SPS users meet for second joint conference: forum encourages sharing of ideas and solutions - Defense Procurement

Program Manager, July-August, 2002 by Linda Polonsky-Hillmer

The second Joint Standard Procurement System (SPS) Users' Conference, held April 23-25 in San Antonio, Texas, attracted more than 325 users from around the world. Hosted by the Air Force and sponsored by the SPS Joint Program Management Office (JPMO), this year's event introduced several new tools to SPS users, including the latest version of SPS--Procurement Desktop-Defense ([PD.sup.2]) version 4.2 Increment 1.

Version 4.2 Increment 1 was delivered on schedule to the government and is currently undergoing testing. "The testing is going very well at this time," reported Army Col. Jake Haynes, SIPS Program Manager. "We haven't found any major discrepancies, which is good progress and probably means we'll deploy on schedule."

This latest version of SPS is scheduled to begin deploying to Army post, camp, and station environments in late summer/early fall of 2002. And according to Army Desk Officer George Chavis, "The Army is ready for this product. We're gearing up for it now and we're looking forward to implementing v4.2."

Something for Everyone

While v4.2 was a hot topic of conversation (with busy demonstration tables), the Conference offered a diversity of topics--something for everyone in attendance. Tom Bayless, Director, Air Force Contracting Information Systems Program Office, opened the Conference and encouraged everyone to "learn while you're here. Don't reinvent the wheel... and take what you learn here back to your office and share it with your co-workers."

Putting his words into action, Bayless created an environment--from the speakers to the breakout sessions to the networking breaks--where ideas, experiences, and lessons learned were traded and repeated across the Military Services and Defense Agencies, all of whom were represented at the Conference.

Embracing Transformation

Air Force Col. Maureen Clay, Chief, Contracting Operations, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary (Contracting), Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition), kicked off the Conference and told attendees that they can expect to see "some fairly significant changes in the next three years, but I've sat where you are about 100 times and I know you always hear there is going to be significant change." She estimated that only 35 percent of predicted changes actually happen, but she said the 35 percent that will happen in the next few years will make a difference.

"At a very high level in the OSD [Office of the Secretary of Defense], this is a purple program and we have a very serious commitment to do things smarter," said Clay "The senior leaders in OSD are business people ... they demand we embrace transformation."

Some of the transformations Clay said will be coming involve increasing use of global supplier agreements and commodity councils, Technology will help these tools evolve so they're almost second-nature to everyday business decisions in the Pentagon, she predicted.

Transformation of Core Elements

Haynes echoed Clay's call for transformation, but at a more specific level. "We're transforming some core elements of the SPS program," he said. "Specifically at the process level, we've made significant changes to two processes that directly affect user satisfaction: the requirements process and the testing process."

Haynes explained recent changes to the Joint Requirements Board that ensured every issue that is presented (whether to the Help Desk, Desk Officers, Component Management Offices, or JPMO User Satisfaction Manager) is considered as a requirement for future versions of the software. He has also hired an Independent Validation and Verification (IVV) contractor to oversee the testing process and "make sure we get what we need to make this program successful."

One issue Haynes repeatedly emphasized was the fact that he works for SPS users. "I work for you," he told the audience. "It's my responsibility to put all of the resources entrusted to me by the government to use for you, the SPS users."

Haynes mentioned several communication avenues that were in place such as the direct e-mail at spscommunications@hq.dcma.mil and the monthly SPS Newsletter at http://home.dcma.mil/sps-jpmo/spsnewsletter.> One of the tools about which he is particularly enthusiastic is the upcoming Center of Excellence (COE). The COE is a Web portal that provides a personalized environment to the user, allows for sharing of information between users, and would ideally tie into existing SPS sites managed by the Military Services and several contractors (including the SPS Knowledge Base). Haynes encourages users to provide feedback through sharing their thoughts and suggestions about the portal.

From the User Perspective

Viewing the demonstration of the COE, Major Command Functional Review Board member Stephen McLaren said, "This is the single most important and exciting thing the government has spent its money on in years! It's about users feeding information into a system and helping each other."

His comments were indicative of most users who saw the demonstration. And because of the enthusiasm of users like McLaren, Haynes said he is pursuing turning the Center into reality by midsummer,