HeiTech s HAPPENINGS. Honor

Transcription

1 HeiTech s HAPPENINGS A HeiTech Services, Inc. Publication Services, Inc. WINTER 2014 USING AGILE DEVELOPMENT TO PROPEL CMS Honor Excellence Innovation NEWS Reuniting Wounded Service Members and Families Have Breakfast on Us at Marketview 2014: The PSC Spring Conference Signed, Sealed, Delivered Luke s Wings Delivers for Wounded Warriors HeiTech Services provides programming support to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) for several high profile applications: the State Exchange Resource Tracking System (SERTS) and the State Exchange Resource Virtual Information System (SERVIS). Both of these systems are critical to CMS s ability to coordinate and manage information flow throughout the country in support of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Specifically, HeiTech Services has successfully developed and implemented a web-based information exchange, built on a Drupal platform, that is used to coordinate information with states on their plans and procedures to either implement their own statebased Health Care Exchanges or leverage the Federal Exchange hosted by CMS. How did we do it? We were able to create a winning proposition for CMS. We built the team from the ground up by finding highly experienced IT professions with a wide variety of deep program knowledge who had individually transitioned their skills to include the use of open source technology. In addition, we adopted a more inclusive software development methodology called Agile. The fundamental differences that Agile brings to application development are inclusion and small iterations of change rather than the traditional phases under other methodologies like Waterfall. Small teams work together with stakeholders to define a small set of requirements, they develop the code, run integrated test scripts, and the users verify the results ~ all within a matter of weeks rather than months. Because end-user verification is a regular occurrence within the development process, business owners are able to fine-tune requirements as the application evolves. Agile development encompasses two types of methodologies: XP and Scrum. At CMS, HeiTech Services employs Scrum, a term taken from its rugby analogy where a huddled mass of players are engaged with each other to get a job done. Basically, the business owner develops a ranked list of what is required including features, stories, etc. This ranked list is referred to as a product backlog. The team gets together with the program staff and discusses the ranked list and both agree to what can be delivered (created, tested, and completed) by the end of a Sprint (normally two- to three-week increments). Daily Scrum meetings are held during the Sprint to manage all work. Three questions are asked every day at each Scrum Meeting to each member of the team: What did you do yesterday? What will you do today? What issues do you have in completing your assigned work? At the end of a Sprint, the completed work is reviewed by the program staff and business owners providing an opportunity for feedback to be incorporated into future Sprints. Once agreed, the completed release is incorporated into the overall product, thereby building a system in small pieces. This process, built on success, is repeated throughout the entire project Corporate Drive, Suite 500, Landover, MD P (301) F (301)

2 Keep Up With the Latest Happening s in HeiTech! Visit our website, Like us on Facebook, Follow us on Follow us on Linkedin, WINNING IN AN EVER CHANGING ENVIRONMENT HeiTech Services leadership team remains abreast of important, ever-changing issues, trends, and legislation within the federal sector by actively participating in various industry groups and maintaining a wide swath of professional contacts. Through these resources, our leadership team participates in seminars, conferences and events, access to members only events, as well as webinars and notifications. Two important industry groups which HeiTech actively participates is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Professional Services Council (PSC). HeiTech Services has been an active member of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce since Primarily representing the company, Jim Clement, our Executive Vice President, participates in semi-annual meetings that review the overall health of business in the United States plus legislative and economic concerns. He has also served on the Corporate Advisory Council for the past 3 years where the focus is on mid-tier business issues. Services, Both Heidi Gerding, President/CEO, and Jim Clement, actively participate in the PSC. PSC is the national trade association of the government professional and technical services industries. PSC has come to be known as the most respected industry voice and leader on legislative and regulatory policy issues related to government procurement, outsourcing, and related business policy. HeiTech Services is one of 370 member companies and greatly benefits from PSC s advocacy to the federal government on our behalf. We have used their expertise in a number of areas including: administration of the Service Contract Act; following impacts to government contractors as a result of the debt ceiling issue, continuing resolutions, and sequestration; assisting with addressing members of Congress regarding impact of Government shutdown to the business as well as our employees; and proposed rulemaking affecting government contractors (e.g. Executive Compensation Levels for Federal Contractors; impacts of the ACA on federal contractors; balanced security clearance and facilities access reviews; proposing changes to draft solicitations, etc.). PSC also affords us the opportunity to actively network with senior executives of large government contractors on a regular and on-going basis. HeiTech Services also relies on our vendors to keep us apprised of new developments taking place in the federal marketplace. Our attorney, accountant, bank, Board of Advisors, business associates, and others continually network to ensure that we remain abreast of federal regulations. We actively meet to discuss the impact issues such as low price, technically acceptable ; small business set-aside competitions; bundling; and others have on our industry and decisions we make to move the business forward. Much like the Department of Motor Vehicles that reminds all drivers that ignorance of the law is no excuse, the same holds true for government contracting. With thousands of existing regulations we must remain vigilant in our quest for KNOWING and UNDERSTANDING what is required to compete for federal procurements. Be assured, HeiTech Services stays current on what we MUST do to remain fully compliant with the Code of Federal Regulations, the Department of Labor s oversight and regulations, and the other Federal and State-level agencies that regulate our business. 2

3 HEIQUALITY AUTOMATED RECORDS TRACKING SYSTEM (HARTS) HeiTech Services, Inc. has undertaken the task of developing a web-based application called HARTS to track documents and capture process, production and quality metrics in our document room and records processing engagements. HARTS is a modular application built on an open source platform allowing us the flexibility of adapting it to a variety of customers and project environments. HARTS currently offers eight modules including: access and security time tracking record tracking production monitoring quality control reporting module production dashboard administration module All modules have been developed using a simple and clean interface with an eye toward customization. For example, if deploying the quality module to a new contract, simply replace the default list of quality control checks with a new list relevant to the new program. If the need for an additional module is identified, the open source design allows the development team to expand the database and add the functionality without interfering with existing functionality. HARTS is used at the project, team and employee level to measure performance against designated acceptable quality levels or other performance-based measures identified by the customer. TWO THUMBS UP FOR HEITECH SERVICES As a services company, HeiTech Services believes our customers have the right to acquire services that are fairly priced, satisfy their requirements, and are delivered according to schedule and budget. In addition, and highly important to our organization, HeiTech Services believes that our services should exceed customers expectations. HeiTech Services prides itself on delivering the finest customer experience on every contract with every customer. Each interaction between a HeiTech employee and a customer creates an experience. Each experience provides us an opportunity to display our commitment to customer satisfaction. We ensure these experiences are handled with the utmost care, courtesy, and attention. Our commitment to providing top-notch customer service is recognized by numerous OUTSTANDING contractor performance assessment reports. Supporting examples, pulled from the Past Performance Information Retrieval System (PPIRS), are represented below: The contractor has good, positive interactions with the business owners and is very customer oriented. They have been quick to identify problems and provide corrective actions to solve problems. The Program Office has received a number of complimentary s and handwritten letters from various FDA individuals commenting on HeiTech s outstanding performance and services provided to those individuals. These s and letters serve as examples and proof that HeiTech personnel are dedicated in delivering flexible and responsive services to FDA. HeiTech provided highly effective, proactive business practices focused on customer support. HeiTech s response to service requests was timely, effective and courteous; the contractor is proactive in building good relations with the Department and frequently proposes new service strategies.

4 MAILCOM LAS VEGAS Although mail remains a primary customer communications tool, it is changing to maintain effectiveness in an electronic world. As businesses adapt their mail and distribution systems between the industry s past and future, new industry leaders emerge while others fade away. HeiTech Services, Inc. is ahead of the pack in the mail industry. Floyd Creecy, National NOAA Mail Manager and HeiTech Supervisor, keeps the management team informed of industry news and how it impacts the day-to-day operations of the company. Being an active member of the local Postal Customer Council, Government Mailers Advisory Council, and Mail Systems Management Association positions him for maximum networking proficiency. Additionally, Floyd most recently presented sessions at the Annual Fall Conference at MAILCOM Las Vegas. He taught on topics such as mail center cost savings, managing effective teams, and performance measurements providing mail center executives, managers, and supervisors with industry best practices to assist them in taking their mail centers to the next level. Above: Floyd pictured with fellow speaker Barbara Fahy, National President of Mail Systems Management Association. Right: Floyd presenting during the conference. The MAILCOM conference also provided the USPS s most recent roll out of their Green Initiatives for the government and private sector. Businesses can now capitalize financially by receiving cash for participating in the initiative by recycling inkjet cartridges, cellphones, PDA s, digital cameras and other small electronics while saving our planet. The new Intelligent Mail barcode (IMb) implementation will be taking place January Mailers that have not transitioned to the new barcode will forfeit all discounts for mailings. This forfeiture will be a big budget buster for those who are waiting until the last minute to convert. New rate changes for First Class postage will increase to.49 cents. Not the best news to be shared at the conference but beginning January 26, 2014 this increase will start. The impact of this can be quite dramatic on an organization that is not prepared. HeiTech Services, Inc. encourages industry education and participation to gather cutting edge information to position ourselves in assisting the customer with the most advantageous opportunity. When the customer wins, we win! DOCUMENT SERVICE NEEDS? CONSIDER THE GPO ONSITE DOCUMENT SOLUTIONS TASK ORDER SERVICE CONTRACT HeiTech Services, Inc. holds a Multiple Award Task Order Contract issued by the Government Printing Office (GPO) entitled Onsite Document Solutions. This multi-award Task Order contract helps other federal agencies significantly reduce costs. Although named Onsite, work can be performed at both the government s and contractor s location. This contract vehicle also provides a full range of services to operate and manage agency printing facilities including: Offset printing and duplicating High-speed copying On-demand digital printing Binding and finishing operations Mailing, distribution, and delivery services Scanning and document conversion services Electronic document storage and digital-asset management Proofing systems Prepress production/graphic design Photography services Web page design and maintenance Desktop publishing Transcription and/or translation services Equipment maintenance Customer service duties Printing services specialist expertise The personnel to fulfill the services above, which includes clearances for security Other services as indicated in individual Task Orders As federal agencies look towards outsourcing their acquisition process, we strongly recommend considering the GPO for future needs especially if they involve OUTSOURCED DOCUMENT SERVICES. Agencies can benefit from a streamlined, negotiated procurement model for faster processing. For more information about GPO s Onsite contract vehicle, see or contact Dan Jonas, Business Development Manager, at (301) or djonas@ heitechservices.com. Honor Excellence Innovation 4

5 GETTING THE NUMBERS RIGHT: USING REAL DATA TO PRICE How, as a customer, do I know I am paying for what I need? Every customer and potential customer needs to have a high confidence level that the services required will be provided in accordance with stated performance criteria and that the work will be completed in a high quality and reliable manner. The federal procurement process allows for the evaluation of past performance, corporate experience, resumes, proposed management and technical approaches. These assessments are conducted to reduce the risks of failure by making sure that the contractor is credible, has the requisite experience, and the staff needed to accomplish the tasks. But back to the question, How do we know that we are paying for what we need? We start by understanding the work to be performed, in the context of what is to be accomplished, and document our understanding in a Process Flow Diagram. At HeiTech Services, Inc., we focus on the work. In other words, we focus on the actual tasks and subtasks to be performed. We start by understanding the work to be performed in the context of what is to be accomplished and document our understanding in a Process Flow Diagram. These diagrams portray what work is being accomplished, the order required, the interdependencies of individual activities and the optimal points in the workflow to introduce quality control checks. These diagrams also capture the various decision points critical to achieving desired outcomes. Once completed, we subject the process flow diagrams to a variety of reviews to ensure that all activities are captured and accurately depicted. Time Motion Studies are then conducted. During this phase, we have several members of our management team actually observe the processing of the work as well as document the amount of time necessary for each step in the process. This phase accomplishes two things: the process workflow diagram is verified and time is measured. This process is conducted observing several different employees, during different periods of the day and week, to establish a baseline for performance as well as identify any differences in how activities are conducted. At this point in the analysis, we conduct an evaluation of employees completing the work to establish minimum skills, abilities and experience. This action is important to ensure that our position descriptions are accurate for hiring purposes and allows for the accurate mapping of skills and abilities to the Department of Labor, Service Contract Act Wage Determination schedule for proper labor classification. This information is now ready to be entered into detailed staffing models that calculate the level of effort required to support the opportunity, the labor categories and associated Full Time Equivalent count, the number of quality control staff required, and based on industry standards, the number and type of management staff. Look for the details that convince you that the contractor knows the work and that the price proposed accurately reflects the cost associated with performing the work. In summary, expect a fact-based analysis as the foundation for the technical approach. Look for the details that convince you that the contractor knows the work (from a people, processes and tools perspective) and that the price proposed accurately reflects the cost associated with performing the work. If the contractor doesn t know the details necessary to deliver this level of analysis, how can they really be a credible solution to your requirements? 5

6 TEACHING OUR LESSONS LEARNED AS WE GROW As an 8(a) graduate in 2009 and who successfully made the leap to a large business in 2013, we understand the importance of knowledge gained through those years. As such, HeiTech Services, Inc. has taken on the role of mentor through an SBA approved Mentor- Protégé Joint Venture relationship with AMTIS, Inc.; an 8(a), Small Disadvantaged Business, Service-Disbaled Veteran-Owned Small Business federal contractor based in Orlando, FL. The Joint Venture, AMTIS-HeiTech, LLC., was established in compliance with 13 C.F.R Section and is SBA approved as an 8(a) and is self-certified under the following small business socio-economic programs: Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) Small Disadvantaged Business (SDB) Veteran Owned Small Business (VOSB) Woman-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Economically Disadvantaged Small Business Beginning as a formal Mentor-Protege team under the SBA s program, AMTIS Inc. and HeiTech Services, Inc. have teamed together in the traditional prime-sub role on successful contracts in the past and saw an opportunity to help both companies grow while offering the government a contractor with the experience and capacity of a large business combined with the socio-economic status of a small business. In fact, AMTIS-HeiTech, LLC. has already won a 5 year $XX Million contract with the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of Minority Health (OMH) to manage the OMH Resource Center. Heidi Gerding President/CEO (301) x1106 hgerding@heitechservices.com Jim Clement Executive Vice President (301) x1104 jclement@heitechservices.com Contract Vehicles GSA 8(a) STARS II (GS-06F-0726Z) GSA IT Schedule 70 (GS-35F-0679R) GSA MOBIS 874 (GS-10F-0244U) GSA Schedule 36 (GS03F066AA) ENCORE II (HC D-2015) GPO MATO Contract (951-M) NIH CIO-SP3 SB (HHSN W) USCG TABBS (HSCG23-12-D-ATB008) Navy SeaPort Enhanced (N D-4437) EPA ITS-BISS II (EP-W ) Army HRSS (W91WAW-10-D-0010) + = 8400 Corporate Drive, Suite 500 Landover, Maryland Business Processing Services Information Technology Services In this issue: See How We Keep Up With the Government Review HeiTech s Outstanding Customer Service HeiTech Presents at MailCom 2013 Getting the Price Right, Explained Teaching Our Lesson s Learned to Small Business page 2 page 3 page 4 page 5 page 6