Contingency Contracting System (JCCS). CPS-PS provides testing plans, testing implementation, training program development and training delivery.

CPS-PS was contracted to consult on the operations, maintenance, and development of the Joint Contingency Contracting System Software. The software serves as the primary centralized Web-based reporting and tracking tool. It is a real-time database for contract information and reporting, producing over 20 reports on demand.

CPS-PS coordinated the work efforts of a team of consultants who tracked software changes, tested functionality, developed documentation, and trained government personnel on the use of the software. The consultants provided work strategies, audits of software function, and quality control services. CPS-PS provided customized training as needed to the team and to the government's pilot program in the field while conducting real time testing. CPS-PS subcontractor, IBM, continues to refine the software while it is actively deployed.

Human Performance Solutions and Decision Support Services

The USDA APHIS IS Management Policy and Services (MP&S) organization has engaged CPS-PS to develop a Post Selection Decision Model to quantify the expert responses of Subject Matter Experts. MP&S is responsible for the opening/closing, staffing and equipment support of overseas office locations, in response to dynamic trade, health, and policy conditions. APHIS office locations have been traditionally determined by expert opinion through informal leadership meetings.

CPS-PS has created a prototype of the decision model and is in process of developing an automated application that will allow APHIS management to force rank all existing offices, and to use the model in support of new office opening and closure. CPS-PS plans to roll the development of this tool into a plan to report performance metrics via the introduction of balanced scorecard technology to APHIS International Services.

CPS-PS helped the organization reach consensus of the content information to be used as criteria for determining values in the decision model. CPS-PS lead a discussion to create and adopt a mission statement and vision statement and to select available strategic objectives on which tactical planning was to be based. CPS-PS is able to teach the process of developing a tactical plan, and to provide change management support on a program-unit reorganization.

Investigation of Organizational Procedures through Tactical Plans Solicitation Methodology

CPS-PS activities on this contract fully support SIN 874-2 Facilitation Services task areas and specifically have formulated a process for eliciting operational detail by the facilitated creation of Tactical Plans. CPS-PS provides job aids and facilitation that enable clients to turn strategic plans into action items.

Having identified fifty-five administrative procedures necessary to sustain a work force overseas, CPS-PS developed a methodology to capture repeatable processes within the field organization, enabling a scalable operation in field offices with predictable activities supporting the stimulation of agricultural trade with the United States and safeguarding US lands from migration of harmful disease and pests.

A gap list of needed field processes was composed as a by-product of the facilitated tactical session. Approaches gleaned from the Regional Operations Plan will be used to formulate Standard Operating Procedures for field operations.

EXCERPT/PCIT Program and Consulting Services

CPS-PS activities on this contract fully support SIN 874-7 Program Management task areas and are engaged to support USDA Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ) efforts to improve tracking and delivery of trading partner phytosanitary regulations for export of plant products. CPS-PS supports the acquisition management of a relational database application with Web-based graphical user interface and interface to the Phytosanitary Certificate Issuance & Tracking (PCIT) system.

CPS-PS fulfilled the responsibilities of a Project Management Organization (PMO), facilitating the execution of an upgrade on a legacy software tool that was used to track phytosanitary regulations for export of plant products. The existing system had been based on manual update of word-processed text-based forms. CPS-PS engaged resistant stakeholders, identifying their requirements.

CPS-PS developed a briefing for all stakeholders throughout headquarters and field locations, enumerating the benefits of the upgrade. CPS-PS also developed questionnaires for "in-person" and telephone stakeholder interviews. CPS-PS facilitated definition of the scope and details of the requirements, definition of requirement interactions, and development of a common vocabulary.

Joint Contingency Contracting System Support to the DoD Business Transformation Agency

CPS-PS was contracted to oversee the operation, maintenance, and development of the the DoD Business Transformation Agency's JCCS software, providing a Project Management Plan that detailed activities surrounding scope management, requirements gathering and performance reporting. CPS-PS researched and developed a set of performance metrics used to determine program success. The software serves as the primary centralized Web-based reporting and tracking tool. It is a real-time database for contract information and reporting producing over 20 reports on demand.

CPS-PS activities on this contract fully support SIN 874-7 Program Management task areas to deliver standard project management plans and documentation in all areas covered by the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge. Typical work products include Work Breakdown Structures, Risk Management Plans, Communications Plans and Customized Training Programs related to the business mission.

Activities are executed in a manner that supports the direct mission of operational Coalition Forces in the relief and reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, and drives capacity building and economic self-sufficiency within Iraq and Afghan Ministries in order to build and sustain self-sufficient security forces and help promote economic self-sufficiency within Iraq and Afghanistan.