INDUSTRY INTERVIEW: SI International

Janet Cichelli,
Chief Technologist,
Learning, SI International

Q: Who is SI International and what is its primary focus?

A: SI International is a customer focused professional services company, delivering critical information technology and network services that enhance mission capabilities for the federal government. We define, design, develop, deploy, train, operate and maintain solutions for civilian and defense agencies, and the intelligence community. Using our Rapid Response • Rapid Deployment process, our 4,300 employees are able to respond to urgent IT imperatives quickly and within budget, often in a matter of months. Our largest clients include Air Force, Department of Homeland Security, Department of State, Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, and defense intelligence agencies.

Q: What services are you specifically targeting to the military user?

A: SI International’s Learning Solutions practice develops and designs advanced training and performance support solutions that enhance clients’ abilities to accomplish missions, adapt to change, and enrich their human capital. Solutions encompass: workforce analyses and studies, learning infrastructure consulting, curriculum design and development, standards-based eLearning, human and job performance solutions, LMS/LCMS implementation support, training transformation, and human capital management.

Q: What is SI International’s background, when it comes to providing services for military training?

A:

• DoD’s National Security Personnel System: comprehensive change management and training rollout;

• U.S. Army’s Defense Ammunition Center: customized learning and knowledge management solutions to support Web-based training initiatives;

• U.S. Navy Center for Surface Combat Systems: next-generation electronic performance support system;

• Naval Undersea Warfare Center—aviation maintenance learning management and training jacket system;

• Defense Nuclear Weapons School— SCORM courseware;

• Defense Acquisition University—LMS advisement and implementation;

• U.S. Marine Corps—job-task analyses and blended courseware;

• Joint Staff—enterprise knowledge management;

• A DoD intelligence agency—program and acquisition management instructorled training;

• U.S. Coast Guard—performance analyses.

Q: Could you discuss the learning work that SI International does as well as your role as head of the Human Performance (HP) committee for I/ITSEC?

A: Training alone is rarely sufficient to provide military personnel the knowledge and skills they need. Instead, our work supports the entire learning and job performance continuum. We focus on prioritizing critical job tasks, determining which tasks are best trained and which are best learned by doing, and we recommend blended learning environments to address performance deficiencies, optimize “day one” performance, and promote continuous learning.

SI International’s emphasis on human performance scaffolding (providing novice employees with less formal training, and continued development of new knowledge and skills as they become more engaged) includes the design of automated systems, embedding contextual learning and support resources within the workflow, integrating knowledge sharing capabilities, and providing performance feedback loops.

Being recognized for my work in human performance consulting and design, nextgeneration EPSS, performance scaffolding, and content management and standards, the IITSEC Executive Committee asked me to develop recommendations to accommodate the military’s increasing emphasis on operational and research programs related to human performance. We rechartered the former Human Systems Integration (HSI) Subcommittee as the Human Performance (HP) Subcommittee. I currently serve as the Chairperson of the Human Performance Subcommittee for the IITSEC 2006 Conference.

Q: What were you asked to accomplish in setting up the new committee this year and why is it important?

A: The new committee charter was defined to address the growth and increased emphasis on HP within the military services and joint community, and to better distribute abstracts and papers across the six I/ITSEC subcommittees. Additionally, we addressed a broader range of human performance theories, methods and performance-aiding technologies, and acted as a primary liaison to the military training community to communicate the change.

This intentional focus on HP is significant in that it not only addresses the role of the human as a component of the system, but it fully recognizes that mission performance is achieved through human performance. Additionally, it recognizes the value of training, but as only one means to enable performance. The HP Subcommittee is sponsoring a special event for IITSEC—“Human Performance in an Unmanned World”—that addresses the unique challenges of human performance in the future as unmanned vehicles become a force multiplier in all military operations. ♦

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