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March/April 2021 FCW.COM
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18F to help Wisconsin with unemployment technology
The General Services Administration’s 18F digital services shop is partnering with Wisconsin’s Department of Work- force Development to modernize the state’s unemployment insurance system.
18F will help the state conduct user research, create a procurement pack- age, draft a solicitation, choose quali- fied vendors and engage in prototyping. Wisconsin officials will handle the final purchases. The goal is to issue at least one request for proposals and select a vendor team or teams within 10 weeks of starting the project.
The surge in unemployment claims during the pandemic highlighted vul- nerabilities in unemployment sys- tems nationwide as states tried to incorporate federal policy changes while responding to unprecedented volumes of claimants simultaneously. Many states’ IT systems for benefits delivery are decades old.
A group of lawmakers have advocat- ed using 18F and the U.S. Digital Service to help states pursue a more innovative approach to acquiring new technology. The typical funding and acquisition pro- cesses for procuring massive technol- ogy updates can hobble modernization projects that experts say would be bet- ter served by iterative development and smaller updates over time.
18F officials said they plan to use a modular contracting and agile procure- ment strategy for the Wisconsin project.
“By bringing more agile methodolo- gies to the establishment and delivery of contracts, we can de-risk the acquisi- tion process for both government and industry,” said Dave Zvenyach, direc- tor of GSA’s Technology Transforma- tion Services, in a statement about the partnership.
— Natalie Alms
78% of federal domains now have a DMARC record to guard against
spoofing
Air Force focuses on seamless telework experience
The Air Force is launching a scorecard to help steer its modernization efforts. Since the start of the COVID-19 pan- demic, those efforts have centered on improving base connectivity to ensure a seamless telework experience for Air Force personnel, said Lauren Knau- senberger, the Department of the Air Force’s CIO.
“The scorecard concept will help focus moderniza- tion efforts to bol- ster enterprise- mission information technology require- ments while provid- ing a living roadmap for broader delivery of the rock-solid digital foundation,” Knausenberger told FCW.
Because each
Air Force base has
different connectiv-
ity needs and capa-
bilities, she said the
scorecard initiative involves a compre- hensive review to identify three to five areas on which the bases can focus to transform their telework capabilities and boost connectivity, bandwidth and network readiness.
The Air Combat Command’s Com- munications Directorate and the 38th Cyberspace Engineering Installation Group are defining the criteria and data that will be used to analyze the top three to five categories for the scorecards. A draft product is expected by the end of April.
The initiative supports the Air Force’s “internet of battlefield things,” also known as the Advanced Battle Management System, and the Defense Department’s push to connect all the
military services’ platforms and net- works via Joint All-Domain Command and Control.
Knausenberger said the scorecard also feeds into Air Force efforts that seek to improve the user experience by soliciting direct feedback from airmen and Space Force guardians on issues
Lauren Knausenberger
that affect produc- tivity and readiness. “If we have somebody who is having to work incredibly hard without connectiv- ity — using white- boards or 2D mod- els — then we’re just not going to be as prepared as if we gave them really best-in-class tools where the data \[can\] help them visualize everything that they need to do,” Knausenberg- er said at an FCW
telework event in March.
To improve telework and increase
flexibility for employees, the Air Force is also developing a bring-your-own- approved-device program with the help of Air Combat Command’s Head- quarters Cyberspace Capabilities Cen- ter. In a pilot project, 1,000 airmen and Space Force guardians can use personal mobile devices to access government information and applications, such as email, chat and secure web browsing, Knausenberger said.
For now, the program is voluntary and only permits the enrollment of iOS and Android devices that have been approved by the National Information Assurance Partnership.
— Lauren C. Williams