IT Special Projects

In addition to day-to-day operations, IT takes on unique projects. These major projects are currently going on within the division:


PC Lifecycle Replacement 2009

The PC Lifecycle Replacement contract is now complete and has been awarded to Dell Corporation. The machine types available under this new contract are desktop (Optiplex 760), standard use laptop (Latitude 6500) and light weight laptop (Latitude 4200). We will use the new contract to purchase 7,000 systems for delivery in three phases during CY09. We have placed our Phase One order and the installation should be will be completed by August 26, 2009. In coordination with District CSL's, ET's, and schools, we have completed a comprehensive PC replacement plan that includes room locations and software required for installation.


Bandwidth Upgrades

The IT Division has been working on a major project to bring additional bandwidth as well as faster network and Internet performance to all Campus locations within DoDDS Europe. When completed our students and educators should experience overall improvement in application and web site performance.

The DoDDS Europe Enterprise Network includes over eighty sites located in the Azores (Portugal), Bahrain, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Finding a provider to install and service reliable telecommunications in all locations is a time consuming and complex process. The IT Division has partnered with DITCO Europe and has decided to use the GSA Networx telecommunications contract to provide Internet services.

The Networx contract is a brand new vehicle for acquiring these services beginning in FY 2009, and DoDDS will be the first agency in Europe to take advantage of these services. We have completed the Statement of Work as well as the Request for Proposals from the European vendors. We believe that an award will be offered at the end of July 2009. We anticipate upgrading each circuit prior to the start of school year 2009/2010.

Our goal is to provide bandwidth and performance upgrades to each campus in time for the start of the new school year. More details and updates will be provided as the project progresses.


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School Improvement Application Initiative

During the summer of 2008 the IT Division consolidated all school Intranet web sites onto a single server at Mainz-Kastel. One benefit is that we are able to observe the many similar applications being used by schools and identify those with wide applicability that can be institutionalized for use throughout DoDDS-E and/or DoDEA. During this review we also received requests from schools asking us to develop new applications. Recently we reviewed requirements for a School Improvement Program (SIP) data collection application.

The SIP data collection proposal is to expand the availability and functionality of a web application initially created at SHAPE HS into a DoDDS-E wide web application that enables teachers to input local assessment data related to their AdvancED Accreditation Process. The goal of the new SIP application would be to save schools hours of manpower by automating a manual and sometimes confusing process for storing and reviewing assessment data.

The new SIP data collection application will provide the capability to track student achievement over a plethora of assessments. Principals, teachers, superintendents, and support staff could follow individual student achievement data on a broader scale than what is currently available. The application is aligned with DoDEA's Community Strategic Plan of data informed decision-making for highest student achievement.

We are currently gathering preliminary requirements and performing a current system study in preparation of forming a SIP Focus Group. The SIP Focus Group will meet at the beginning of SY09/10 and will drive the vision and scope of the application.


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Travel Request Information Portal (TRIP)

The Travel Request Information Portal (TRIP) is being developed by the IT Division at the request of the RM Division. TRIP is a web application designed to track and manage organized individual and group travel order requests for DODDS-Europe. TRIP is being designed to replace the current manual process which requires Educators use email to communicate their travel needs to Defense Travel Associate (DTA) who then interact with the Defense Travel System (DTS) on behalf of the educators. The current process is very labor intensive, inconsistent in communication and tracking which provides a number of ways for information to fall through the cracks. After the event is complete, the current system does not have a follow up process to help educators get reimbursed for their travel expenses requiring more calls and email messages.

This system will include the following:

Event Oversight:
The ability to create an event for which travel is required by an event coordinator. Specific event data will be entered, including a list of educators and probable mode of transportation. Events and participants will be submitted to the approving official for review. The event coordinator will be able to validate participant travel order requests and forward these to a designated travel agent. The event coordinator and approving official will be allowed to track and manage information related to the events and travel order requests throughout the process.
Travel Agent Coordination:
The travel coordinator will use the portal to viw which travel order requests have been processed and which remain to be worked on. Once information has been put into the DTS system, TRIP is updated to indicate completion so that it can inform all parties the work has been complete.
Educator Use:
After an event has been approved and the educator has been notified, the educator will be able to access the system to enter their travel preferences for the event and forward the request for validation and execution. After the educator returns from the event, a travel voucher can be submitted to the website and if issues arise related to the travel voucher an inquiry can be submitted to help them resolve any issues.
Additional Highlights:
TRIP includes automated emails generated at specific stages of the process to notify owners that a task is ready for them to complete. A simple workflow dashboard has been incorporated to make it easy for users to determine what work they need to perform without complex lookups. All history is displayed on any event or participant so that all users will quickly understand what the current status and owner of any item is. A flexible organizational system has been designed into TRIP to allow a number of groups to operate independently within the same system to allow differing requirements with approving officials and travel coordinators.

The goal is to have the system tested and users trained for full implementation starting CY10.
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