NASA Conference Tracking System Customer Guide

National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA Shared Services Center Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000 www.nssc.nasa.gov NASA Shared Services Center NASA Conference Tracking System

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System DOCUMENT HISTORY LOG Status (Basic/Revision/ Canceled) Document Version Effective Date Description of Change Basic 1.0 07/06/2011 User Manual Basic Revision 2.0 12/18/2012 NCTS Enhancement V3 Updates Document renumbered to align with the SDNS numbering system. Revision 3.0 3/27/2014 Administrative changes-updated NCTS roles and responsibilities, modified conference record search capabilities, and modified instructions for registering to a conference to include multiple registrants.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System TABLE OF CONTENTS NCTS Background... 5 Introduction... 5 Roles and Responsibilities... 5 Program Overview and Objectives... 8 Submit a New Conference... 9 I. NF 1784... 9 II. Foreign Event Entry Form... 9 III. Domestic Event Entry Form... 9 IV. Submit a NASA-Sponsored Conference Reporting Form... 9 Definition of System Users... 11 Three major categories of NCTS users:... 11 Functionality by User... 12 Perform Conference Record Search... 12 Register for a Conference... 12 View Conference Details... 13 Travel Approvers/CTOs can perform the following:... 13 I. Manage Other Costs... 13 I. Approve/Decline Conference Attendees/Edit Attendee fields... 14 II. Manage Other Costs... 15 Report for Moderators and Travel Approvers/CTOs... 17 All Conferences Download Report... 17 NCTS Conference Attendees Report... 17 Quick View Report... 17 NCTS Conference Other Costs Report... 18 Appendix A Acronyms... 19

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Introduction NCTS Background National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Conference Tracking System (NCTS) will be the primary Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO) tool for identifying, planning, and participating in conferences and providing planning information for tracking and public reporting. The OCFO will monitor NCTS data to identify conferences that require approvals based on estimated expenditures for those conferences. NCTS does not track actual costs of any kind. Independent of the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) and the NCTS, the OCFO and other Agencies/Centers will gather any desired cost data from the appropriate source, (e.g., Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing (SAP), Business Warehouse (BW), FedTraveler, etc.) using the tools available to them. The data entered into NCTS will simply provide the amounts estimated by conference planners and/or attendees. Neither NCTS, nor the NSSC, as application host, will be responsible for validating, verifying, or confirming any estimated cost data entered by conference attendees or Center Travel Offices (CTOs). The policy being developed by the OCFO will ensure that any necessary adjustments entered in NCTS and any supporting forms (e.g., NASA Form (NF)-1784, Conference Approval Form) submitted are properly filed with the NSSC. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and proposed Congressional requirements also include public reporting of any conference with total expenses in excess of $100,000. NCTS will not include a requirement to produce a public report, nor will the NSSC be responsible for generating or hosting such a report. The OCFO will use data it extracts from NCTS and the appropriate financial and travel systems, along with supplementary content (e.g., presenter presentations) to satisfy any reporting requirements. Roles and Responsibilities The OCFO: a. Maintain policies and procedures for conference-related data collection and reporting. b. Coordinate the final review of the quarterly sponsored conference report. c. Designate an Agency travel policy coordinator to oversee these processes, and in the event of conflicting determinations by conference points of contacts (POCs), to issue final determinations under the NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 9700.1.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Each Center Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Official-in-Charge (OIC) of a Headquarters (HQ) Office designates a conference reporting POC and an alternate POC for that Center or Office. Each Center/Office Conference Reporting POC: a. Help travelers, travel preparers, sponsoring organization POCs, and other Center/Office conference reporting POCs determine whether a given event meets this NPR's definition of "conference" and "NASA-Sponsored. b. Help the NCTS moderator and Agency travel policy coordinator resolve conference determination questions. c. Provide guidance to sponsor organization POCs concerning the completion and submission of the NF 1784, NASA-Sponsored event approval, NF 1785, NASA- Sponsored conference reporting, and associated report forms. d. Oversee the review and correction of their organization's data and other conference report information. e. Provide other assistance as requested by the NCTS moderator and travel policy coordinator regarding the Center's/Office's conference-related matters. f. Assist with local Center or Office training and awareness efforts pertaining to the NPR. NASA Conference Sponsor Organizations: Each NASA organization that plans to sponsor a conference shall appoint a sponsor organization POC before making substantive plans and notify the cognizant Center/Office Conference Reporting POC of the name of the Sponsor Organization POC for the event. Each Sponsor Organization POC shall: a. Coordinate with the cognizant Center/Office conference reporting POC(s), beginning with the first stages of planning, to ensure they are aware of the event and to obtain their help with policy and determination questions. b. For any conference sponsored event, ensure the timely, accurate preparation of the NF 1784, fully substantiate its cost estimates and any supporting documentation, obtain approving official signature, and submit the signed form in a timely manner to NSSC. c. Upon submitting the NF 1784 and receiving the NCTS Identifier for the conference, ensure that NASA attendees are instructed to use the NCTS Identifier on travel documents. The NSSC Moderator will enter the conference into NCTS and send the NCTS Identifier to the POC. d. Ensure the timely and accurate preparation and submission of the NF 1785 and associated conference report documents. e. Retain signed version of documents on behalf of the sponsoring organization in

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System accordance with NPR 1440.6. f. Provide other assistance as requested by the NCTS moderator and Agency travel policy coordinator with regard to the conference and its associated forms and reports. Office of International and Interagency Relations (OIIR) shall: a. Provide policy guidance regarding Foreign travel and attendance related to Foreign travel. b. Review and coordinate certain conference-related Foreign travel by NASA personnel. c. Oversee the process to determine appropriate allocations in a timely manner for international conferences involving more than 50 NASA Federal employees who may seek to attend. NSSC shall: a. Assign an NCTS moderator to process requests for new conferences to be added to the NCTS database. b. Maintain NCTS. The NCTS moderator shall: a. Maintain and monitor the Agency conference reporting mailbox. b. Coordinate with the POCs and Agency travel policy coordinator to resolve any requests for conference determination and to update NCTS. c. Assist the OCFO in maintaining reporting information received from conference sponsors and providing quarterly summaries to management. d. Notify all Center/Office conference reporting POCs and alternates when conferences are added to NCTS. NASA Enterprise Applications Competency Center (NEACC): The NEACC shall regularly maintain and update a list of NCTS codes available for selection in the electronic travel system travel authorization function code field, for use by travelers and travel preparers when preparing travel authorizations involving Foreign and NASA- Sponsored conferences. Travelers, Travel Preparers, and Travel Approvers: All NASA travelers, travel preparers, and travel approvers are responsible for familiarizing themselves and complying with the requirements of this document.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Program Overview and Objectives The NSSC shall provide general administrative, informational, and transactional support for NCTS and reporting. This includes responsibility for analyzing and entering data into the NCTS and producing required reports. Specific tasks include: a. Analyzing conference data submitted by Centers and/or attendees to identify and correct errors (i.e., conflicting data, duplicate entries, etc.); b. Entering Domestic, NASA-Sponsored, and Foreign conference information into NCTS accurately; c. Responding to routine customer questions regarding operation of NCTS; d. Attending occasional meetings or teleconferences called by HQ OCFO Program Manager; and e. Providing functional input and recommendations to enhance future functionality of conference tracking systems, processes, and databases.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Submit a New Conference New conferences are added to the NCTS database by the NCTS Moderator at the NSSC. To have a conference added, please submit the applicable form: NF 1784, Foreign Event Entry Form, or Domestic Event Entry Form to the NSSC, via e-mail nssc@nasa.gov; subject to the NSSC Moderator for review. I. NF 1784 This Web-based form is for NASA-Sponsored conferences and is submitted by the NASA-Sponsored conference POC. II. III. Foreign Event Entry Form This is an electronic form for Foreign conferences and is automatically submitted by either NASA employees or the Center conference POCs when the Submit to the NSSC icon is clicked on the form. Domestic Event Entry Form This is an electronic form for Domestic conferences and is automatically submitted by either NASA employees or the Center conference POCs when the Submit to the NSSC icon is clicked on the form. Note: To find forms on the NSSC Web site go to: http://www.nssc.nasa.gov/conferences; the forms will be listed under the Quick Links column. Once the form is submitted to the NSSC, the Moderator reviews the form for completeness. If the form is complete, the conference is added to NCTS and an automatic e-mail will be sent indicating the conference has been added. The e-mail will include the conference-unique identifier/conference number (conference code and name combination), which needs to be included on the travel documents in FedTraveler. The new conference will then be visible to all users. If the form is incomplete, an email will be sent to the POC for additional information. IV. Submit a NASA-Sponsored Conference Reporting Form The NASA-Sponsored Conference Reporting form, NF 1785, is required for any NASA-Sponsored conference where the actual cost exceeds $20,000.00. The form documents actual cost and attendance. It helps comprise the report NASA prepares for internal management and is made available for external reviews. It is signed by the POC and the responsible official who signed the NF 1784. If the

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System responsible official is not available, another cognizant senior executive (Senior Executive Service or a senior-level or scientific or professional position (SL/ST) within the sponsoring organization can sign the form. The sponsoring organizations assigned POC, must e-mail a copy of the form and supporting documentation to the NCTS Moderator at nssc@nasa.gov within 30 days of the end of the conference.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Three major categories of NCTS users: Definition of System Users I. General users: NASA Employees and Travel Preparers The largest group of users is NASA employees attending reportable conferences and their travel preparers. NCTS is able to obtain a unique identifier/conference number to track attendance and expenditures for conferences. II. III. Travel Approvers/CTOs Travel approvers have the unique responsibility for registering prospective attendees, entering costs associated with attendees, and other related conference expenses. NCTS Moderator Manages the day-to-day operation of NCTS, which includes adding conferences to the database (function limited to the NSSC Moderators), monitoring the registration lists for Foreign conferences under the guidance of the OIIR while resolving any system or process related problems for users, approving conference attendees and costs associated with attendees and other related conference expenses.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Functionality by User General users can perform the following: Perform Conference Record Search The Conference Search Results page can be found at: https://ncts.nasa.gov/ To search for a conference, enter the search criteria on the Conference Record Search screen, click the Search icon and the conference will appear on the Conference Search Results screen. All generic conference search screens will be updated to allow the search of more than one conference status via checkboxes. The default value is that all will be checked. For multiple conferences, the number of records will be displayed at the bottom left-hand corner of the screen. Conferences not shown can be viewed by using the scroll bar to the right-hand side of the screen. Columns can also be sorted by clicking on any field on the header bar. The field on the header bar will highlight in yellow and will sort the column, descending or ascending. To select the desired conference, place the cursor on the conference title. The conference will highlight and once selected, Conference Details will appear on a single screen. To begin a new search, click the Back icon. The Conference Search Results screen will appear and the Back to Search icon can be clicked to be brought back to the Conference Records Search screen. New data can be entered into the fields by clicking the Clear icon. If unable to find a conference, the conference may not have been added or it could be due to the wording or a misspelling issue in the title. For example, does the conference title use 2 nd or Second? If unsure about the correct conference name or spelling, another effective technique is to search on City, especially if the city is unique such as Rosemont or Valencia. Also, searching on either the Start Date or End Date of the conference s scheduled date will help in narrowing the list of conferences (if it has already been scheduled via NCTS). Register for a Conference Travel approvers/ctos add the prospective attendee s name to any conference by clicking the Register for Event icon. The travel approver inputs the attendee s information on the Conference Registration Form and clicks Submit Request. The POC/Moderator for the conference will monitor and make a decision regarding which NASA employees will attend the conference.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Moderators and CTOs can also upload an Excel file to register multiple attendees. To perform these functions, complete the following steps: 1. Click the Download Excel Attendee Form Template; 2. Complete all fields within the template and save to your computer; 3. Upload Excel Attendee Form; 4. Click on Browse and search for the template saved to your computer; 5. Select the template; and 6. Click on Upload. Note: An Approval means the attendee is entered into the system and the ceiling of attendees has not been reached. It does not mean the attendee s supervisor has approved his or her attendance; the attendee is still responsible for securing that approval. View Conference Details To view details for a specific conference, search for the conference. Once the conference is found, select the conference and the Conference Details screen will appear on a single screen. The conference code will appear at the top, which is the official NCTS-unique identifier/conference number that must be added to all travel documents in FedTraveler for reportable (i.e., Foreign, Domestic, or NASA-Sponsored) conferences. To print the conference, click the Print Record icon. The details will be displayed on a separate screen and the conference details can be printed by going to the menu bar on the browser and clicking File and then Print. To return to the Conference Record Search screen, click the back arrow on your browser. Travel Approvers/CTOs can perform the following: I. Manage Other Costs This is a new module created to allow entry of Other Cost data for each conference. This module is available in the Central Travel Office (CTO) and Moderator menus. This module is designed to function similarly to the existing conference attendee s module providing a search form, results grid, and details page for each conference record. It also includes a form to add new costs for a conference and a form to edit costs previously entered. Data validation will be performed on the cost entries to ensure that numeric values are entered.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Only Moderators will have the ability to approve or decline a cost. If a CTO user modifies a cost, the status of the cost will be reset to Pending. To perform these functions, complete the following steps: 1. Click the CTO link to load the CTO screens; 2. Click on the Other Conference Costs tab; 3. Enter a Conference Code number for the conference you want to manage the other costs and click the Search button; 4. Click on Conference returned from search; 5. Click on an Other Costs item/row in the Other Costs displayed, or click the Add New Other Costs button; 6. Complete all fields marked with an asterisk; and 7. Click on Update Cost. Manage Attendee Requests To perform this function, complete the following steps: 1. Click the CTO link to load the CTO screens; 2. Click on the Conference Attendees tab; 3. Enter a Conference Code number for the conference for which you want to manage the other costs and click the Search button; 4. Click on Conference returned from search; 5. Enter expense information fields; 6. Complete the Non-Travel Justification field and the Cost Description field as applicable; and 7. Click on Update Cost. NCTS Moderators can perform the following: I. Approve/Decline Conference Attendees/Edit Attendee fields Attendees will be placed in a Pending status until approved by a Moderator. The system will automatically notify the attendee and the requestor. To perform the approve/decline function, complete the following steps: 1. Click the Moderator link to load the Moderator screens; 2. Click on the Conference Attendees tab; 3. Enter a Conference Code number for the conference for which you want to manage the other costs and click the Search button; 4. Click on Conference returned from search; 5. Select Attendee Status from the drop down selection; and 6. Select Submit Changes.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System To edit attendee information, complete the following steps: 1. Click the Moderator link to load the Moderator screens; 2. Click on the Conference Attendees tab; 3. Enter a Conference Code number for the conference for which you want to manage the other costs and click the Search button; 4. Click on Conference returned from search; 5. Click on attendee to be modified; 6. Edit applicable fields; and 7. Click on Update. II. Manage Other Costs A new module created to allow entry of Other Cost data for each conference. This module is available in the Central Travel Office (CTO) and Moderator menus. This module is designed to function similarly to the existing Conference attendee s module, providing a search form, results grid, and details page for each conference record. It includes a form to add new costs for a conference and a form to edit costs previously entered. Data validation will be performed on the cost entries to ensure that numeric values are entered. Only Moderators will have the ability to Approve or Decline a cost. If a CTO user modifies a cost, the status of the cost will be reset to Pending. To perform this function, complete the following steps: 1. Click the CTO link to load the CTO screens; 2. Click on the Other Conference Costs tab; 3. Enter a Conference Code number for the conference for which you want to manage the other costs and click the Search button; 4. Click on Conference returned from search; 5. Click on Other Costs item/row in the Other Costs displayed or click the Add New Other Costs button; 6. Complete all fields marked with an asterisk; and 7. Click on Update Cost. Manage Attendee Requests To perform this function, complete the following steps: 1. Click the CTO link to load the CTO screens; 2. Click on the Conference Attendees tab;

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System 3. Enter a Conference Code number for the conference for which you want to manage the other costs and click the Search button; 4. Click on Conference returned from search; 5. Enter expense information fields; 6. Complete Non-Travel Justification field and Cost Description field as applicable; and 7. Click on Update Cost.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Report for Moderators and Travel Approvers/CTOs The following section provides step-by-step instructions for creating NCTS Reports: All Conferences Download Report NCTS also has the capability to download all conferences. The Download all Conferences icon will bring up a list of all conferences added and can be found on the Conference Record Search screen. The list will download an Excel spreadsheet. To generate this report, complete the following steps: 1. Click the Search for a Conference link to load the Conference Search screen; 2. Click Download All Conferences; and 3. Open the file in Microsoft Excel; select Yes in the Excel dialog box. NCTS Conference Attendees Report To generate this report, complete the following steps: 1. Click on the tab Attendees Report; 2. Enter Conference ID or a specific date range and click Create Report; and 3. Click the link to Export to Excel. Quick View Report This report will be available to CTO users and Moderator users through a menu tab titled NCTS Quick View. This reporting tool includes a report to allow the conference data to be limited within a specified date range, within a total cost range or to a single Conference ID, and will use the same search algorithm as the other Conference Search screens in NCTS. The total cost will be calculated by adding the total cost of all approved or pending attendees and the total cost of all approved or pending other costs for each conference. To generate this report, complete the following steps: 1. Click on the tab NCTS Quick View; 2. Enter Conference ID or a specific date range and click Create Report; and 3. Click the link to Export to Excel.

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System NCTS Conference Other Costs Report To generate this report, complete the following steps: 1. Click on the tab Other Costs Report; 2. Enter Conference ID or specific date range and click Create Report; and 3. Click the link to Export to Excel. For More Information Visit the NASA Conference Resource Website: http://www.max.gov/ or NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) Customer Service Website: http://www.nssc.nasa.gov/conferences For help using NCTS, contact the NCTS Moderator at: nssc@nasa.gov

of 19 SUBJECT: NASA Conference Tracking System Appendix A Acronyms BW CFO HQ NASA NCTS NEACC NF NPR NSSC OCFO OIC OIIR OMB POC SAP SL ST Business Warehouse Chief Financial Officer Headquarters National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA Conference Tracking System NASA Enterprise Applications Competency Center NASA Form NASA Procedural Requirements NASA Shared Services Center Office of the Chief Financial Officer Officers in Charge Office of International and Interagency Relations Office of Management and Budget Point of Contact Systems, Applications, and Products in Data Processing Senior Level Scientific or Professional Position