eRA Project Team Meeting
Date: June 26, 2001
Time: 9:00 am
Location: 6700B Rockledge, Room 1202
Chair: John McGowan

Next Meeting: July 10, 2001, 6700B Rockledge, Room 1205, 9:00 am

Action Items

1. (Chip Groh) - Add IC Directors to Inside eRA subscription list.

2. (Megan Columbus) - Draft email to IC Directors about eRA with key links to web site.

3. (Megan Columbus) - Get Dr. McGowan on the EPMC agenda for July 2 to discuss legacy retirement.

4. (Megan Columbus) - Elaborate on the retirement of IMPAC I scoring and percentiling in memo to IC Directors. Add training dates for new percentile administrators.

5. (Belinda Seto) - Ask Maria Bukowski to write newsletter article on concept of role vs. professional profile.

Presentations and Discussion Topics

1. Project Management Support - John McGowan -- (Attachment A.)
Dr. McGowan previewed his presentation for the Steering Committee on June 28. He began by reporting that recruitment for Logicon development contractors/subcontractors is ahead of schedule. There are now more than 60 on board. He then provided a comprehensive list of all the companies supporting the project. Regarding project tracking, he proposed a format for displaying progress on the eRA web site. For each task, a traffic light (red, green or yellow) will be a clear indicator of adherence to schedule. In addition, the priority will be indicated along with an implementation Gantt chart. Dr. McGowan then addressed the integration of Project Team and Group Advocate decision points with the software development process.
Dr. McGowan devoted the main part of his presentation to explaining the tasks and objectives of the management support contracts.

a. Denali Associates - Short-Term Risk Assessment (3 Months)
Denali's objective is to identify barriers and to help the team develop strategies to overcome these obstacles and achieve success. Dr. McGowan stressed that they are not auditors. Denali will also determine if eRA is adequately fulfilling the requirements of the ICs on time and within budget. In addition, they will analyze at the project's return on investment.

b. Soza & Company - Longer Term IV&V Project Oversight
Soza will assess, monitor, project and validate eRA's schedule and cost using an industry standard (COCOMO II). They are also tasked with developing an eRA business plan for presentation to the NIH community. Dr. McGowan stressed the importance of the upcoming retreat in the planning process. Soza does have an audit function and will facilitate the quarterly budget review.

c. Creative Approaches Unlimited (Bob Slevin) - Internal Change Management
Bob Slevin will facilitate DEIS change management initiatives, including retraining and career counseling for those impacted by the retirement of the legacy system. Pete Morton asked if the retraining effort extended to support staff in the ICs. Dr. McGowan said no but pointed out that we are including an IMPAC II class schedule in every issue of Inside eRA. Also, the legacy system retirement memo that will be sent to IC Directors should alert them to retraining needs. Dr. McGowan asked Chip Groh to add the IC Directors to the newsletter subscription list; he asked Megan to draft an email message about eRA with key links to the our web site.

d. NIH Office of the Ombudsman
This group will work cooperatively with Bob Slevin to facilitate team building within DEIS.

Highlights of Discussion

• Andy Greenleaf asked for clarification on budget monitoring responsibilities. Dr. McGowan explained that it is Logicon's responsibility to deliver its products within budget. Soza will provide an independent review of actual costs against projected costs. Soza will be audited in turn by CIT.
• Andy also asked for a clarification of Mitretek's role. Mitretek performs IV&V on the technical side (i.e., acceptance testing of software). Soza performs financial oversight.
• Marcia Hahn asked if the management support work will be transparent or will require Group Advocate interaction. Dr. McGowan assured the group that the contractors are here to make their job easier. Megan Columbus did add that Denali will conduct interviews to identify barriers to success. Marcia suggested that the questions be provided in advance.

2. Legacy System Retirement - Sherry Zucker -- (Attachments B and C.)
Sherry distributed copies of the draft memo to IC Directors and the proposed sunset dates for all IMPAC I functions. A great deal of work still needs to be done before the legacy system can be retired. The Project Team suggested the following revisions:

a. Carol Martin - Address the memo to Extramural Directors.

b. Carol Martin - The ad hoc query tool (p. 6) will not be selected until 10/01.

c. Richard Panniers - Change "Summary Statement (document creation)" to "Draft Summary Statement (document creation)" on p. 2.

d. Thor Fjellstedt - The QVR deployment on p. 6 should be July 2001. QVR is currently being tested by hundreds of users and will go production in about a week.

e. Thor Fjellstedt - The CUPID sunset on p. 6 should be 2002.

f. John McGowan - List QVR and the new ad hoc query tool separately (bottom p. 6).

g. John McGowan - Number each item for easier reference.

h. Donna Frahm - Change "SASS" to "SAS" on p. 5.

i. Donna Frahm - Change "Major cost savings for ICs" to "Cost savings for ICS".

j. Carlos Caban - Since ICO is not widely used, add requirement for training.

k. John McGowan - Separate ICO and Program Portal into two line items on p. 5.

l. Pete Morton - Pete expressed concern about the disabling of legacy scoring and percentiling on August 17. Sherry and Eileen Bradley assured the group that the community has been notified. There will also be an alert about the sunset date in IMPAC I. Megan Columbus was asked to elaborate in the memo and provide training dates for the new percentile administrators.

m. Wally Schaeffer - Add CGAF/TTF to the list of IMPAC I functions.

3. IMPAC II Printing Functions - John McGowan
Dr. McGowan led a discussion about the best way to provide access to print functions. He suggested a new stand-alone print module. This raised concerns about massive print requests. Sherry Zucker said the software can detect and limit the number of items to be printed from a "hit list" (of summary statements or any other report) based on the user's role. Thor Fjellstedt added that the new ECB/QVR options (i.e., PDF and zipped files for download) may reduce central printing requirements. Bud Erickson believes that a central printing facility module is needed. Carol Martin remarked that this module would have to offer the same flexibility to sort and order output as provided by the legacy system program. Andy Greenleaf pointed out that central print capability is currently available from ICO, REV and ICO. Carol Martin volunteered to explore the possibility of a new print module as part of her Query and Reporting advocacy role. It appears likely that hardcopy requirements will remain. Cultural changes are very slow.

Announcements and Status Reports

1. Consolidation of HHS IT Systems - John McGowan announced Tommy Thompson's Enterprise Infrastructure Management (EIM) plan to consolidate 13 decentralized HHS information technology systems. Secretary Thompson will visit the week of August 20, and will see a demo of IMPAC II. eRA objectives are consistent with those of EIM. We are working cooperatively with CIT and collaborating with the Federal Commons and other agencies.

2. Center for Technology in Government Benchmark ( CTG) - Dr. McGowan announced that we will be participating in a benchmark in preparation for our workshop with NSF next year. The CTG works with government to develop information strategies that foster innovation and enhance the quality and coordination of public services. Part of the State University of New York at Albany, they conduct applied research and partnership projects on policy, management, and technology issues surrounding information use in the public sector.

3. Inside eRA Newsletter - Dr. McGowan stated that we will move to a flexible publication schedule. As soon as sufficient copy is assembled, the newsletter will be released (as often as two or three times per month). All software releases must be announced in the newsletter prior to release.

4. IMPAC II Release Schedule - Sherry Zucker said that Mike Cox will explain all upcoming changes at Project Team meetings. Andy Greenleaf and Jay Silverman reported that all modules except REV will be upgraded on July 20. A code freeze will begin on June 29.

5. QVR - Thor Fjellstedt said that the software is undergoing the last few tests and will be released in about a week. Canned reports are being developed. QVR buttons are needed on the ECB and IMPAC II homepages. Chip Groh inquired about QVR support. Thor will provide through July. Ultimately, Thor would like to transfer support to the Help Desk.

6. Data Quality Improvement - Belinda Seto will ask Maria Bukowski to write an article for the newsletter to educate users in the basic concepts of personal profile and role. Sara Silver is working on guidelines for developers and users. Krishna Collie offered to write an article advising CM on role vs. profile.

7. SNAP Recommendations - Marcia Hahn reported that the Commons Working Group streamlining proposals have been presented to ePUG, POPOF and GMAC. She will brief Wendy Baldwin on July 9 and will later present to EPMC. Donna Frahm is working on a customizable checklist.

8. Hummingbird License - Pete Morton reported that CIT does not have a site license. The vendor was unwilling to issue a volume discount.

Attendees

Attachments

1. Contractor Support presentation
2. Draft Legacy Sunset Dates Memo
3. Draft Legacy Retirement Plans