Contractors automate to manage DEIS II

Faced with managing mammoth teams and multiple task orders, Defense Enterprise Integration Services II contractors are taking a dose of their own medicine.

Many of the contractors working on the $3 billion Defense Information Systems Agency program have developed systems to help manage task orders, coordinate teammates and assign personnel. The size of DEIS II bidding teams - 32 to 48 members - and the expected task order volume make automation a must, according industry executives. DEIS II prime contractors are BDM Federal Inc., Boeing Information Services, Computer Sciences Corp., Electronic Data Systems Corp., Lockheed Martin Corp. and Unisys Federal Systems.

Unisys has built a Business Operations Support System (BOSS) that integrates functions such as delivery orders and personnel and program management in a single, relational database system. The system will help the company get a handle on its 39 team members, hundreds of employees and task order business.

"The nature of [indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity] contracts really drives something like this," said C. Ray Davis, program director for DEIS at Unisys.

Unisys developed and used portions of BOSS on the original DEIS but did not come out with an integrated system until last November. It continues to use BOSS on the soon-to-expire DEIS pact and is ready to apply it to DEIS II. The system also will be used on the company's Information Technology Omnibus Procurement with the Transportation Department, Davis said.

Unysis Looks to BOSS

BOSS reports task order revenue for Unisys and its team members on a cumulative basis or by month. It also tracks delivery orders, providing information on the functional and technical areas involved, applicable standards and individuals assigned to the task.

Unisys' team members are able to access BOSS through a World Wide Web interface.

Boeing Information Services has created a task order tracking system built around commercial off-the-shelf products, according to Melvin Scott, Boeing's DEIS II program manager. The system includes a database built upon Microsoft Corp.'s Access product. The system also makes use of Microsoft's Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint presentations graphics package and Word. Lotus Development Corp.'s 1-2-3 spreadsheet application is also part of the solution.

Boeing, CSC Also on Web

The Boeing task order tool was used during DEIS and continues to be enhanced. For DEIS II, Boeing plans to let teammates and customers track delivery order status via the Web. Scott said he expects that service to be offered in about a month.

CSC, meanwhile, also will use the Web to reach teammates and customers on DEIS II, according to Marco DeVito, CSC deputy program manager on DEIS II. Customers and subcontractors will be able to track task order status via CSC's Web page.

Lockheed Martin, meanwhile, has developed a Contract Task Management System that supports "the management of tasks over the entire life cycle - from proposal...through close out," said Fred Lyssy, a vice president at Lockheed Martin Services Group.