Good News – OPTIMIS – Q3
As Lt Col Helgeson stated above, we’ve had multiple wins the last quarter. OPTIMIS is but one example and shows what we love to do: take a previously unaddressed end-user need, develop a prototype, and transition it to maturity and full sustainment.
In March 2018, the 21st Airlift Squadron (AS), Travis Air Force Base, California, reached out for help updating their home-grown pilot training and evaluation system, OPTIMIS. The unit built their database in MS Access years before and the developer had long since departed, leaving an unsupported system. Add to that their desire for more functionality and compatibility with the GTIMS system, and they were ready for some help.
Between November 2018 and November 2019, Academy cadets answered the call for help, using the real-world improvement project for a capstone course. As they worked on the improved app, they developed their skills in teamwork, user design fundamentals, and project management. By the final presentations, the cadets had created a mid-quality prototype that had already gone through the first phase of user testing at Travis AFB. Their time had come to graduate, however, so AF CyberWorx took the project and continued to code for transition.
AF CyberWorx carried OPTIMIS through more user testing, further refined the design, and found other programs following similar objectives. Kessel Run was already working on other mission planning and support applications, so we worked to transition a refined prototype to be included in their suite of matured applications. Recently, our attempts bore fruit as OPTIMIS transitioned for out-year sustainment. That’s our favorite part of a “win”: seeing the needs of end users being addressed as a solution moves from an idea through prototyping and testing to sustainment and implementation. Here’s to many more wins in the future.
