Foreign Military Sales & Software Systems Application Development Case Study:
The Business Challenge
A Service Branch Command charged with administering its Branch’s security assistance enterprise by developing and managing security assistance programs and foreign military sales (FMS) cases to build partner capacity, support Combatant Command engagement strategies and strengthen our nation’s global partnerships, lacked the secure tools and automated systems needed manage its enterprise an FMS cases. The Command’s Program management activities were based on manual processes, and labor intensive practices to track and provide executive-level visibility into its programs, training and support activities. Meanwhile the Programs and support activities had to comply with highly detailed FMS and international security policies.
The command had several legacy systems that were inflexible and did not support their mission functions, such as provide visibility into and manage their FMS programs, comply with international security policy regulations, to track travel by their personnel to partner countries, and rapid prototyping to develop and field systems to support short term temporary requirements.
QSMI provided a briefing to the Command of a software system that we had developed and deployed at the Marine Corps to track its major procurements, as well as our rapid development methodology. After several rounds of discussions, the Command obtained our services via our GSA MAS IT 70 contract.
QSMI’s Approach to the Solution
QSMI formed a close collaboration with the Command’s civilian and military FMS personnel and key stakeholders from the Program Management Office, command headquarters, and the Security and Policy Directorates to analyze, document and track the Command’s business requirements. As per QSMI’s software product development project approach, our project Team was comprised of technologists and functional analysts to develop robust and reliable software product, and to ensure that the business rules are aligned with the business processes and federal regulations. In general, the contract scope included:
- Requirements Analysis
- Development of Software and Data Interfaces
- Configuration Management
- Requirements Management
- Market Research and Prototyping
- Enterprise Design, Integration and Consolidation
Our Team worked closely with Command personnel to support their new and emerging initiatives goals by developing and sustaining reliable, secure, and highly functional enterprise e-commerce capabilities for the Command, its customers, foreign and U.S. located CONUS and OCONUS, by planning and providing technical support services in the areas of Web Development/E-Commerce Implementation, Information Assurance, and Programming. Our advisory services included recommendations on hardware and software configuration, and innovation.
The principal enterprise design, integration and consolidation tasks consisted of:
- Produce detailed project plans for each individual projects
- Develop Security Enhancement Plan
- Develop E-Commerce Plans/Initiatives
- Develop and administer Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) web access
- Develop P & A web access
- Develop Hardware Enhancement/Consolidation Plan with milestones
- Create and maintain requirements management and configuration management documentation
Throughout this program, QSMI developed and supported well over a dozen major or minor automated systems that were either part of the Command’s enterprise architecture, or discrete rapidly developed, single-use application that fulfilled short or intermediate-term needs. All key FMS and Command business processes that govern system requirements were fully documented and reassessed periodically. Our Team exercised a comprehensive requirements management program from requirements discovery through software testing/Assessment & Authorization, and multiple release management cycles.
Benefits to the Customer
The QSMI Team works with personnel from the AMC program office, USASAC Headquarters, and with those from Security Assistance Management Directorates (SAMD’s) to analyze, document and track business requirements. QSMI develops and supports well over a dozen applications that either are a part of an enterprise architecture, or are small, discrete, single-use application that may fulfill short or intermediate-term needs. Furthermore, priorities at the Command have changed or shifted emphasis in the post-9/11 world.
As a result, system requirements change or evolve rapidly, and QSMI has effected a cyclical requirements analysis process to continue to bring value to the USASAC.
All key business processes that underpin the requirements are fully documented and requirements were identified, numbered, prioritized and tracked throughout the software development cycle. As each requirement is incorporated into the software design, it is incorporated into the software testing plan.