Leveraging the full stack of Microsoft development tools to transform the daily life of an 1102 at DOI Acquisition Services Directorate (AQD)

Challenge

AQD had failed twice in previous attempts to integrate data across its Core Financial system (SAP), Contract Lifecycle Management system (PRISM), and the central Federal repository for contracting data, FPDS-NG (Federal Procurement Data System – Next Generation). This put a massive burden on each of their 275 Contracting Officers (“1102” job series) throughout five (5) divisions nationwide to manually pull and match data from the 3 independent systems to serve their customers on a daily basis.

Approach

DL designed and deployed the Business Enterprise Acquisition Resource (BEAR) to incorporate industry standards and best practices in a comprehensive analytics solution to AQD’s 1102 user community. BEAR employs Microsoft tools and technologies for both the front-end (.NET C# web application) and back-end (SQL Server database, SSMS for SQL scripting, SSIS for Extract, Transformation, and Load (ETL) processes, and SSRS for reports).

Outcomes

DL’s BEAR solution provides DOI’s acquisition community with a single, integrated, credible data analytics platform that produced the following outcomes:

• Time Savings. Reduced turnaround time for Purchase Requisitions (PRs) from 2 weeks of manual processing to effectively zero effort. Reduced reporting time for pending PRs) from 2 weeks to 6 seconds, eliminating all manual steps in the process that provides daily refreshes instead of monthly. Replaced 10-day manual process at the beginning of each month with an automated daily ETL process to acquire, cleanse, and integrate FPDS-NG data through an automated ATOM feed processing XML that completes daily in less than one half (½) second.

• Money ($) Savings. DL eliminated labor costs associated with previous manual data manipulation processes and allowing DOI to reallocate that labor to value-added activities.

• Enhanced Data Quality. DL eliminated data wrangling of multiple disparate data sources and delivered high-quality data through a unified, web-based procurement portal of acquisition information. DL’s automation reduces human error by eliminating any manual processes associated with manipulating workload data. The Government’s risk exposure is also mitigated through DL’s continuous assurance that CMMI-compliant practices are followed. Repeatable processes are in place to ensure consistently high quality, reduced overall risk, and continuous improvement.

In implementing BEAR, DL maximized DOI’s budget, delivering more with less and creating a standard enterprise solution with a common vocabulary and operating picture with the following additional benefits.

• Freed 1102 staff from manual data wrangling, allowing them to focus on managing contracts and customers.

• Improved DOI’s ability to adhere with compliance (e.g., rules, regulations, policies, etc.), reducing protests and customer churn.

• Improved data quality, increasing trust in the information and the effectiveness of the resulting decisions.

• Improved ability to satisfy federal reporting requirements such as USA Spending, eliminating frustration and confusion with preparing data.