Our focus is on DoD organizations with Research, Development, and Engineering (RD & E) missions. Our services include: Strategic Planning and Partnering assistance, Market and Course of Action analysis, Organization Optimization, Working Group Facilitation, Program Planning and Tracking assistance, Resource Scheduling, and Risk Assessment. Our Mission Oriented Business Services (MOBIS) offerings are described below (click a heading to go to detail):
SIN 874-1 Consulting Services
General
Most departments and agencies within the Executive Branch face diminishing budgets and shrinking work forces as we enter the 21st Century. Managers are frequently expected to "do more with less." In many instances, the workforce reductions have stripped the agencies of their most experienced personnel. An effective and affordable solution is the use of expert consultants who can focus on high priority tasks. OptiMetrics, Inc. has over 20 years of experience in support of DoD and DoE programs technically, programmatically, and from a management perspective.
OptiMetrics proposes to provide consulting services to the U.S. Government in support of MOBIS activities in three specific but related areas. OptiMetrics has a formally trained Cadre with extensive experience in both government and industry environments to support our government customers’ development of effective, responsive, and optimally resourced organizations for the 21st Century. The three areas of consulting services are described in the paragraphs below.
Strategic Planning, Market Analysis, and Course of Action Analysis
Historically, government organizations with Research, Development and Engineering (RDE) missions have relied on organizational sources for most if not all of their required funding. Since 1997, the level of internal funding has decreased substantially forcing organizations to compete with industry as well as other government agencies in an effort to capture scarce RDE funds from end users. This has resulted in dramatic cultural changes in the workplace. Mid and upper level managers of RDE enterprises adept at managing complex technical programs are being forced to function as business developers. Little in their experience has prepared them for this now critical responsibility.
OptiMetrics proposes to provide their government customer with experts in the development and execution of marketing plans for RDE programs. These strategic planning experts will improve the effectiveness of government agencies’ marketing and selling activities. This will result in more stable operating budgets, improved focus for technical efforts, and better morale across the organization. The strategic planning process as we practice it is both comprehensive and unique for each organization. While each strategic planning project is focused on customer specific issues, the process itself is essentially the same. The major steps involved include:
- Assessment of external and internal environmental factors
- Identification of organizational strengths and weaknesses
- Examination of necessary assumptions concerning future developments
- Identification of organizational goals and the formalization of a mission statement that captures the goals
- Selection of appropriate market strategies
- Establishment of realistic, achievable objectives that support the overall strategy
- Development of detailed action plans
- Identification of required resources to achieve the goals
- Monitoring and adjusting the process
Strategic Partnering Assistance
The same factors that are forcing the RDE community into a marketing posture are also affecting the traditional relationships between government and industry as well as the relationship between government organizations whose interests overlap. Traditional "arms-length" relationships with industry are giving way to partnering relationships requiring a much higher level of trust and openness than accustomed to by either side. Within the government, RDE activities are recognizing the need to team with other government agencies in order to pool scarce resources. The smooth transition to the appropriate business relationship will increase the overall effectiveness of the RDE organization, facilitate effective stewardship of funds and reduce cost and schedule risk for research and engineering projects. OptiMetrics proposes to provide the government with qualified and experienced staff who can assist the government in identifying key business relationships. The OptiMetrics' staff includes personnel with substantial government experience at the Branch and Division Chief level. Our staff includes individuals with executive level experience with industry as well. The establishment of an Integrated Project Team (IPT) can be an effective means of organizing and managing these efforts. As is the case with Industry-Government Teams, IPTs require sharing of information normally closely held and requires the members to be willing to accept programmatic decisions suboptimal to their best interests for the good of the project.
In support of the identification of Strategic Partnering Opportunities, OptiMetrics will:
- Identify organizational strengths and weaknesses
- Identify potential teaming partners
- Support negotiation of terms and conditions
- Generate Memoranda of Understanding, Teaming Agreements and IPT Charters
- Monitor the ongoing process
Organization Optimization for Research and Development Agencies
Traditional hierarchical organizational structures absorb substantial overhead dollars and are not effective in managing time-sensitive tasks with a well-defined end point or transition schedule. Alternative organizational structures utilizing empowered teams or matrix structures have the potential to more effectively utilize the scarce personnel resources available to the RDE community. The establishment of an optimal organizational structure increases productivity, reduces overhead costs and increases the feeling of empowerment of the effected work force. OptiMetrics proposes to provide the government with comprehensive Organizational Optimization Assessments that will assist the mid- and top-level government managers in identifying alternative structures to meet their evolving mission. The potential for successfully transitioning to a non-traditional organizational structure is highly dependant on the degree to which the management and technical staff of the effected organization "buys in" to the process. Our approach is based on the intimate involvement of the affected work force, producing a sense of ownership in the end product. OptiMetrics proposes to provide the following services:
- Analysis of Organization's Mission and existing control and reporting mechanisms
- Analytical assessment of organizational goals and objectives utilizing the Analytical Hierarchy Process, or other appropriate techniques
- The development of alternative organizational structures
- Support to the implementation process
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SIN 874-2 Facilitation Services
General
Traditional hierarchical organizations are frequently bypassed in favor of Integrated Teams, matrix organizations, or other task oriented work cells, all of which draw assets from across organizational boundaries. While in theory this is an effective way to manage scarce resources, it frequently results in friction between both workers and management of the organizations involved. Concerns over turf, credit and blame, and a natural resistance to change can sap the energy from task-organized work groups. An effective technique for mitigating these negative effects is the use of a highly skilled and experienced Facilitation Team.
The use of a trained and experienced facilitator to serve as an unbiased moderator during planning, problem resolution and potentially contentious in-progress technical reviews will help to remove organizational bias, provide a neutral mediator, and assist in "leveling the playing field" when organizations of disparate size or influence are required to team.
Specific Services Offered
OptiMetrics can provide our government customers with personnel trained and experienced in the facilitation of a broad range of working groups with missions ranging from technical assessments through resource allocation. We can support groups of as many as 150 persons from multiple agencies to small, executive level groups.
OptiMetrics recognizes that the role of an outside facilitator is a complex one. Facilitators must understand their role and possess the skills required to move the group toward their objective. We believe that rapport with the group members is critical to this task and our approach is to tailor the skills, level of experience ,and background of our facilitation team to the needs of the supported group. For example, to support the activities of a high level group responsible for the development of policy or top level resource commitments OptiMetrics might provide a former SES as lead facilitator. Where an IPT has been formed to resolve a technical or developmental hurdle, we would offer the services of a former Program Manager. We believe that this approach enhances effective communication between the support group and the supported team. The number of persons in the facilitation team is a function of the size and mission of the supported work group. In many instances a single facilitator will be adequate. In other cases, where verbatim records are required, where subgroups are formed or when substantial administrative tasks are foreseen, a tailored team will be assembled with the appropriate skills mix.
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SIN 874-7 Program Integration and Project Management Services
General
Program management is a complex and continuous process which involves, at a minimum, the disciplines of planning, monitoring, adjusting, directing, and reporting. The process becomes more involved as the size and complexity of the project increases. Management of research and development oriented programs almost always includes a requirement for choosing among alternative technologies or implementations and involves some degree of technical risk. OptiMetrics has an unblemished history of over 20 years’ experience in the management of research and development projects for our DoD customers. We typically employ a team approach to technical management efforts which matches the skill mix and experience to the task at hand. This team approach can be of particular value to our government customers when compared to providing program integration and project management from within their organization. Economies and efficiencies are realized by our ability to rapidly shift skilled and experienced people on to and off of the project as required.
Program Planning
Program management is a continuous process which begins well before the initiation of technical work. While clearly distinct from marketing and requirements development, program management functions support these activities by providing practical insights into the issues of cost, schedule, and asset requirements. Also, by involving the project management team early in the process of establishing a new program, the risk of misinterpreting the end customer’s needs is minimized. Frequently, in support of our customers, OptiMetrics has formed a PM team focused on pre-project planning and development. The team generates top level cost estimates, establishes meaningful milestones needed to assess progress, and identifies the human and other resources needed. Once a concept is ready to compete for funding, detailed realistic budgets must be generated to support the development of internal asset allocations or even the development of POM submissions. OptiMetrics has staff with the necessary experience and training to develop these important cost estimates quickly.
Program/Project Execution
OptiMetrics offers its customers essentially every asset of program integration and project management support. We are staffed to provide turn-key services but are frequently asked to provide expertise in specific areas to augment the capabilities of our customers. The more frequently requested services are described below:
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Work Breakdown Structure Development: Perhaps the most crucial element of project/program management is the development of a work breakdown structure (WBS) appropriate to the effort. The WBS serves as the principal management tool for assessing progress. OptiMetrics has staff trained and experienced in the art of reducing broad tasks and objectives into well defined, measurable tasks. A well derived WBS not only isolates tasks into achievable tasks, it also highlights dependencies. This facilitates the generation of Gantt and Pert Charts, indispensable in assessing cost and schedule risk. WBS development can be done in a number of environments to include MS Project and Allegro.
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Resource Scheduling: The use of matrix organizations, empowered teams and integrated product teams heightens the requirement for effective scheduling of resources. OptiMetrics is skilled in the use of computer based project management tools to generate integrated resource allocation schedules in a timely manner. The use of automated tools allows our project management team to react quickly to programmatic changes and to resolve asset utilization conflicts between projects.
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Risk assessment: In the research and development process, deviation from the program plan is inevitable. Technological advances (or setbacks) require the reassessment of courses of action. Changes in funding profiles or customer expectations may make the original objective unreachable or undesirable. OptiMetrics provides its customers with access to a highly trained and experienced operations research and analysis staff who can support program risk assessments. Through the conduct of trade-off analysis, technology assessments and course of action analysis, OptiMetrics can assess the impact of new or projected conditions on program progress.
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Reporting: Reporting is an important aspect of program management. OptiMetrics will support our customers through the generation of meaningful, timely program reports tailored to our customers needs. Reports can be delivered as formal written documents, In-Progress Review Briefs, or a combination of the two. Typically, OptiMetrics provides three distinct types of reports:
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Periodic Reports. Periodic Reports provide the recipient with the information needed to understand the program/project status. Information such as actual vs. projected cost, schedule variance, significant events and planned activities is included. The frequency of the Report is normally a function of the complexity and sensitivity of the project.
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Event Reports. Special reports are prepared to highlight specific events or occurrences. Critical design review, test reports, verification and validation reports, and accident of incident reports are examples of this category of report.
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After Action Reports. After Action Reports (also called Final Comprehensive Reports) serve several purposes. They serve as the archival record of the project or program and capture all significant actions throughout the project. OptiMetrics' After Action Reports also focus on lessons learned during the project and include recommendations with regard to future efforts.
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