You Told Us... We Listened... An Inside Look at the Enhanced Features of PAA v3.0
                       
The Performance Appraisal Application (PAA) is currently being modified. PAA v3.0 will include the following enhanced features:

• A new look and feel with tabs that display key tasks in the order they are performed. For example, there are tabs for Plan, Interim Review and Appraisal.
• Assessment by Job Objective that allows employees and rating officials to enter up to 2000 characters for each assessment by job objective.
• Improved copy and paste functionality that correctly converts most MS Word format characters such as carriage returns and quotes.
• An improved character counter that provides a more accurate count of the number of characters entered or pasted.
• An enhanced Email notification process that provides employees, rating officials and higher level reviewers status information within the email.
• Easy and standardized approvals and acknowledgement processes for establishing plans and conducting Interim Reviews and Appraisals.
• The ability to copy plans from year to year.
• A Track Progress page that lets you know where you are in the process.

Now, several screen shots provide you with an early look at some of the new, user-friendly features of PAA v3.0:

• To see how the tabbed format makes the tool easier to use, CLICK HERE.
• To understand how we have expanded the self assessments portion of the tool, CLICK HERE.
• To view new features that make creating a performance plan easier, CLICK HERE.
• To see how messages are sent via a robust e-mail program (versus internal notifications), CLICK HERE.

Prior to making v3.0 enhancements, DoD reviewed the lessons learned from PAA v1.0 and v2.0 and sought the opinions of users, novice to expert, from each Component.

"During version 3.0 workshops, we adopted 37 recommendations for improved functionality," said Brad Bunn, Program Executive Officer (PEO), National Security Personnel System (NSPS). DoD is committed to making the PAA a user-friendly application. Ongoing feedback from managers, supervisors, employees, and the HR community has really guided the process."

Sharon Stewart, Acting Director of the Defense Civilian Personnel Management Service (DCPMS), agreed. "We collect a great deal of information from our user satisfaction surveys that helps us continually identify improvement areas. Employee comments are invaluable in updating the tool and in helping to develop critical support for the performance appraisal process."

Future enhancements to the tool include a multi-tiered correction process and a feature for employees known as My Journal. Ongoing and increased training efforts and communications will keep the workforce informed of system changes.

Stay tuned for more details on the launch of PAA v3.0!