National Software National Software DevelopmentDevelopment

NRCS National IT Seminar

September 2002

Ken Tootle, Integrated Accountability System Coordinator

Jack Carlson, Director, Information Technology Center

Ken Carpenter, ITC Field Support Team Leader

Objective of sessionObjective of session

Participants will understand:– The role of the Project Coordination

Committee in the software development process.

– The software approval process.– The future vision for agency software.– The major new software initiatives being

developed by the agency.

Project Coordination Committee Project Coordination Committee (PCC)(PCC)

Purpose - To develop information technology software budget recommendations for the NRCS top management

Sponsored by NRCS Chief Information Officer (Mary Thomas) for the Deputy Chief for Management (Dwight Holman)

PCC MembershipPCC Membership The PCC Core Team contains membership from

each NRCS Deputy Area– Ken Tootle, Strategic Planning and Accountability– Dave McKay, Programs– Larry Butler and Bill Hughey, Science &

Technology– Doug Holy, Management – Tommy Parham and Chris Clarke, Soil Survey and

Resource Assessment (co-chair)– Jack Carlson, Information Technology Center (co-

chair)

PCC RequPCC Requireirementsments

Understand Information Technology

Understand Agency

Business

Create Agency

IT Vision

PCC ResponsibilitiesPCC Responsibilities

Be familiar with the IT software development proposals for the Deputy Area

Be the spokesman for the “importance” and ranking of the proposals

Develop overall agency ranking of software proposals

Develop budget alternatives for Deputy Chiefs consideration

FY02 Ranking Criteria for FY02 Ranking Criteria for High PriorityHigh Priority

Congressional/legal mandate Chief’s priority Supports agency key decisions Programmatic/strategic Initiative Project conforms to technical IT architecture. Significantly enhances Field Office operations Lack of funding this fiscal year will result in customer

demands not being met in the near term.

FY02 Ranking Criteria for FY02 Ranking Criteria for High PriorityHigh Priority

Execution of project is not likely to slip, and adequate project staff is available with the required experience to execute the project.

Project affects cross-functional activities. Work process improvement results in reduced

administrative burden. Project is clearly defined with a definite completion

date. Total cost estimates are well supported.

FY02 Alternatives for fundingFY02 Alternatives for funding

Software Initiatives, Maintenance, and E-Government Initiatives

– PCC considered 116 budget proposals for a total cost of $28.5 million

– Recommended Alternative – $17.7 Million– Minimum Alternative - $14.9 Million– Core Maintenance – $7.4 Million– Actual - ~ $10 Million

FY03 Budget ProcessFY03 Budget Process

All budget requests were due to be submitted to Budget Allocations Division by September 6th, 2002

Must use approved form

FY03 Budget ProcessFY03 Budget Process Must detail the impact of the budget

proposal on the key agency initiatives– Farmbill Implementation– Presidents Management Agenda

Strategic Management of Human Capital Expanded Electronic Government Competitive Sourcing, Improved Financial Performance Budget and Performance Integration

– Increasing diversity and outreach– Improving technology delivery

FY03 IT Software FY03 IT Software DevelopmentDevelopment

Deputy will consider PCC recommendations and develop budget allocation

Software Sponsor notified Software Developed based on agreed

deliverables Software Tested and released

IntegratedAccountability

System

ProgramOperationsInformation

TrackingSystem

ManagementApplications

SmarTecheFOTG

Gateway&

Warehouse

Cost-ShareContracting

CustomerServiceToolkits

NRCSIntegrated Information

System

My.NRCS, WebCAAF, WebREG, SCIMS, Easements Toolkit, LESA Toolkit, eContracts, eFOTG, On-line Conservation Planner, OMS Run-off Curve Number, Resource Data Viewer, Resource Data Vegspec, GLA, NLEAP, PLANTS, ESIS, ITIS, NASIS, PRISM, SNOTEL, NRI, NPK Tool, Gateway, Resource Data Warehouses, Conservation Information System, Workload Analysis, PRMS, Outcomes, Soil Survey Scheduler, RC&D, Watersheds, AMA, FPP, PMT Research Needs, Workforce Planning, Skills, CAMS, OIP, SCIMS, WebTCAS, ACRES, On-line Vacancies, Directives, Agency Web Pages

ArcView, Word, Excel, Access, Powerpoint Conservation Toolkit; Wetlands Toolkit, Soil Data Viewer, GLA, Manure Management Planner, OMS engineering design; Conservation Journal, RUSLE2, WEQ

Applications for NRCS Employees

T-3 Head-End

T-1 Local Loop

ServiceCenter

T-1 UUNET VPN

INTERNET

SD

HEWLETTPACKARD

SD

HEWLETTPACKARD

SD

HEWLETTPACKARD

SD

HEWLETTPACKARD

Web Farm

Printer

Plotter

Scanner

CCE Laptop

IBM AS/400

CISCOSYSTEMS Router

CCE Workstation

SDPROLIANT 1850RNetworkServer

CCE Laptop

CCE Workstation

100 mbps LAN

Pencomputer

PDA

Customer orThird Party Vendor

T-3 Access

Internet

UUNET

NRCS field employees use a browser to digitize conservation easement boundaries and manage associated technical determination data, photographs, and other documentation.

Customer Service Toolkits

Cost-Share Contracting

SCIMS

SCIMSApplication

SCIMS

SCIMSWeb

ServicesSvc 1Svc 2Svc 3Svc 4Svc n

SCIMSWeb

ServicesSvc 1Svc 2Svc 3Svc 4Svc n

WebRegW

ebC

AA

F

eContracts

Replication

SCIMSBatch

AS400Apps

eContracts App / App Serversession

state

Bro

wse

r

Web

CA

AF

Bro

wse

r

Q Q

Re

qu

est

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spo

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wit

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lop

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ata

Kansas City

Fort Collins

St. Louis

WSDLBusiness

Object

dataindxtransbackupfulldiftrans

eContracts x SCIMS Integration

NRCS employees and partners use a browser to enter and geo-reference between 5 and 10 thousand performance records each day, which are processed nightly in a data warehouse and marts to produce reports for field, state, and national managers.

IntegratedAccountability System

Program OperationsInformation Tracking System(POINTS)

ManagementApplications

USDA employees, partners, and the public use a web-based Geospatial Data Gateway to order and download Service Center Agency data sets available for the selected geographic area of interest.

Gateway / Warehouse

An estimated 10,000 NRCS employees and third party vendors will daily access the electronic Field Office Technical Guide (FOTG) for information, technical guidance, and tools to assist in implementing the provisions of the new Farm Bill.

Smartech / eFOTG

The NRCS Runoff Curve Number (RCN)

tool is built on the ARS/NRCS Object

Modeling System (OMS) framework. The user digitizes the watershed

and land units to be evaluated, which are intersected with soil

mapunits and the resulting data file fed to the RCN model in OMS

NRCS Application

NRCS Tool Development(OMS Dev)

Processor

Processor

Processor

Processor

Processor

Processor

OMSManager

OMSInterface

NRCS OMS

ARS Model Development(OMS Dev)

SOAP Req/Model Data

Model Results

WSDL

Model Object

NRCS Object Modeling System (OMS)Implementation Architecture

8/26/2002

Modelor

Tool

SoilClimate

Plant/Crop

NRCS Data Warehouse

User Centric Model/Tool Design

USER

NRCS Lighthouse Web Services

Modelor

Tool

Modelor

Tool

IntegratedAccountability

System

ProgramOperationsInformation

TrackingSystem

ManagementApplications

SmarTecheFOTG

Gateway&

Warehouse

Cost-ShareContracting

CustomerServiceToolkits

NRCSIntegrated Information

System

Customer Service ToolkitsConservation, Wetlands, Easements, LESA

Cost-Share ContractingeContracts

Integrated Accountability SystemPRMS, WLA, WLMA, Outcomes, Conservation Journal

Program Operations Information Tracking System RC&D, Watersheds, Soil Survey Schedule, FFP, Plant Materials

Management ApplicationsiCAMS, WFP, Skills, webTCAS, ACRES, FFIS, IAS, OIP

NRCS Integrated Information System Applications

Gateway / WarehouseGateway, Soil Warehouse, NASIS, ESIS, PLANTS, PRISM

Smartech / eFOTGeFOTG, eThunderbook, RCN, On-Line Planner, Engineering Design Tools

Web Access and PortalsNRCS web site, My.NRCS

NRCS Integrated Information System Applications (cont’d)

NRCS Software Approval ProcessNRCS Software Approval Process

Ken Carpenter– Field Support Team Leader– ITC Fort Collins

HISTORY 101HISTORY 101

IT Representatives from RD, NRCS and FSA met in Kansas City 1999

– Developed CCE Testing Policy and Procedures

– CORE Software tested at IOL in Beltsville– NRCS Business Applications tested at ITC

ITC Test LabITC Test Lab

Established Test Lab at ITC with one of each CCE computer platforms

Computers ONLY used for testing and are under Strict configuration management

2 Federal Employees perform majority of work– Gay Marsh – System Admin and Testing– George Foster – Install Packages and Testing

Currently adding CCE Server to Lab

Testing WorkloadTesting Workload

Approx. 40 to 60 NRCS Apps submitted to ITC each year

– Between 1 and 2 Apps week either tested, repackaged or both

– Apps sent to ITC from every imaginable location (NHQ, States, Centers and Institutes, Field Offices)

– Additionally, other agencies, Universities, and Private Firms send apps for testing

Current Testing StrategyCurrent Testing Strategy

Halt CCE Certifying for NT 4.0 – Start Testing “FUNCTIONALITY” of NRCS

Business Apps in Windows XP– Some early issues with XP directory, file and

registry permissions– NRCS apps now appear to function properly– Establishing new Test Procedures using new

test tools for XP

Near FutureNear Future

NRCS Business Apps loaded via CD to Servers Maintain CCE Website for Certification List only

(NO file downloads) Utilize Microsoft’s Logo Requirements as

guidelines for Development and Testing XP Logos

– Compatible with XP– Designed for XP– Optimized for XP

Concerns/IssuesConcerns/Issues

Workload Burnout for ITC Testers Retirements are possible No contractor/funding testing support Workload is growing (Re-submissions) Testing too fast, maintaining App tracking XP Impact on Current CCE Certified apps

– New XP Certification Process?– Re-Certify 160+ NT apps into XP– Grandfather NT apps into XP and Certify only new

QUESTIONS?/QUESTIONS?/ANSWERS????ANSWERS????

USDA-NRCSInformation Technology CenterFort Collins, Colorado

Extra Stuff on IASExtra Stuff on IAS

Integrated Accountability Integrated Accountability SystemSystem

Recent accomplishments Future Plans

Major Information Components of the IAS – The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts.

• Strategic Plan sets the direction and focus for the agency.

• Business and Performance Plans database

• Work Load Analysis(WLA)

• Performance Measurement Results System (PRMS)

• Total Cost Accounting System (TCAS)-

• Foundation Financial Information System (FFIS)

• Combined Administrative Management System (CAMS)

• Workforce Planning (WFP)

• Program databases for – WRP, WHIP, CRP, EQIP, Watersheds, RC&D, etc.

Goals of the IASGoals of the IAS A complete system with all data integrated

Easy access – web based – user friendly

Minimized field reporting - Maximized information usage

No side records

Centralized data links

Responsive to customers/conservation partners

Keep the system loosely integrated so that applications may be chosen by users as needed

New Improved Accountability ToolsNew Improved Accountability Tools

• Time and Cost Accounting on the WEB (WebTCAS)

• PRMS - State and Local Options• PRMS - Simplified Data Entry• PRMS - Map Based Data Entry• PRMS - Quarterly Goals• PRMS - Contributions to NRCS programs• Conservation Information System – Key

questions

What is the Conservation Information System?

Formerly Executive Information System (EIS)

A tool that provides direct on-line access to relevant information in a useful and navigable format.

Timely, accurate, and navigable.

Allows managers at all levels in the conservation partnership to easily access data for management, analysis, and planning.

CIS Implementation TimelineMilestones Date

CIS online and accessible with PRMS leadership level of security August 6

Announcement by bulletin that CIS is available for State Leadership August 9

Develop marketing plan August 30

Rollout to CET - Executive presentation September 3

NHQ train the trainer session September 5

Train the trainer sessions in East and West September 9-13

Begin evaluation period by state leadership September 16

WEBCAAF- Security System online October 1

CIS report availability decisions for WEBCAAF implementation October 1

Revise CIS for WEBCAAF security levels October 21

State leadership and above review comments due November 1

Revise CIS based on comments December 2

Revise training materials & provide to state trainers December 16

Open CIS to field level use with training January 1

MY.NRCS – Home of the CISMY.NRCS – Home of the CIS

Select the CIS tab

FY02 Alternatives for fundingFY02 Alternatives for funding Item Full Funding PCC Recommended Funding Customer Service Toolkit

$275,000 275,000

IAS - Maintenance $610,000 $610,000 $610,000

NASIS (National Soil Information System) $415,000 $325,000