Commerce Administrative Management System (CAMS) Program Management Plan (PMP)

The PMP serves as a strategic communication tool from the NIST DCFO, providing program guidance to the CAMS Project Manager, the Implementation Team, and all others involved in the project or eventual users of CAMS. During the course of the Implementation, the plan is updated quarterly in conjunction with approved change requests as detailed in Appendix A through D.

The following sub-sections detail the road map or strategy for achieving the program objectives and realizing the program benefits. These sub-sections include information on the Implementation approach, the methodology the team will employ as well as resource information on the CAMS Implementation Team.

The DCFO and the CAMS Implementation Team are conducting the Phase III Implementation of CAMS at NIST, NTIA, and TA. This implementation effort will occur while simultaneously continuing to support the Phase I and II Bureaus (e.g., EDA, ESA, BEA, OS, OIG, MBDA).

The original Phase III Implementation concept was to implement all three Bureaus, NIST/NTIA/TA concurrently with a completion date of October 2003. The CAMS Implementation Team, however, has investigated other implementation options based on the “As-is” system and business process picture developed and lessons learned from previous implementations within DOC. Initial Phase III Implementation activities focused on evaluating and grouping the current NIST financial processes into three main categories: enabled, replaced, and retired in anticipation of how these systems and processes will integrate with CAMS once implemented. The categories are defined as follows:

• Enabled: Systems/sub-processes that will require a new Interface with CFS,
  
• Replaced: Systems/sub-processes that will be entirely replaced by newer systems of similar functionality and will need interfacing with CFS, and
  
• Retired: Systems/sub-processes that will no longer be used once CAMS is implemented (Replaced by CFS functionality).

Adequate information and understanding of the current “As-is” picture has been gained to take a first pass estimate of the “To-be” CAMS picture for NIST/NTIA/TA (figure 3.1). The CAMS Implementation Team has developed a summary of financial sub-processes broken down by probable category for each Bureau (NIST/NTIA/TA). The team has also evaluated the lessons learned from the Phase I/II Implementations as well as the implementation strategies used by NOAA and Census. Many approach options have been discussed, including the following:

• Concurrent NIST/NTIA/TA Implementation approach,
• NTIA/TA interim deployment, automate / manually enable Interfaces,
• NTIA/TA interim deployment, single automated Interface,
• Module deployment, replacing the NIST Financial Management system functions by equivalent CFS modules in a phased approach,
• NOAA Model, CFS feeds Cost during pilot of NTIA/TA, and
• CFS and Cost feed Shared Repository.

The options have been discussed in detail with the CAMS Implementation Team, DA/CFO office and DCFO Division Chiefs. The following sub-sections detail the Implementation strategy and the decision points.

The CAMS Implementation Team initially focused on the NTIA/TA interim deployment option with an October 2002 deployment date followed by full NIST Implementation in October 2003. This approach required several critical time-constrained assumptions, such as the interface development effort needed to fully implement NTIA/TA. It was decided the risks to the schedule outweighed the benefits gained by the interim approach. The CAMS Implementation Team is going to continue with the original Implementation strategy to deploy CAMS throughout NIST, NTIA, and TA using a concurrent Implementation rollout. The concurrent approach will allow full Implementation of the CAMS at NIST, NTIA and TA in October 2003.

Implementing CAMS at NIST, using a concurrent approach, requires the CAMS Implementation Team to make several critical assumptions in order to successfully deploy CAMS in October 2003. The following lists critical assumptions that have been made in order to move forward with the concurrent approach:

• NIST will develop most of the interfaces to CFS, including GMIS or Legacy Procurement, Travel Manager (build on existing interface), GTA, and other interfaces.


• CSC will enhance the following interfaces after NIST creates requirements/design – NIST Labor, Bankcard.


• A Standard Interface will be developed for each of the following types of transactions:
Accounts Payable Standard Interface (APSI) – CSC will develop

• Obligations Standard Interface


• Receivable Standard Interface – NIST will develop


• Data conversion will occur at the end of the fiscal year and at a GL (document) level.


• Government resources will be available to assist in interface and feeder file extract development.


• ITL resources will develop extracts to get files from various NIST feeder systems and various databases into a standardized format for use by an upload program or interface to CFS. The CAMS Implementation Team is responsible for the development of the CSTARS, GMIS, Travel Manager, GTA, and AR interfaces.


• Reporting requirements will need to be determined for NIST/NTIA/TA


• The following key decisions must be made during FY02:
• Cost Center to ACCS conversion,


• WCF (TA/NTIA Impacts),


• CSTARS to CFS Interface,


• Business Objects will be used for Data Warehouse reporting tool,


• Scope of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), and


• Scope of Organization Change.

These assumptions will continue to be developed and evaluated as more system information and understanding is gained. These assumptions will play a significant role in Risk Management once the Implementation strategy is finalized.

The primary advantage to the concurrent Implementation approach is providing the time necessary to design, develop and test the multiple interfaces needed to link CFS to the many NIST feeder systems. The two-year period will allow key business process decisions to be made, as well as analysis of the current DCFO organization structure versus a most efficient organization. The following lists other benefits considered for the concurrent option:

• Cumulative effort would be less (no throw away interfaces, the CAMS Implementation Team can focus all resources on final Implementation).
  
• Meets the current expectation of the Implementation plan.
  
• Clearly defined, single system of record brought up at once.
  
• Data Warehouse would most likely be developed in time for the full deployment.
  
• Longer time period for interface development would allow more Bureau input/better defined requirements.
  
• Longer time period for interface development will support more system integration versus batch interfacing.
  
• Time frame allows for a more complete evaluation of the organization and business processes.
  

There is risk inherent in any software development and implementation effort. Identification of the risks associated with NIST CAMS has been, and will continue to be, the first step toward reducing and mitigating potential problems. A formal Risk Management Plan and assessment will be created for the NIST CAMS Phase III Implementation. This plan will accomplish the following objectives:

• Provide a systematic approach for:
  • Identifying and assessing risks,
  
  
  • Determining cost-effective risk reduction actions, and
  
  
  • Monitoring and reporting progress in reducing risk.
• Progressively reduce the project’s exposure to events that threaten accomplishment of its objectives by:
• Incorporating approaches into the project plans that minimize or avoid identified risks,


• Developing proactive, contingent risk response actions, and


• Rapidly implementing risk responses based on timely identification of risk occurrence.

• Cost,


• Schedule,


• Technological,


• Operational, and


• External.

Some risk factors to the Implementation are already known and being addressed. The Implementation and success of CAMS within NIST is contingent upon several factors, including: the completion of those Implementation activities deemed to be required for NIST by the CAMS Implementation Team; a continued commitment to CAMS that is reflected in appropriate funding and staffing levels; and furthermore, the Implementation is dependent on extensive software support from the DOC CSC, including required technical support, and a stable Implementation strategy. It is understood that the DOC CSC will dedicate its technical software resources to the NIST CAMS Implementation effort following the CAMS Implementation at NOAA. Similarly, all Phase III deployment dates are predicated on the timely delivery of complete, documented, error-free software from the DOC CSC.

Several processes have been established to ensure that the NIST CAMS Program risks are reduced or eliminated. CAMS bi-weekly status meetings are held with DA/CFO senior management and representatives from stakeholder groups. These status meetings provide updates of CAMS Implementation activities and a forum to ask questions regarding the CAMS strategy and Implementation. Furthermore, the Department has implemented a contractor monthly reporting system for DOC, NIST, NOAA, and Census. This reporting mechanism requires monthly reports detailing and comparing work completed to work planned and cost incurred to cost planned. The Department also requires a milestone report to measure completed tasks and schedules. In addition, the Department requires quarterly reporting against milestones and major accomplishments with actual versus plan.

A significant schedule risk originates with the reliance NIST (and all other DOC Bureaus) has on receiving required software fixes or enhancements from the DOC CSC in a timely manner that are complete, documented, and error-free. CAMS Implementation delays will be unavoidable if the CSC is not able to deliver CFS software, software fixes, or enhancements according to a previously agreed schedule. The CAMS Implementation Team will continue to work with the CSC to schedule software deliveries at times that meet the needs of both organizations. The CAMS Implementation Team has provided several of its members to the CSC during enhancement cycles to assist the CSC in software design, development, and testing. It is hoped that to an extent, this support will assist the CSC in meeting its software delivery schedule, provide a quality product, and improve the system knowledge/confidence of the CAMS Implementation Team.

In addition to being dependent upon CSC for providing software in timely manner, the CAMS Implementation schedule may be affected by several administrative systems being deployed at NIST throughout FY02 and FY03. These other system deployments are outside the direct control of the CAMS Implementation Team, however their schedule and implementation success could significantly impact the Phase III Implementation. It is the responsibility of the CAMS Project Manager and the CAMS Implementation Team to coordinate with the implementation teams of these other systems to ensure impacts are known and communicated during Phase III Implementation activities. Appendix F has a system listing and schedule for the systems being implemented that may affect the CAMS Implementation.

The project plan contains all detail tasks and schedules for the Phase III Implementation effort. The project plan reflects the current Implementation strategy and may be modified, as final Implementation approach strategies are determined. The current NIST CAMS Phase III Project Plan is attached in Appendix I.

This section provides an overview of the CAMS Implementation Teams activities and methods that will be utilized during Phase III. The following information delineates what, why, how, who, when, and where aspects of the program including a consolidated high-level project plan.

The CAMS program is planned and managed by the NIST DCFO and the DCFO organization. The CAMS Implementation Team is within the Business Systems Division (BSD), formerly the Financial Management Systems Division (FMSD), and is responsible to work with the CAMS user community including: the NIST DCFO, DCFO Divisions, and other NIST users to develop plans and manage activities required to implement CAMS within NIST. Detailed information regarding the responsibilities and interactions of each of these divisions can be found in section 6.3. The CAMS program activities fall into three major categories:

• Strategic – high-level planning, development of the CAMS PMP and Implementation roadmap.


• Tactical – detailed implementation analysis and planning, including “As-is” mapping, “To-be” system requirements mapping, System Requirements and Design Development, Change Management Planning, Integration Test Planning, Security and Risk Management Planning.


• Execution – Daily Operations including, Data Conversion, Coding, Testing, Communication, Client Outreach, Training, Production Support, and Security.

Figure 5.1 Levels of Implementation Activity

Additional CAMS Program responsibilities include the recruitment and management of NIST CAMS resources, and preparation and execution of the budget for the NIST CAMS Program. The Implementation effort requires the sponsorship, support and involvement of NIST executive leadership during the Implementation to ensure a successful implementation.

The NIST CAMS Program is also influenced by organizations outside of NIST requiring additional communication and collaboration. Specifically, the NIST DCFO and the CAMS Implementation Team must work closely with the DOC CFO office, the DOC CAMS Program Manager, and the DOC CSC to ensure program plans are known and schedules communicated. Since CAMS is a DOC initiative, the DOC CAMS Program Office has the overall responsibility and control for the development and implementation of the CAMS product throughout the Bureaus. As the responsible party, the DOC CAMS Program Office controls the overall CAMS contract and remains the final decision maker for the strategic CAMS decisions and development activities. At the Department-level, the DOC CSC makes CAMS related strategic decisions while the CAMS Program Manager and the DOC CSC Manager direct day-to-day operations. It is imperative that the NIST DCFO and the CAMS Implementation Team communicate and track the NIST Implementation needs and requirements to ensure a successful Implementation.

The following sub-sections detail the activities that will occur during the CAMS Implementation.

The DCFO organization is in the process of implementing the Balanced Scorecard as its primary performance measurement tool. The "Balanced Scorecard" is one of the most popular management concepts in business today. The balanced scorecard converts visions and strategies into measurable goals communicating strategic intent and is a proven approach to strategic management that imbeds the long-term business strategy into the management system through the mechanism of measurement. The CAMS Implementation will provide the tool to capture and store data at the appropriate level and in a timely manner that will enable the DA/CFO organization to measure its effectiveness and efficiency.

The DA/CFO wide measures identified by the Executive Council will be used by each Division to assess their performance. These measures may be augmented by Division-specific metrics tied to organization-specific goals. This will ensure that the methodology meets the needs of the DA/CFO office as well as each Division. A discussion of the Balanced Scorecard categories and measures selected by the Executive Council is included as Appendix F.

Implementation specific metrics will be established to use as a measurement criteria for the CAMS Implementation. These metrics will be established during the beginning stages of the Implementation by working with the various stakeholders to gauge their definition of success. A similar approach was taken during the Phase I/II Implementations and was well received by all parties involved. The metrics will be based around system and business process expectations, such as:

• Ability to easily login/access the system,


• Data is at a more detailed level,
• Data flows from point of entry through the system,


• System functions as designed,


• Basic end-user procedures will be developed,


• CAMS will move end-users towards transaction-based SGL compliancy,


• Reduced level of manual processing,


• Opportunities to participate in the implementation effort, and


• Improved reporting capability.

The CAMS Implementation Team will be meeting with the various stakeholders to discuss and document these implementation/system/business process specific metrics. The CAMS Implementation Team will monitor and measure against these metrics, periodically providing feedback to the stakeholders and conducting final analysis as part of the post mortem lessons learned effort.

The CAMS Implementation Team currently follows the prime contractor’s, Accenture, Business Integration Methodology (BIM), a comprehensive systems implementation lifecycle. The BIM was successfully followed during the CAMS Implementation effort for the NIST Customer Bureaus. The CAMS Implementation Team will use the NIST Software Development Lifecycle Management (SDLCM) draft as a resource during the CAMS Implementation at NIST to augment the BIM, as applicable, ensuring delivery of a quality system within cost estimates using an identifiable, measurable, and repeatable process. Specific attention will be made to the NIST SDLCM check points to ensure status is properly communicated to the correct groups at the right time during the implementation lifecycle.

DOC Bureaus, including NIST, were actively involved in defining the original CAMS requirements. Requirements were categorized as functional or technical. Commerce-wide requirements were developed for the CAMS components by teams, or working groups, which included representatives from the various Bureaus, including NIST, who were selected based on their expertise. In addition, a CFS liaison participated on the functional teams and the requirements documents were distributed to the Bureaus for comment and updated prior to being finalized.

Both the Functional and Technical Requirements were prepared by representatives from all of the Bureaus and originally were not broken out as DOC-Specified and NIST - Specified Requirements, but rather submitted as part of the collective DOC’s requirements document.

During Phase III, the CAMS Implementation Team will conduct “To-be” analysis, mapping current NIST financial management system process requirements to CAMS functionality. This mapping or crosswalking of current processing to CAMS functionality will aid the team in identifying the critical “gaps” of CAMS functionality. These gaps will be re-evaluated and a future method for processing will be identified that benefits both the end user and the client team supporting the CAMS application. In instances where current processing can be performed within the existing CAMS functionality, a process flow analysis and relating documentation will be created to walk the user through the “new” task in which they will perform. After crosswalking current NIST financial management system functionality to CFS, a Conference Room Pilot (CRP) will be held to demonstrate the functionality to the users.

During the CRP, the CAMS Implementation Team will use the CFS system to demonstrate how each NIST business process will be performed. As process gaps are identified, the CAMS Implementation Team will work with NIST personnel to determine potential process improvements to resolve the gap. As a last resort, the Implementation Team may recommend necessary extensions to CFS. The issues identified in the CRP will be used as input to come up with a general design for the system. This activity will also provide NIST users hands-on access to the CFS application, which should significantly accelerate the knowledge building and commitment of the user representatives.

The CAMS Implementation Team is responsible for the design of NIST specific software. The scope of this software includes interfaces with systems external to CAMS and integration software required between CAMS modules, (e.g., feeder systems and CFS). The CAMS Implementation Team works with the functional experts/users to ensure that all requirements are captured and the design documents meet the identified requirements. Both conceptual and detailed technical documents are prepared and routed to affected teams/stakeholders for approval. Formal design reviews are held before the final approval of any software design. Final review and approval authority for proposed designs remains with the CAMS Implementation Team Project Manager. The team’s designs will be sufficiently coherent and detailed to enable the system development and testing by members of the CAMS Implementation Team or CSC. Both contractor and Government resources are used in the design and development processes. See section 6.3 for further details about the CAMS Implementation Team resources and activities.

DOC and NIST will seek existing software that meets their requirements (e.g., CSTARS) for the CAMS modules outside the scope of the Core CAMS. Both software from other Government agencies and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) packages will be examined as potential solutions.

Where DOC has taken the lead for a module, the CAMS Implementation Team will participate with other Bureaus in the market research and the evaluation of the software available. The functional teams will coordinate with other NIST stakeholders to ensure that the departmental solution meets NIST requirements. The Department lead will ask for Bureau input at various steps in the software selection and evaluation process. Typically, this input is first solicited in developing the requirements for the functional area being addressed. The NIST representative will coordinate this feedback with their fellow CAMS Implementation Team members to ensure solutions being considered address the full concerns of the NIST operational requirements.

Where DOC has indicated that Bureaus should seek their own solution, the NIST Implementation Team will conduct the market research and evaluate the software available. The Implementation Team will coordinate with NIST ITL to ensure that the software is compatible with NIST’s systems architecture.

Testing is a development activity that evaluates the solution against its requirements, including those documented in the Business Case. The CAMS Implementation testing approach will be SDLCM compliant and will focus on early detection and correction of errors in the stage in which they occur. This approach raises developer efficiency and effectiveness by correcting errors when it is easiest and most cost effective.

The CAMS testing efforts began with generating and documenting system requirements (a statement of need that, when implemented, satisfies a user or stakeholder). The Phase III stakeholders are closely involved in providing the information needed to produce the system requirements documentation. The Implementation Team then translates the system requirements into Test Conditions that identify the parts of the CAMS Program that need to be tested. Finally, the Test Conditions are then translated into Test Scripts. The Test Scripts define the steps, input data, and expected output for the test conditions to ensure satisfaction of the system requirements.

Phase III Implementation can be segmented into five testing elements depending on whether the testing is being performed in conjunction with Release Tests or developing Reports or Interfaces. These five testing elements are Unit testing, Assembly testing, System testing, Spot testing and Regression testing.

For support of existing code, test efforts confirm CAMS functionality by testing each individual delivery of “fix” received from the CSC via Spot testing. Spot testing ensures that the specific “bug fix” identified has been corrected for that specific instance. Regression testing ensures that the core functionality of the system was not adversely affected by the application of the delivered “fix” and/or enhancement (e.g. ASAP). Designated baseline test scripts with set input and expected outcomes are executed against the newly delivered version of code. Baseline test scripts are approved by each CAMS client module lead. Results of testing are documented and packaged for easy tracking and historical purposes. Issues discovered through testing efforts are communicated to the client module lead, and together (the test analyst and client module lead) a “plan of action” is determined to identify a workaround or document a formal Activity Request (AR). Activity Requests are submitted to CSC for the proper developer to work on.

For Interfaces and Reports that are developed, a Unit test is conducted followed by Assembly testing which verifies all related modules and processes. The Unit test ensures that the code functions as outlined in the detail design. The Assembly test ensures that the steps leading up to or resulting from a process also work as expected. System testing expands the scope of Unit and Assembly testing. It is for this reason that all prior testing, error resolution, and procedure documentation should be complete before conducting System testing. System testing ensures that the entire application operated according to the user’s functional and technical requirements.

Code developed by CSC goes through the Unit, Assembly, and System tests at CSC and is then delivered as new versions of code to all bureaus, at which point they follow Spot and Regression testing steps as mentioned above. Code created for Interfaces and Reports outside of the CSC environment follows those three testing steps as well and still must pass through Spot and Regression testing before being promoted into the production environment.

Automated Testing – NIST has procured an automated testing tool that will be used to perform Load, Performance, and Regression Testing on CAMS.

Load/Performance Testing is used to ensure that the NIST technical architecture will have the ability to handle many simultaneous CAMS users. The tool simulates a production environment by creating a load of up to 600 concurrent users. The NIST CIO office is responsible for administering the Load/Performance Test. CAMS Implementation Team members will provide functional assistance for the Load Testing effort. The Load/Performance Test will be performed before the CAMS Implementation in October 2003.

Regression Testing, as described above, is used to ensure the core functionality of the system is not adversely affected by the application of a delivered fix or enhancement. The current method of regression testing is to have test team members manually run through a previously created set of scripts to ensure that no unintended errors have been introduced as a result of a software release. The automated testing tool works by automatically running through a previously created set of scripts. The tool will create a report that shows any unexpected system behavior. The benefits of using an automated testing tool for regression testing are that it is faster, more thorough, and more cost-effective than manual testing. The automated testing tool will be fully implemented after CAMS is implemented.

Maintenance items are identified by the Bureau CAMS Program Offices and sent to CSC for CSC maintained software (CFS, NFC Labor, CPCS). The CFS module is no longer under warranty to Rel-Tek. Other non-CFS modules software change requests are made to the module lead Bureau where changes are made by the vendor, the Bureau, or the CSC.

NIST ITL provides System Administrator and DBA support who perform maintenance of the NIST CAMS technical environment. In addition, an Application System Administrator (ASA) works in tandem with DA/CFO Desktop Support to perform changes to workstations.

The CAMS Implementation Team will perform the data maintenance and system setup where the changes are outside the normal functions of the system administrator for a particular functional area of the software to ensure separation of duties and internal controls. CAMS modules require an application system administrator to assign roles and security to provide access to users per identified roles and responsibilities.

All end-user calls for maintenance will be logged in Remedy, a help desk software product where the issues will be assigned to the appropriate area for resolution (functional team, technical team, or outside vendor).

Configuration Management describes the management and control of the CAMS application environment, including: the various software versions, databases, and instances maintained in support of the overall CAMS Implementation and production environment.

The NIST CAMS Configuration Management (CM) team, a subset of the CAMS Implementation Team, is responsible for maintaining the NIST CAMS application and the CAMS Configuration Management Plan. The CM Team has established policies and procedures for the management of the associated software, databases, and database contents, thereby ensuring the highest degree of consistency and security. The five areas covered by CM are as follows:

• Software Version Management,
• Data Management,


• Instance Management,


• Database Management, and


• Liaison Activities.

The basic tasks and responsibilities performed by this team are:

• Coordinating, verifying, and installing new software releases and modifications,


• Coordinating, verifying, altering, and adding maintenance data to the database,


• Coordinating and adding instances and object owners to the database, and


• Coordinating the upkeep and creation of user accounts.

The NIST CAMS Configuration Management Plan (Appendix G) describes NIST configuration management procedure and the CM Team in greater detail.

The CAMS Implementation Team, working with ITL, must create a CAMS Security Plan describing responsibilities, requirements, and guidelines for the development, maintenance and operations of the CAMS at NIST. This plan addresses overall security requirements, and will be approved by the NIST DCFO.

Security decisions pertaining to the CAMS Implementation at NIST must reference the Security Plan and be an integral part of the planning, development, and operation of the CAMS system. CAMS must be carefully evaluated and tested during each lifecycle phase and re-evaluated whenever changes are made that could affect any security mechanisms in place. The development of security safeguards is integral to the Implementation methodology of CAMS and is inherent in each phase of the life cycle. Life cycle security refers to steps taken to ensure a system is planned, designed, developed, and maintained according to requirements using formalized and rigorous security policies, controls and standards.

• Review/update/revise the CAMS/CFS Security Plan(s)


• Develop/implement
• Security Risk Assessment
• Internal Security Review policies and procedures


• Data and record retention requirements for CAMS/CFS


• Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery Plans for CAMS/CFS


• Configuration Management Policies and Procedures
• Assess compliance with all applicable federal laws, regulations, policies, guidelines and standards


• Authorize processing

Any questions regarding CAMS security should be directed to the DCFO office, the CAMS Project Manager, or CAMS Implementation Team members responsible for CAMS security issues.

The CFS documentation consists of the complete set of manuals and procedures needed to operate and maintain CAMS across NIST. The CFS documentation is maintained and provided by CSC. The original documentation received in July 1996 consisted of manuals for Systems Overview, Workflow Management, General Ledger, Funds Management, Cost Accumulation, Payment Management, and Receipts Management. In addition, technical manuals include System Design, Database Administration, and System Operations.

The CAMS Implementation Team provides NIST specific documentation, including developing a customized user procedure that will provide user guidelines for each NIST specific business process in CFS. The procedures will reference the appropriate CFS drop-down menus, functions, screens and programs.

Specifically, the CAMS Implementation Team documented the following reports: Trial Summary Program, Status of Funds, Undelivered Orders by Project, Operating Expenses, Travel Voucher, Daily Detail Listing of Income and Obligations Record, Current Month Detail, Profit and Loss, Transactions Fund Detail, Payroll, Payroll Summary Report by Project and Task, Payroll Summary Report by Fund, and the CPCS Supplement Report to the GLT177 Current Month Detail Report.

In addition, the CAMS Implementation Team will prepare and deliver CFS Reports Training that will utilize only authentic training material, putting into action one of the lessons learned from the data gathering analysis from the Phase I and Phase II user populations (Appendix H). The data analysis brought out the need to have more “real-life” examples to assist in learning CAMS.

NIST is facing many challenges with the CAMS Implementation stressing the need for effective communication between the CAMS Implementation Team and the CAMS user community. Effective and positive communication during this change effort will promote enthusiasm and provide for a smooth CAMS transition.

The CAMS Implementation Team has identified the following communication goals for the CAMS Implementation:

• Facilitate client outreach activities throughout the change process.


• Create and maintain a comprehensive communication plan that will address the concerns of all individuals affected by the change.


• Plan an overall training approach that will fully prepare the user group to use CAMS.

Initial client outreach activities are targeted towards identifying the informational and communication needs within the following three principal audiences:

• Phase I stakeholders – CFO/Assistant Secretary for Administration, Deputy CFO, OFM Deputy, NIST CFO/Director for Administration, NIST DCFO/Deputy Director for Financial Services, Chief of Financial Operations Division, NIST Financial Services Group, Office of the Secretary, OIG, and Office of Computer Services



• Phase II stakeholders – CFO/Assistant Secretary for Administration, Deputy CFO, OFM Deputy, NIST CFO/Director for Administration, NIST DCFO/Deputy Director for Financial Services, Chief of Financial Operations Division, NIST Financial Services Group, ESA, MBDA, EDA, BEA



• Phase III stakeholders – Budget Division (Formulation and Financial Management; Technical and Extramural Programs; Overhead and Facilities Programs), Financial Operations Division (Accounts Receivable; Accounts Payable; Travel), Financial Policy Division (Accounting and Reports; Accounting Policy and Compliance; Reimbursable and Capital Investments), Business Systems Division, ITL, SMA’s and AO’s, Feeder System Owners, Program Office, T&A Representatives, OU Directors and Deputy Directors, NIST Director and Deputy Director, NIST CIO and Deputy CIO, E-approval Team, Security Team, TA, NTIA, NIST.

The aim of the change management endeavor is to effectively communicate to the client throughout the entire change process. To accomplish this, the CAMS Implementation Team has determined the following 3 initial client outreach activities that will help in achieving this goal:

• Data gathering sessions with the Phase 1, Phase II and Phase III Stakeholder groups.


• Facilitating Kick-Off meetings to announce the CAMS Implementation and to invite participation.


• Establishing liaisons from the Implementation Team to meet with stakeholder groups.

A comprehensive NIST communication plan will be established following the completion of both the stakeholder analysis and data gathering sessions to enhance the communication process and to illuminate the details of the CAMS Implementation. This includes, but is not limited to the timing, target audiences, purposes and methods for communicating the goals outlined above. The communication plan will also contain an analysis of the current communication vehicles and an outline of how these vehicles will be utilized to dispense system and change related information.

The most intense work with end users will be in the form of training, however structural changes within the DCFO are being considered that may alter the current structure. The CAMS Implementation Team, does, however, know that the bulk of the training audience will consist of NIST accountants and technicians. The CAMS Implementation Team will monitor potential changes to the daily processes of the AOs and SMAs and will provide training as necessary. Additionally, all Bankcard holders will require training on the Commerce Purchase Card System (CPCS).

The content of the Communication Plan will be derived from the results of the Phase III data analysis. This document defines the approach for effective communication to the NIST organization. The objective is to ensure the conveyance of the right message(s), by appropriate sender(s), to necessary audience(s), through appropriate channels and vehicles. The plan includes communication process owners, responsibility definitions, and detailed strategies for execution, feedback mechanisms, timing of key events, relational maps with other key processes, risk/benefit considerations, and metrics for success.

The training deployment approach will consist of the following phases:

Also important to the CAMS training strategy is the effort to develop “System Experts ” within each DCFO user population, putting into action one of the lessons learned from the data gathering analysis from the Phase I and Phase II user populations. The analysis confirmed the need to have more internal expertise within each user population to assist in the learning process. As of April 2003, thirty System Experts have been idenitified and have initiated training.

The NIST computer facilities will be the primary CAMS training location. Although in its development stage, the CAMS Implementation Team plans to include training at the NIST Gaithersburg Campus and at the NIST Boulder location.

The training participants will include the entire Phase III users, as well as some of the Phase I and Phase II users.

Developers
The CAMS Implementation Team’s Training Staff will continue to assist in the development of curricula and materials in standardized format(s), building upon the courseware already developed during the design phase. The CAMS staff and relevant technical experts will provide the technical content for the training material.

Instructors
Contract personnel, expert members of the CAMS/CFS Functional Teams (Accounts Payable, General Ledger, Grants, Personal Property, etc.), and trained DCFO System Experts will present specialized technical training. Adequate staffing of the NIST Training Team will be a priority in FY03.

Because of the size and complexity of CAMS, it is likely that only a few individuals will require in-depth technical training on all features and in all functions of CAMS. For this reason, the Training Team proposes to initiate multiple training tracks allowing for more individually targeted training needs.

The training strategy will include multiple training vehicles. Classroom training and self-learning will be offered for most topics. Remote Bankcard holders may be trained using distance learning vehicles (e.g., simulation software).

The preliminary efforts of the CIC initiative will focus upon full production support of the CAMS Phase I and Phase II user populations. These efforts will be invaluable to the Phase I and Phase II users, but will also facilitate knowledge management and customer satisfaction in the CIC for the Phase III user population.

The secondary efforts of the CIC will focus upon planning introduction and communication activities in tandem with the Change Management communication activities. The purpose of this integration is two-fold: 1) to provide complete and concise communication plans to our stakeholders and 2) to capture all relevant Change Management information (e.g., system problems and training concerns).

Additional efforts will focus upon the daily maintenance of the CAMS CIC. These day-to-day activities will include the establishment and maintenance of CIC processes and procedures, which will also entail the receipt, documentation, resolution, and tracking of all Production related questions and concerns. In the resolution and researching of the problem symptoms, the CAMS Implementation Team will be required to work on a continuous basis with the CAMS functional/technical support team member, meanwhile maintaining favorable customer relations by addressing these “problem areas” on a timely basis. A key component within the training strategy will be the development of the CAMS Lab, which will be staffed by the CIC.

The initial objective of the CAMS Lab is to meet the request of stakeholders for hands-on exposure to CAMS by offering the opportunity to practice navigation and receive high-level module exposure prior to training. The lab will consist of approximately eight to ten terminals equipped with a Training instance of CAMS. Initially, the CAMS Lab will be used to train System Experts in early 2003. However, all stakeholders will be given the opportunity for voluntary hands-on practice in the lab.

The CAMS Lab will play a pivotal role in each phase of the Training Program, described in detail in section four.

The CAMS Implementation Team is currently supporting the Customer Bureaus using the CAMS in a production environment. Many of the activities needed in “operational” mode are similar to those needed for implementation. Plans for the post implementation world of CAMS at NIST will be developed in conjunction with the Phase III Implementation. This plan will include items such as Configuration Management, Security, Testing, and Evaluation. The CIC will be used as the main point of contact during the post implementation options, however many activities currently taking place will continue in the future. Ongoing production support will be offered using the model on the next page.

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This section will be updated, as more details are determined regarding the post implementation plans.

Figure 5.2 CAMS Implementation Team Org Chart

The DCFO office contains all budget estimates including all hardware, software, operational, and support costs associated with the system. Also included are personnel costs for individuals whose primary task is system development, operations, or support along with annual shared WCF costs to DOC. If detailed budget information is needed, contact the NIST DCFO office.

The NIST CAMS Implementation Team is located on the second and third floors of NIST Building 222. This location is close in proximity to the DCFO office, most NIST users of the CAMS and within a short drive to the DOC CSC.