|
September 2006
SVU sails through September
The Integrated Enterprise Management Program (IEMP) SAP Version Upgrade (SVU) team is working through a very long list of requirements which must be completed in the next two months, prior to go live in mid-November. Many team members from around the Agency are extremely busy with testing and training/communications efforts as well as Year End close activities.
The third and final round of System Integration Testing is scheduled from September 11-29, 2006. The System Integration Test includes the Contract Management Module (CMM) Project, SVU Project, interfacing applications to procurement’s PRISM software and the Core Financial system, and Year End close testing as part of Release 7.1.
The Center Operational Readiness Reviews (CORRs) will be conducted in early October. These reviews provide assurance that centers are prepared to precede with implementation activities. The Agency Operational Readiness Review (ORR) is set for October 11, 2006 in Huntsville, Alabama. The ORR will provide assurance that functional, technical, and performance testing has been conducted; the project team is ready to deliver the module; each Center is adequately prepared to accept the module; overall system operations readiness and procedures are acceptable; and IEMP Competency Center is prepared to support systems operations. The ORR serves as the final check point prior to system go live.
The SVU Process Team continues testing end user procedures and job aids. Impacted documentation will be updated and validated throughout the SVU implementation preparation activities. Meanwhile, the SVU Change Management team is working through developing training materials with the Process team. Three Train-the-Trainer sessions are scheduled. The first session, conducted via WebEx, was held September 7 and prepared Headquarters trainers for Agency budgeting courses. The second session will be held October 4-5 and will prepare Center trainers for Information Delivery courses. The last session, scheduled for October 10-13, will focus on Budget Reporting and be held at the Competency Center.
NASA will complete implementation of an update of the SAP Core Financial software in FY 2006, which will include several critical enhancements to the current NASA core financial system. NASA is committed to updating its core financial system in order to improve compliance with OMB Circular A-127 (Federal Financial Management Systems Requirements (FFMSR), and the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act (FFMIA), and to meet specific GAO recommendations concerning NASA financial management. The update will enable NASA to implement critical process changes related to financial management data tracking and reporting, support the goal of achieving financial management data integrity, streamline the Agency funds distribution process, improve Agency funds control and streamline Year End processing. The improvements in the updated software will contribute to achieving a clean audit opinion and to achieving a "Green" rating on the President's Management Agenda scorecard for "improved financial performance."
Back to Top
CMM counts down towards the launch
The Integrated Enterprise Management Program’s Contract Management Module (CMM) is reaching the homestretch toward launching in mid-November. As a result, the project team is knee deep in all the testing necessary to reach the finish line. From September 11-22, 2006 the team is continuing to work through the third round of Systems Integration Testing. The team is also scheduling Center Operational Readiness Reviews, which will occur in early October and the Agency Operational Readiness Review which occurs on October 11.
As if the testing and reviews aren’t enough to handle, the project must make certain that their users are set to use the system once it launches. As a result, end user training begins mid month. Weeks of work have gone into the preparation, including facilitator and train-the-trainer training.
Once implemented, CMM will provide a comprehensive tool to support contract/grant writing, contract/grant administration, procurement workload management, and data reporting/management for NASA. The functionality provided by CMM will provide added efficiency to procurement processes, and will be integrated with existing IEMP components.
To keep up to date on the latest information generated from the CMM team, visit http://procurement.nasa.gov/cmm/index.shtml.
Back to Top
eTravel soars smoothly in September
eTravel is on target for launch in March 2007, smoothly soaring through the month of September. The project team successfully completed the FedTraveler.com functional and technical interface design workshops with EDS, the eTravel contractor. With a green light for Reporting Functional Specifications, the team felt ready to convene telecoms with all Center project representatives on September 8, 2006.
If rough air is ahead, the eTravel team seems unaffected. Right now, the team is looking forward to completing “to be” user role definitions, as well as interface use cases for NISE and NAMS interfaces. The project also plans to conduct the Business Warehouse Functional and Technical workshops in the next several weeks.
eTravel is one of the original 24 eGovernment initiatives outlined by President Bush in July of 2001. The effort was designed to make better use of information technology and to eliminate billions of dollars in federal spending, reduce paperwork and improve government response time to citizens. As a result, FedTraveler.com, an integrated application, will be implemented to give NASA online booking, travel authorization, and travel vouchering capabilities.
Back to Top
IAM shifts into full gear
The Integrated Asset Management (IAM) Project is set to shift into full gear this September. IAM was originally intended to re-engineer NASA’s asset management capabilities within four cross-functional business processes: Planning, Acquisition, Maintenance, and Disposition before the project was delayed in 2005. The current IAM project will focus exclusively on improving NASA”s management of Property, Plant and Equipment (PP&E). The functionality to be implemented in the PP&E module will focus on the accountability, valuation, and tracking of internal use software, theme assets, and personal property that is either NASA-owned/NASA-held or NASA-owned/contractor-held. This month, the team is preparing for the start of the Formulation and Blueprinting phases.
The project team plans to use the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Oak Ridge National Laboratory version of SAP PP&E implementation as a model for processes and configuration. The DOE system uses standard SAP functionality for creating asset records within the SAP Asset Accounting module. These components are part of either SAP R/3 or the SAP web application. Custom transactions within SAP R/3 are provided for the property management team to perform its functions. The web-based interface is provided for the general user community to manage property. NASA will use SAP to manage all capital assets and all those controlled assets that qualify for management currently under the NASA Equipment Management System (NEMS) and the NASA Property Disposal Management System (NPDMS).
Back to Top
|
