DHS’ Dana Chisnell Pushes for Usability Testing to Improve Federal Customer Service
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DHS’ Dana Chisnell Pushes for Usability Testing to Improve Federal Customer Service

Usability testing of government websites, applications and products helped the Department of Homeland Security meet its goal of cutting 20 million work hours spent on paperwork in the past year, according to Dana Chisnell, executive director of customer experience at DHS.

Under her leadership, the agency launched a usability testing kit on its website in the hopes of encouraging other federal agencies adopt the approach and improve their customer service.

Usability testing involves observing actual users to evaluate the efficacy of apps, websites and other services, before their wider release to the public. Chisnell has been designing and implementing such tests in organizations she has worked with since the 1980s.

She took on her current role in 2022 and found the agency’s components to be in serious need of usability tests for their public services. She pointed out the importance of customer experience teams to get “as many stakeholders in the room” for cross-functional support and attention to usability tests in order to maximize its effectiveness.

“We talk about errors or mistakes, even if the participant corrects them. The point here, though, is not that they’re making the mistake. The point is that the design did not support them in their task or their knowledge. And so you want to track that,” Chisnell said.

On Jan. 25, the Potomac Officers Club will host the CX Imperative Forum to provide a venue for addressing challenges in government customer service. Join the event by registering here.

POC - The CX Imperative Forum
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Army Prepares for Rapid Fielding of Altius 700 Launched Effects Prototype
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Army Prepares for Rapid Fielding of Altius 700 Launched Effects Prototype

U.S. Army officials are exploring rapid deployment approaches for a “launched effects” prototype based around the Air-Launched, Tube-Integrated Unmanned System 700, or Altius 700, design by Area-I, an Anduril company, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

The service branch expects to make a rapid fielding decision in 2025 to finalize the deployment of such launched effect capabilities after years of working on a prototype.

The announcement comes after the Army launched a prototype based around Altius 700 from a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter that served as a “significant risk reduction event” for the air vehicle’s future test flights.

According to the Army, the recently concluded two-flight demonstration validated Altius 700’s launch, flight, landing and recovery capabilities.

The Army plans to conduct the first test flight of the fully integrated launched effects prototype in early 2024 and conclude the final operational demonstration in fiscal year 2024.

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GDIT Lands Air Force Distributed Common Ground System Support Contract Modification
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GDIT Lands Air Force Distributed Common Ground System Support Contract Modification

General Dynamics‘ information technology division has secured a $17.8 million contract modification to help the U.S. Air Force manage the Distributed Common Ground System network weapon system.

GDIT will support the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing in developing, maintaining and troubleshooting information technology systems that collect and analyze network and enterprise-level ISR data, the Department of Defense said Thursday.

The modification brings the original contract‘s total value to $233.6 million.

Work will primarily occur at Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Virginia, Beale Air Force Base in California and other Air Force bases within the U.S. and overseas.

The Air Force’s Acquisition Management and Integration Center will fund the award using the service branch’s fiscal 2024 operation and maintenance budget.

DCGS connects multiple intelligence platforms and sensors to support the processing, exploitation analysis and dissemination of ISR data across the Air Force.

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Christopher Cleary Returns to Industry in VP Role at ManTech
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Christopher Cleary Returns to Industry in VP Role at ManTech

Christopher Cleary, who has garnered deep experience in the public and private sectors and the military, has been appointed vice president of the global cyber practice at ManTech.

Following an over four-year stint in the Department of the Navy as chief information security officer and principal cyber advisor, successively, he is now positioned to oversee and execute the technical strategy at ManTech in order to augment and strengthen its cyber innovation and capabilities wing, the Herndon, Virginia-based company told ExecutiveGov on Wednesday.

Cleary continues an established tradition of U.S. Navy veterans at ManTech. His blend of defense and intelligence knowledge and technical and business bona fides is seen as a considerable asset for the organization.

At large-scale operations like Leidos, Verizon and Sparta (now a part of Parsons), Cleary reportedly help achieve revenue growth and significant technological developments. Meanwhile, on the government side, he has administered cyber initiatives for not only the Navy, but also U.S. Cyber Command, the intelligence community and other federal branches.

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GSA Releases Memo on Verifying Company’s Status as Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
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GSA Releases Memo on Verifying Company’s Status as Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business

The General Services Administration has issued a memorandum requiring GSA contracting officers to verify whether a company is eligible for consideration for a set-aside or sole-source award under the Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business program.

Starting in 2024, GSA contracting officers should confirm that an entity is certified by the Small Business Administration as an SDVOSB within SBA’s Veteran Small Business Certification system or that a company represented its status as an SDVOSB in SAM.gov and submitted to SBA a complete application for SDVOSB certification on or before the end of December 2023, according to the Dec. 22 memo.

“SDVOSBs that are not certified by SBA, and do not have a pending complete application for certification with SBA on or before December 31, 2023, are not eligible to receive SDVOSB set-asides or sole-source awards under the SDVOSB Program,” the document reads.

The memo was signed and issued by Jeffrey Koses, senior procurement executive at GSA’s Office of Acquisition Policy.

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New National Science Foundation Program Seeks to Support Researchers in Designing Integrated Circuits
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New National Science Foundation Program Seeks to Support Researchers in Designing Integrated Circuits

The National Science Foundation is calling for proposals for the Enabling Access to the Semiconductor Chip Ecosystem for Design, Fabrication and Training program, which seeks to establish infrastructure that would support the entire process of designing integrated micro/nano-electronic circuits, or ICs. The tools are seen as a key element of U.S. national security and an enabler of various emerging technologies like artificial intelligence.

The Chips Design Hub program is open to institutions of higher education and non-profit, non-academic organizations and envisions infrastructure that would, among other things, provide students and academic researchers with various tools, design kits and educational materials that would facilitate IC design, according to the solicitation posted by the NSF.

The solicitation is expected to result in two cooperative agreement awards to be issued within fiscal year 2024. Each award will be worth up to $8 million and have a performance period of up to five years, depending on the scope of the proposal.

Interested parties have until April 4 to submit proposals.

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NASA Advances Work on Earth System Observatory Missions; Karen St. Germain Quoted
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NASA Advances Work on Earth System Observatory Missions; Karen St. Germain Quoted

NASA is moving forward with its work on a series of Earth System Observatory missions meant to carry out the five designated observables cited in the 2018 Earth science decadal survey. The activity is occurring amid the budget uncertainty the agency faces under a continuing resolution, SpaceNews reported Sunday.

The Atmosphere Observing System-Storm, AOS-Sky, Surface Biology and Geology and Mass Change, which is now called GRACE-Continuity, or GRACE-C, are the four Earth System Observatory missions that are in the development phase and are valued at approximately $3.5 billion.

Surface Deformation and Change is the fifth mission and is under the extended study phase.

Karen St. Germain, director of the Earth science division at NASA Headquarters, said the missions seek to answer a wide variety of Earth science-related queries and “to integrate observations, science and applications for societal benefit.”

For fiscal year 2024, NASA sought $287 million in funding for Earth System Observatory missions, which are expected to launch between the late 2020s and early 2030s, according to the report.

“We are counting on an increase to cover that development,” Germain said of the budget for the missions.

According to the NASA executive, several international partners will support the effort by providing spacecraft and other instruments worth $1.2 billion.

POC - 2024 Space Summit

Hear government leaders, space experts and industry executives discuss the latest space technologies, commercial investments and urgent issues facing the space domain at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Space Summit on March 5. Register here.

DOT Establishes Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee; Pete Buttigieg Quoted
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DOT Establishes Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee; Pete Buttigieg Quoted

The Department of Transportation has established a new advisory committee tasked with providing insights and recommendations — as well as approaches to improve — transportation innovation to the department’s leadership.

The Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee, also known as TTAC, will hold its first meeting on Jan. 18 to discuss matters related to pathways to safe and secure deployments of emerging transportation technologies, DOT said Friday.

TTAC will also explore approaches to promote greater cross-modal integration of emerging technologies, new frameworks to encourage the secure exchange of transformative transportation data, methods to identify cybersecurity and privacy tools to protect transportation systems and policies to grow and support the U.S. workforce.

Members of the new advisory committee include experts from government, industry, academia and labor unions and will serve two-year terms with the possibility of reappointment.

“The deep expertise and diverse perspectives of this impressive group will provide advice to ensure the future of transportation is safe, efficient, sustainable, equitable, and transformative,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

Ted Kaouk, John Coughlan Take on Leadership Roles at CFTC Division of Data
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Ted Kaouk, John Coughlan Take on Leadership Roles at CFTC Division of Data

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has expanded the leadership team of its Division of Data, or DOD, with the appointment of Ted Kaouk as chief data officer and director of DOD and John Coughlan as chief data scientist.

CFTC said Kaouk will oversee the DOD’s data integration efforts and facilitate collaboration among offices and divisions to help the CFTC leadership make informed policy decisions.

He was chief data officer at the Office of Personnel Management and oversaw the development of OPM’s inaugural human capital data strategy.

Kaouk also held the same position at the Department of Agriculture and served as the first chair of the Federal Chief Data Officers Council.

Meanwhile, Coughlan has held data science and analytical roles at CFTC for eight years. Before joining the DOD, he was a market analyst within the Division of Market Oversight’s Market Intelligence Branch.

In his new role, Coughlan will help advance the DOD’s data science capabilities and drive the adoption of artificial intelligence-powered tools across the agency.

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FinCEN Begins Accepting Beneficial Ownership Information Reports
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FinCEN Begins Accepting Beneficial Ownership Information Reports

The Department of the Treasury’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, also known as FinCEN, has started accepting reports on beneficial ownership information, or BOI, as part of efforts to address illicit finance.

Existing companies have until Jan. 1, 2025, to file their initial reports and newly registered or created businesses have 90 days to file following receipt of public notice of registration or creation, the Treasury said Monday.

Reporting companies should provide information on their beneficial owners, including the name, date of birth, address and the identifying number and issuer from a non-expired U.S. passport or driver’s license.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said the launch of the country’s beneficial ownership registry is a key step in protecting U.S. economic and national security.

“Having a centralized database of beneficial ownership information will eliminate critical vulnerabilities in our financial system and allow us to tackle the scourge of illicit finance enabled by opaque corporate structures,” Yellen added.

In December, FinCEN released a final rule on BOI access and safeguards in accordance with the provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act.

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