Case Studies
5 PROJECT SPOTLIGHTS
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
IRS ACA Rational Tools
VIRE Consulting currently performs Rational Tool Support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The ACA program at the IRS is of unparalleled significance; VIRE supports this Executive and Legislative directive which affects not only every United States Taxpayer, but every United States Citizen.
Analysis, design, development, testing, deployment, implementation and troubleshooting for both the Legacy tools and the new Jazz Platform tools; this includes support for the ACA Program and across the IRS Application Development (AD) Enterprise
Develop infrastructure requirements, Level of Effort (LOE) for new tool deployments and process standards for Rational Tool usage and implementation; optimizing tool functionality while meeting the needs of IRS Rational stakeholders and end-users
Develop and execute a Change Management Plan for a full migration to the new Rational Jazz Platform
Provide thought leadership to ACA projects for Rational Tool integration, tool functionality and best practices for usage.
VIRE ARTS SMEs and ARTS PM regularly develop and lead workshops, open houses and other Training focused outreach sessions for the IRS Rational Tool user community.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
IRS ACA IS&R
VIRE Consulting currently performs Business Analysis and Testing Support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). VIRE Analysts and Testers develop and design reports which enable IRS Executives to report accurate updates to the highest levels of Congress and the White House.
Analysis, design, development, and Testing of Business Objects Reports
Work with ACA Front Line Managers to analyze and define Business, Functional and Technical Requirements.
Develop Requirements Traceability Matrices (RTMs) for ACA Executives
Provide Impact Analysis, Change Management and Risk Mitigation planning for ACA Front Line Managers
Develop Use Cases and User Stories to help ensure developers can continuously develop, maintain and optimize the Transaction Processing System (TPS) is functional and processing transactions within established times based on the IRS Service Level Agreement (SLA) with Health and Human Services (HHS).
Perform Regression Testing and Integration Testing to ensure any/all changes to the system do not impact performance.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
IRS ACA Architecture
VIRE Consulting currently performs Architecture and Engineering Support for the Affordable Care Act (ACA) Division of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). VIRE Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) work directly with IRS Enterprise Architecture and Solutions Engineering Programs to analyze potential technical solutions, develop Proof of Concepts (POCs) for potential new technology implementation, and other support as needed.
Architecture and Engineering for numerous functional areas including Security, Database Engineering, Data Analytics, Systems Architecture and Cloud Computing.
Work with ACA Lead Engineers in the Solutions Engineering (SE) and Enterprise Architecture (EA) groups to develop and plan for new technology implementations across numerous functional areas.
Provide Infrastructure Engineering Expertise, SiteMinder Security Support, Oracle Database Engineering Support, Data Analytics Expertise for Criminal Investigations, and Systems Architecture Support for Technology Proof of Concept Validation.
Work directly with the IRS Director of Enterprise Architecture and his advisors to Analyze and Validate proposed technical solutions across IRS and ACA.
Work with Business Owners to validate and ensure Business needs are being met by proposed technical solutions and new technology implementations.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Department of Labor
VIRE Consulting currently supports the Dept. of Labor, Wage and Hour Division by providing modernization support services. VIRE has been tasked with providing services for Business Process Re-engineering (BPR), IT Strategy and Acquisition Support to assist with WHD modernization efforts. The VIRE Team advises WHD leadership for the strategic advancement of mission-critical business processes and Information Technology (IT) planning initiatives.
Assist WHD with Program Management Support to properly plan for IT modernization tasks, decisions and activities.
Aid in identifying inefficient and/or outdated processes that require re-engineering
Document current and re-engineered business and IT processes which impact modernization
Assist WHD in creating a complete procurement document set for submission to DOL’s Office of Procurement Services (OPS)
Support development/refinement of official DOL documents including, OMB E-300 Reports, Acquisition Plans, IT Roadmap, Public Outreach Documentation and WHD Policy Guidelines.
Additional Support includes, but is not limited to:
Program Management Support and Strategy for WHD enforcement and prevailing wage functions
Business Process Evaluation, Development, Re-engineering and Documentation
Acquisition Project Management Support, Analysis, Strategy, Market Research and Requirements Development
Gap Analysis, Cost/Schedule Estimation, Risk Identification/Mitigation, Governance Model Development
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
Export-Import Bank of the US (EXIM)
VIRE Consulting provides IT Support to EXIM in numerous areas, for both short and long term tasks/projects. VIRE was initially tasked with providing urgent IT infrastructure operations support during a sudden lapse in contractor support. As a result of the outstanding performance displayed during this ad-hoc support project, VIRE’s Desktop Support Team was extended for a long-term engagement and VIRE was also awarded a multi-year contract. EXIM continues to utilize VIRE for mission-critical support.
Provided a 5 person Desktop Support team of cleared personnel:
Team phased in only 2 days after EXIM contacted VIRE via client referral with this urgent request
Resolved over 150 backlog tickets in first 2 days
Team extended for a long-term engagement as a result of outstanding performance
Provide Server Engineering Support in a large, virtualized server environment
Provide Network Security and Engineering Support
Provide SharePoint Development to migrate from EXIM’s legacy document management system to SharePoint 2013/Office 365
VIRE routinely interfaces with the Information Technology Director and the Chief Information Officer (CIO) to develop technical requirements and LOE for current/future projects. VIRE’s scope of support will continue to expand and evolve throughout the contract life-cycle of this multi-year BPA.
MORE CASE STUDIES
Army National Guard (ARNG): Enterprise Operations and Security Support Overview of Performance (subcontract)
Task
Provide acquisition support to the Army National Guard.
Business Problem
VIRE Consulting is supporting a major acquisition for the Army National Guard (ARNG) which requires expert staff with Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) standards for Contracting II and III levels.
Solution
VIRE Consulting provides the subject matter expertise needed to ensure acquisition strategies, plans, documentation, and processes are fully compliant with the Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) and the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS); Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (AFARS); and the National Guard Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (NGFARS) as needed.
Key Benefits
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
SharePoint 2010 Design and Development
Task
Provide full lifecycle Design and Development support for transitioning/upgrading legacy web content management (WCM) and document management system to a new, custom SharePoint Server 2010 system.
Business Problem
The CIA needed a more collaborative, easily accessible system for document and web content management. The solution needed to have the security of their internal servers, with the accessibility and collaborative features of a COTS WCM system.
Solution
VIRE Consulting provides the subject matter expertise needed to develop a custom SharePoint 2010 document management and WCM system. Our SME brought private sector knowledge of developing COTS SharePoint Solutions, and applied them to this secure environment. The work included (but is not limited to) hands on development in C#, ASP.Net, HTML, CSS, Java and JavaScript configuring Collaboration Portals, Service Applications, Team Sites, Custom Web Parts and Web Services. VIRE Consultants were involved in all stages of the SDLC, from requirements gathering, through development, into deployment and final testing of the system.
Key Benefits
DC Government, Department of Human Services (DHS) - Urban Area Security Initiative
Task
Install a Data Warehouse Disaster Recovery Solution for the Department of Human Services
Business Problem
DHS needed a highly available file virtualization storage solution to warehouse its historical data to meet HIPPA and other health requirements. DHS also wanted a solution that was designed using the latest in disaster recovery technologies.
Solution
VIRE Consulting Enterprise Business Continuity Solutions ensure that your applications and data are available during planned and unplanned outages. VIRE Consulting designed and implemented a file virtualization, data warehousing and disaster recovery solution using EMC Clarion Storage Attached Network solutions and Recover point appliances. VIRE Consulting implemented this multi-site solution with redundant VMware servers. The VMware servers were installed to allow DHS to consolidate many of their older servers and create additional file storage with the attached SANs. The solution also utilized file replication appliances and provided an offsite disaster recovery VMware server with mirrored NAS (Network Attached Storage).
Key Benefits
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) - Enterprise Application Development
Enterprise Application Development
VIRE Consulting helps the FAA support one of their application systems known as the Certificate Management Information System (CMIS). The CMIS automated the procedures by which the FAA inspected and certified aircraft and aircraft part manufacturers. This program ensures that manufacturers conform to national aircraft safety standards.
VIRE Consulting helped provide the full life cycle support from Program Management Support, Design and development all the way through implementation, operation and maintenance of the system. VIRE Consulting supports this high profile project ensuring operational safety in the aircraft logistics environment. VIRE’s program management team oversees the successful implementation of business rules and implementation described by the following:
Design and implementation of Web Application for FAA involving SOA and ASP.Net, Lotus Domino front end with Microsoft SQL Server backend and integration with Apache Tomcat
ASP.Net Infrastructure, planning, analysis, and architecture
Integration of DB2 with Domino using Lotus Script, Java, JDBC, LC-LSX, SQL
Integration of ASP.Net, Domino with Business Objects XI R2 as well as Crystal Enterprise
Tested, Documented and Debugged the legacy system and followed the procedures to move the legacy system to the new environment
Architected and developed business rules from Notes/Domino ASP.Net to the new SOA Java based model
Key Benefits
Department of Homeland Security – Wireless Accelerated Responder Network (WARN)
Enterprise Application Development
The Wireless Accelerated Responder Network (WARN) was the nation’s first city-wide broadband wireless public safety network. This pilot network was unveiled in September 2004 and was first operationally used in January 2005 for the Presidential Inauguration and then for the State of the Union. WARN consists of 12 radio sites and 200 network devices (i.e. PC cards) that facilitate wireless interconnection of Local and Federal public safety mobile devices throughout the District of Columbia. In addition, users of the network can access applications that previously were only accessible from the desktop computers.
u000bWARN was a pilot network run on an experimental license in the 700 MHz band provided by the FCC. The District anticipated that use of this network, in concert with the activities of the Spectrum Coalition for Public Safety, would help persuade Congress to allocate the funding necessary for the deployment of broadband public safety networks by state, county and local governments. In the interim, we solicited feedback from our first responder WARN users to demonstrate the network’s capabilities to the public safety community.
Network Attributes
Full mobility (communications sustained while device mobile throughout the city)
Scalability (Frequency reuse of 1 allows for “plug-and-play” site for capacity increase)
Dedicated Public Safety network – no contention with cellular or commercial users.
All IP network; features include full quality of service (QOS) capabilities, and static IP addresses
VIRE Consulting helped support the WARN initiative by supplying Technical Support Engineers who prepared hardware for the WARN infrastructure to be deployed. The Engineers were also responsible for installation and management of application software and support for RF testing including pre-testing of demonstration venues and support of drive testing on the network as required. Our Engineers use a Remedy trouble ticket system to respond to and fulfill requests for service as they arise.
Office of the Chief Technology Officer – PMO Support and Systems Solutions – VIRE Consulting Prime Contract, Ongoing
The District of Columbia's Office of the Chief Technology Officer (OCTO) is responsible for providing technical support, phone support, email, and in-person consultation to a host of District agencies, including but not limited to, the Office of the Mayor, Office of Contracts and Procurement, and Department of Health. The Office relies on VIRE Consulting Program Management personnel to effectively guide and drive this enterprise initiative. The VIRE Consulting System Integration Support and Program Management Team provides guidance and solutions for a multitude of challenges that the DC Government faces every day, while implementing strategic initiatives and policy recommendations to prevent problem recurrence.
VIRE Consulting Program Managers are on site to provide analysis and planning of new program rollouts such as technology refreshes, procedural updates and new large scale systems deployments. Additionally, VIRE Program managers provide guidance and oversight for Agile Software Development Projects within OCTO.
Cost Reduction and Efficiency Improvements
Deployed standardized enterprise wide network systems hardware – lower maintenance cost for parts & repair, lower training cost
Deployed new cost effective, standardized computer systems to - lower maintenance and support costs, universal training and support for end users
Recommended, Developed and Implemented universal operational procedures and documentation throughout the District, simplified and improved reporting, analysis, and performance evaluation
VIRE Consulting Integration Support Team for Deployment
The VIRE Consulting Integration Support Team provides requirement identification, architecture, design, Management, phone, e-mail, in-person and online support. Our staff of highly educated and expertly trained support professionals recommend and integrate the most effective applications to overcome OCTO’s current technical challenges.