INDUSTRY INTERVIEW: iLuMinA Solutions
MIT 2009 Volume: 13 Issue: 11 (December)
Carolyn Sprague
Acquisition Program Manager
iLuMinA Solutions
A: I am proud to say I worked for the federal government for more than 42 years, most of which was supporting the Army at Fort Belvoir, Va., in the Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems [PEO EIS] and its predecessor organizations. I served in several leadership positions, including resource manager and deputy project manager for PM Tactical Management Information Systems [TACMIS], and as director of business management, Y2K project officer and director of acquisition on the PEO EIS headquarters staff. Those positions required extensive knowledge and experience in implementing complex business, strategic and tactical IT solutions, as well as program and acquisition management expertise.
In PEO EIS, I managed a multitude of programs that crossed multiple Army mission areas and domains, including logistics, human capital management, financial management, acquisition, enterprise information environment, and installations and environment. Those systems spanned the spectrum from custom development to the implementation of enterprise resource planning [ERP] systems across the Army and the Department of Defense. I retired from civil service in June 2007 and accepted a job with iLuMinA Solutions as their acquisition program manager.
Q: Why did you decide to continue working after civil service retirement?
A: After a life-long career supporting the Army, I knew I wanted to continue to contribute in some way. I was looking for a small company to join that would allow me to continue to do the work I loved and provide a positive impact to the soldier. I knew that a company like iLuMinA Solutions was where I belonged because of their reputation for delivering results to their clients. iLuMinA Solutions is a small, minority, woman-owned firm that focuses on serving the comprehensive needs of businesses in the full range of the software development cycle. iLuMinA Solutions’ specialty is in modernizing business processes and standardizing operations through supporting the preparation and execution of ERP projects, including the required functional and technical areas.
Q: What services do you provide as acquisition program manager for iLuMinA Solutions?
A: I provide the full range of program management, acquisition management and cost/budgetary support, consultation and guidance to the clients. I also provide interpretation of and guidance on acquisition policy and regulations issued by PEO EIS, Army and DoD. Since joining iLuMinA Solutions, I have provided support to the program manager, Single Army Logistics Enterprise; the project manager, Logistics Modernization Program [LMP]; and the project manager, Army Enterprise Systems Integration Program under PEO EIS. I currently support LMP, which is headquartered in Fort Monmouth, N.J.
Q: How has the DoD acquisition system changed since you retired?
A: There are changes reflected in the updated DoD Instruction 5000.02, which was published in December 2008. For the most part though, it incorporates new policies/ statutes directed by Congress and new or revised regulatory policy that has been issued since the old regulation was issued in 2003.
The DoD instruction has grown to 79 pages. The acquisition framework still has five phases and six decision points, some with name changes, but the milestone documentation requirements have grown from 30-plus documents to more than 40 documents. My personal feeling is that the process remains cumbersome and complex, and requires dedicated resources of time, people and dollars to get programs through the maze of meetings, requirements, documentation and milestone decision reviews, not to mention the various acquisition reporting requirements.
Q: What do you think are some of the biggest problems DoD faces in the near term?
A: There are many, but one of the biggest is knowledge transfer based on the loss of so many government civilian professionals who are nearing retirement.
Government civilians provide the continuity that is essential to continuance of the DoD mission. I think DoD has done a good job of growing its younger workforce and mentoring them over the last few years, but I do not think there are nearly enough younger workers able to step in and fulfill the mission that the civilian workforce has accomplished over the last 50 years. I believe it will take several more years, and that retired civilians working as support contractors will have to continue to complete that knowledge transfer in order to maintain the high level of competence in DoD.
Another problem being addressed by DoD is redundant and inefficient business processes and antiquated IT systems. The department has been working through ERP programs to address some of these issues. They have been working hard to streamline business processes and modernize the IT systems used to execute those business processes.
iLuMinA Solutions has been an integral part of DoD ERP programs, contributing significantly to multiple successful “go live” events. This is an area that will need to continue in order to bring DoD efficient and effective business processes and associated technology solutions. ♦
