Hanscom program office eases acquisition reporting the ‘SMART’ way

  • Published
  • By Maj. James Myers
  • Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition
HANSCOM AFB, Mass. --  On Oct. 22, the Electronic Systems Center will release Spiral 10 of its System Metric and Reporting Tool, better known as SMART. 

Since 2002, the Air Force acquisition community has been using SMART to produce Monthly Acquisition Reports for the Secretary of the Air Force. The tool allows senior leaders to gain insight into program status, to track trends in earned value, and to predict future program health. SMART adheres to guidelines established by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, creating a consistent and standard method of reporting program position. 

Spiral 10 is a complete redesign developed on a new technology base, said Capt. Gabe Massine, the program manager for SMART. 

SMART customer service representatives briefed the new version to acquisition managers at each of the major product centers, and the new feature set was well received by the existing user base, according to Captain Massine. 

"The feedback we received indicates Spiral 10 will meet user's expectations," he said.
Spiral 10 has the look and feel of a familiar web application. The new user interface features workspaces that users can individually customize, as well as improved navigation, sophisticated filtering and the introduction of wizards, utilities that guide users through multi-step tasks. 

In addition to user interface improvements, Spiral 10 incorporates industry standard Web services for data integration between multiple reporting and management applications. 

According to Terry Balven, the Chief Information Officer for the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, the Air Force must establish an "integrated business environment supported by well-developed set of tools [that provide] multi-level access to data and knowledge ... and reduce the burden of reporting." 

Spiral 10 is a first enabler to allow transparent data flows between Air Force and Department of Defense systems, including the Comprehensive Cost and Requirements System and the Defense Acquisition Management Information Retrieval system, an OSD-level tool for consolidating and reporting information on major acquisition programs. 

In addition, SMART's ability to share data with other important DoD applications, SMART also provides the ability to export to Microsoft PowerPoint and Microsoft Excel. 

"Spiral 10 is the first step in reducing the reporting burden on our acquisition professionals by reusing data in multiple reporting requirements," said Captain Massine. 

The SMART Program Management Office will provide professional on-site classroom training to support Spiral 10, offering both basic and advanced classes. 

"The classroom setting is ideal for users to be able to ask detailed questions about capabilities of the new spiral," said Captain Massine. 

For more information, please call the SMART Common Line at (781) 377-0640.