Author: srunco

Information Technology Management


Information Technology — A Key Tool

My posting on July 13 listed Information Technology (IT) management as one of NASA’s six cross-cutting strategies of mission support. IT Management ensures the Agency aligns information system investments with its mission needs; efficiently implements, operates and integrates its information systems; and appropriately assures the confidentiality, integrity and availability of the information within these systems.

NASA has long relied on IT as a key tool to enable the achievement of its mission. However, our processes for selecting and managing IT investments and implementation traditionally have been focused on the accomplishment of individual programs with limited focus on ensuring that IT supports the integration of information and processes across programs and Centers. This approach to managing IT has led to (1) inefficiencies, (2) challenges in information security, and (3) stovepiped IT infrastructures that make it difficult for people to work across organizational boundaries.

For example, our current model for protecting the networks at each of our Centers is not consistently implemented. This adversely affects our mission as it makes it extremely difficult for engineers working at different Centers to collaborate on designs using automated tools.  Also, you have probably noticed cases where different IT tools have been implemented by different organizations in order to solve similar or duplicative problems. We need to leverage existing tools to eliminate unnecessary duplication. This will save the Centers and NASA money and reduce integration complexity.

Collaboration across Centers

Our ability to succeed in the future requires that we maximize our capability or capacity to work collaboratively across Centers, drive efficiencies, and to adequately secure our information and information systems. Because IT is so important to our future success, we are placing significant attention on transforming our current IT management processes and IT infrastructure to meet the emerging needs of the Agency.

The NASA CIO, Jonathan Pettus, has developed an overall strategy for improving IT. The strategy is centered on a governance model that allows for alignment of IT solutions with mission needs, a framework and management model for the collective IT infrastructure going forward, a portfolio approach for organizing and managing applications and integration standards at multiple levels, a strategy to create better visibility into the IT budget and allow for improved decision making, and a plan for improving IT security. I have asked the CIO to provide updates over the next several months on the IT strategy based on the work of several teams he has in place working the detailed implementation plans and frameworks.

Implementing the IT management strategy likely will require some organizational changes in how NASA delivers IT services. We already are in the process of merging the Integrated Enterprise Management Program (IEMP) office with the Office of the CIO to better align the management of IT within the Agency.  IEMP is an Agency-wide transformation of NASA’s business systems and processes to improve NASA’s fiscal and management accountability. This is the first organizational realignment aimed at placing IT management authority under the CIO. Similar to engineering being performed by Mission Directorates, procurement conducted by contracting officers under procurement organizations, legal matters being handled by general counsel, etc., I feel it is important for information technology to be provided by the CIO and for the CIO to be held accountable for providing it in a manner that meets NASA’s mission and federal regulations. The CIO will be the institutional authority for NASA IT.  

Key Initiatives Underway

I also want to take this opportunity to reiterate my support for some key initiatives underway that will improve the state of IT security within the Agency, provide efficiencies for NASA, and better enable the IT infrastructure to support the mission.

  1. The IT system certification and accreditation (C&A) effort is progressing very well and I expect nearly all of NASA’s systems to achieve C&A by October 1, 2007. This process is designed to ensure that our IT systems are categorized according to their criticality and that the appropriate security controls are documented and in place to protect each system based on its criticality.  Further, C&A is required by the White House Office of Management and Budget.
  2. The work under Homeland Security Presidential Directive (HSPD)-12 will greatly enhance IT security by eventually allowing badges to be used to access critical IT systems.
  3. The migration of all Agency email systems to the NASA NOMAD system is progressing well and will provide efficiencies and improved collaboration capability for the Agency. Our existing e-mail infrastructure was implemented as if NASA consisted of at least ten separate companies. NOMAD changes that by providing one, integrated e-mail system for all of NASA. The e-mail system is based on commercial off-the-shelf software that has sufficient capability to filter spam and viruses and protect personally identifiable information, and has other features needed for large government organizations.

Although these initiatives can be difficult because they represent a change from the status quo, they are intended to move us forward toward the goals of integration, information, and improved security — all critical to the achievement of our ultimate mission.  

Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) Groundbreaking

On July 16, I participated in the GSFC Exploration Sciences Building groundbreaking ceremony with House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, GSFC Director Ed Weiler, and Director, GSFC Sciences and Exploration Directorate Laurie Leshin. The Exploration Sciences Building is a major component of the Goddard Space Flight Center Facilities Master Plan.  It was built, not with funding from a construction of facilities account, but a very small tax over several years on all the programs that would benefit from such a building. This was done without sacrificing science, raising overhead, or breaking the bank.  

This “green building” will consist of a two-story laboratory wing and a three-story office wing. When the Exploration Sciences Building is completed in 2009, this state-of-the-art facility will house more than 500 scientists and administrative personnel performing research in earth science, astrophysics, heliophysics and solar system exploration. The goal of the building is to bring scientists together for purposes of teamwork and research. The layout of this “green building” will allow for collaboration areas for scientists to perform cutting-edge research, prototype and instrument development.

This is NASA’s largest “green building” and is slated for a silver rating in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification. This rating signifies NASA’s high level of commitment to incorporating environmentally friendly design and construction practices.

 

First Footprints and In the Shadow of the Moon

July 20 is an important date for NASA and for the world.  On July 20, 1969, Astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human to step foot on the Moon. NASA celebrated the 38th anniversary of this incredible feat by organizing what we hope will be an annual event called First Footprints. First Footprints came together in a very short period of time due to the dedication and hard work of NASA employees at Headquarters and the participating Centers.

First Footprints featured wonderful events such as the Grumman Apollo Lunar Lander Team participating in a panel discussion at Headquarters. Ames held a public event in the Ames exploration center related to the Houghton crater expedition. Johnson celebrated the grand opening of the Saturn V building.  

The centerpiece of First Footprints was a showing of the award-winning film In the Shadow of the Moon at Ames, Glenn, Goddard, Headquarters, Johnson, Kennedy, Langley, and Stennis before it arrives in area movie theaters next month. The film features archival footage from the Apollo program interspersed with interviews of many of the Apollo astronauts who share their memories and impressions of the Apollo years.

We owe a debt of gratitude to ThinkFilm — producers of the In the Shadow of the Moon. ThinkFilm and its director David Sington dedicated hours of their time to arranging logistics and traveling to Washington and Centers around the country in order to present their work to the NASA family.

At the film showing at Ames, Jim Arnold, an engineer who worked at Ames during the Apollo era, gave a few remarks at the beginning of each showing to tell people what it was like at NASA during these missions. At Headquarters, I was given the distinct pleasure of introducing Mr. Sington, who took questions from the audience on the making of the film and his experiences with the astronauts.  

David told me before we went to the auditorium that a showing of the film in the Midwest had resulted in spontaneous applause at several points throughout the film. For those of us who love space, it is heartwarming to hear such a reaction in the heartland of the country. I mentioned to David that I was disheartened because I had been reviewing some blog entries someone sent to me and they were all about the theory that the Moon landings were a hoax. For those of us who were alive during those Apollo missions and watched the events on television leading up to the first landing, it is inconceivable that these missions were staged and filmed on some Hollywood set. There is no way anyone could realistically keep the lid on a hoax of such epic proportions. In listening to the stories of the astronauts interviewed for In the Shadow of the Moon, their honesty and down-to-earth natures come shining through and you have no doubts about the personal experiences they are recounting. I don’t want to give away too much, but this issue was explicitly addressed at the end of the film.

Exploration Systems


A-3 Test Stand

On Thursday, August 23, I will be at Stennis Space Center for a groundbreaking ceremony for the A-3 test stand. The A-3 test stand is being built to test the J-2X, an Apollo-era liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen engine, which will power the upper stages of Ares I and Ares V rockets. I look forward to attending this event which marks an important milestone for our exploration program.

To think where we were just a few short years ago with the Exploration program, where we are today and where we are going in the near future is remarkable to say the least. For 2007 alone, a great deal will have been accomplished. For example, Ares I first stage and the J-2X contracts have already been awarded and by the end of the year we expect to have awarded contracts for the upper stage and upper stage instrument unit. Work is beginning to propel us to the next great era of exploration.

Lunar Architecture

In parallel with the design, development and execution of space transportation hardware, we continue our lunar architecture planning effort. The lunar architecture is intended to enable achievement of our lunar exploration and science objectives and will facilitate commercial and international cooperation. We have an ongoing dialogue with 13 international space and science organizations to coordinate our efforts and identify areas of potential cooperation.

Partnering with Industry

We also continue to partner with U.S. industry and entrepreneurs to build new capabilities that will also benefit NASA. NASA is pursuing new ways of encouraging industry and entrepreneurs through programs such as the Commercial Orbital Transportation System (COTS) and Centennial Challenges. Centennial Challenges include the astronaut glove challenge held in May that was won by Peter Homer of Maine. The story of how Mr. Homer was out of work at the time and stitched the winning glove at his dining room table shows the spirit and passion so many of us have for space. I am sure there are many others who have the energy and creativity shown by Mr. Homer, and we at NASA want to provide opportunities for such creative souls to show it.

Additionally, we are working with other federal agencies. For example, NASA has partnered with the National Science Foundation to develop an inflatable shelter which they will test in Antarctica. This shelter will incorporate an airlock, connector tunnel, aerojel thermal insulation in the walls, and pockets on the exterior to hold snow in place. The testing will investigate the durability of the habitat in an extreme environment. The extreme environment of Antarctica mimics that of space (but with gravity).

Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD)

Advances in exploration cannot happen without good leaders. I would like to take the opportunity to thank Doc Horowitz for leading the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD). Doc’s can-do attitude, energy, and background with a Ph.D. in aerospace engineering, as well as the leadership experience he gained as a Shuttle mission commander and pilot made Doc right for the job. Doc focused on getting the program off the ground, meeting major milestones, and making sure there were opportunities for the programs within ESMD to communicate through monthly meetings and quarterly reviews.

I will miss Doc’s professionalism and candor but appreciate his priority to be with his family. Rick Gilbrech, the current Stennis Space Center Director, will replace Doc on October 1, 2007. Rick’s engineering and project management experience will be an asset for ESMD. Rick is well-known throughout the agency for his integrity and leadership ability, and I look forward to working with him in his new capacity.

Solar System Exploration


Weekly Meetings

I participate in a Monday morning meeting every week with the Administrator, Associate Administrator, Chief of Staff, heads of Mission Directorates (Aeronautics, Exploration Systems, Science, Space Operations), and several others. It is a great opportunity to strategize and for all of us to gain situational awareness. Most of all, I love to hear about progress that is taking place in individual programs across the Agency. Almost every week, Science comes in with amazing new images and discoveries. There are a lot of stressful issues that have to be resolved in the Agency, just like any other organization, but we get re-energized when we see the significant progress that is being made throughout the Agency.

Phoenix Mars Lander Launch

On Saturday, August 5, in the very early morning, in a launch window of only a few minutes, the Phoenix Mars lander rocketed off the pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. I tried valiantly to get down for the launch, but could not make it work. Those who were there reported that there was not a cloud in the sky. The rocket hit its mark putting the spacecraft on a direct entry trajectory toward the north polar tundra region on Mars. Phoenix will look for frozen water, digging just under the soil, when it arrives in May 2008.

I am very proud of our accomplishments in solar system exploration. Shortly after I arrived at the Agency, I attended the New Horizons launch. The launch did not go the day I was there due to weather, but it did successfully lift off on January 19, 2006. New Horizons will be the first spacecraft to visit Pluto and its Moon, Charon (The International Astronomical Union now classifies Pluto as a dwarf planet, but the definition of a planet continues to be debated. Colleen Hartman, the Deputy AA for Science, tells me that most people do call Pluto a planet because it orbits the Sun and it is large enough that its own gravity has pulled it into a spherical shape.). New Horizons flew by Jupiter in February 2007 and the pictures of Jupiter that it returned are spectacular.

Cassini Mission

Another example of an incredible solar system exploration mission is the Cassini Mission. The Cassini spacecraft, carrying the European Huygens probe, is the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn. It launched in 1997, arrived at Saturn in July 2004, and is still returning incredible data. Scientists are working hard analyzing the latest Cassini flyby of the moon Titan that occurred on July 19. This moon pass was unique in that it provided the only opportunity for the imaging science team to observe the equatorial or central part of Titan’s dark region at high resolution.

Cassini also may have found evidence of internal heat erupting on Saturn’s moon Enceladus. Active volcanism is known to exist on just three solar system bodies: Earth, Jupiter’s moon Io, and possibly Neptune’s moon Triton. Cassini’s discovery may add Enceladus to this list.

Dawn Mission

The next planetary mission is Dawn which is slated to be launched in its September-October 2007 window. Dawn is targeted to orbit two well-known and large asteroids, Vesta then Ceres. The asteroid belt is between Mars and Jupiter and is a region in which the gravitational pull of Jupiter has kept a planet from forming. Vesta and Ceres are protoplanets, the building blocks of planets. By studying these asteroids with Dawn, we are going back in time to what it must have been like at the dawn of our solar system, hence the mission’s name.

We have learned, are learning, and will learn so much about our solar system from NASA’s solar system exploration missions. We are working to understand our solar system’s origins. We have adopted a “follow the water” strategy to search for possible extraterrestrial life. We are satisfying the human need to explore, understand, and discover. I hope you’ll join me in regularly visiting NASA’s solar system exploration website for information about new discoveries and planned missions.

Financial Management


History

2002 was the last year in which NASA’s auditors were able to provide a “clean” opinion of the Agency’s financial statements. 2003 was the year NASA implemented its integrated financial management system, and the process and data issues uncovered during that implementation resulted in the auditors’ inability to provide subsequent opinions on NASA’s financial statements. NASA has made considerable progress toward improved financial health and reporting since that time, as evidenced by improved scores on the Financial Management Improvement component of the President’s Management Agenda scorecard. The Agency is currently “green” on progress based on the successful accomplishment of its corrective action plan milestones.

NASA’s annual financial audit, which is required by the Congress through the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Act of 1990, is performed by the accounting firm of Ernst & Young through the Office of Inspector General. NASA develops a financial improvement corrective action plan each year that addresses weaknesses identified through the Agency’s annual financial audit, including financial analysis and oversight, and Property, Plant and Equipment valuation. This is part of the internal controls process described further below. Because the identified weaknesses have root causes in many NASA functions, including the Office of the Chief Financial Officer (OCFO), Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), Integrated Enterprise Management Program (IEMP), and Institutions & Management (I&M), responsibility for completing individual actions is shared by these organizations. The corrective action plan has 90 unique action items, of which 66 (73%) have been completed to date from the 2006 audit.

I came into the Agency in November 2005 and knew that this was gong to be one of my first areas to focus attention. I determined that a weekly meeting to review the Agency’s progress in financial management was needed. This meeting brought together the elements of the Agency that were called out in the annual financial audits: the OCFO, OCIO, IEMP, and I&M. This was important because everyone listed had different parts of the corrective action plan and material weaknesses described below that had to be worked. This meeting has been broadened to include many other elements of mission support, but we still routinely review progress and obstacles for improved financial management.

Let me share with you the plans for continuing to improve financial management during FY 2008 and beyond.

Internal Controls

In addition to cost reduction efforts, internal controls directly influence our ability to effectively use resources and the Agency takes internal control seriously. NASA’s Assistant Administrator for Internal Controls and Management Systems, Jay Henn, describes internal controls as a process: (1) focus on Agency goals/objectives; (2) figure out what can go wrong (risk assessment); (3) put into place the policies and procedures (i.e., controls) that are needed to prevent those things from going wrong; and (4) continually check (testing/assessment) to make sure those controls are working. Senior managers across the Agency have been required to attest to the soundness of those internal controls within their scope of responsibility. There will be further review of internal controls and related improvement activities in the coming year.

Material Weaknesses

The Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act of 1982 requires that each agency head report annually, through a Statement of Assurance, on the effectiveness of the control and financial systems that protect Federal programs. As part of this annual evaluation, each agency reports on serious internal control deficiencies, known as material weaknesses, that have been identified through internal audits, external audits, or other management reporting. (There is currently no single definition of “material weakness” in use by the Federal government. NASA defines material weakness as “a control deficiency — or a combination of deficiencies – that endangers the accomplishment of the Agency’s mission, results in repeated violations of statutory or regulatory requirements, and/or significantly weakens safeguards against waste, loss, unauthorized use, or mismanagement of Agency assets”). Last year, NASA reported three such weaknesses — NASA’s Financial Management System, Asset Management, and Information Technology Security — and still considers these areas as material weaknesses.

Other Weaknesses/Management Challenges

In addition, NASA identifies, reports internally, and corrects successively less serious internal control deficiencies that we refer to as “other weaknesses” and “management challenges.” Last year NASA’s “watch list” of internal control deficiencies included one “other weakness” (Acquisition Management) and five “management challenges” (Financial Management Policies and Procedures, Financial Management Staffing, Financial Management Data Integrity, Full Cost Integration, and Mission Management Aircraft).

Oversight of Internal Controls

NASA uses the Operations Management Council (OMC), which I chair, and a subset of the OMC called the Senior Assessment Team (SAT) to provide ongoing and senior-level oversight of NASA’s internal control policies, programs and deficiencies. The SAT is chaired by the Director of the Office of Program and Institutional Integration, Rick Keegan, and its members represent all of NASA’s major programmatic, institutional, and financial management organizations, as well as NASA’s Field Centers. The NASA Office of Inspector General (OIG) serves on the SAT in an advisory capacity.

The SAT generally meets four times a year – more if required. At every meeting, the SAT reviews the watch list items, beginning with the development or updating of a corrective action plan, then tracking progress against those plans, and finally recommending to the OMC that items be removed from the list. The SAT will meet on September 19 to review the outcome of this year’s Statement of Assurance process and discuss potential new watch list items, and then will propose any additions or deletions for consideration by the OMC on September 25.

NASA is constantly working to correct each control deficiency. A specific organization within NASA has been identified as the “owner” of each deficiency, and those organizations have approved corrective action plans that guide their steps in eliminating their respective watch list items. In many cases, these action plans involve close cooperation with concerned parties, including the NASA OIG and the Office of Management and Budget.

The NASA OCFO and the Office of Internal Controls and Management Systems work closely with the NASA OIG regarding our material weaknesses and management challenges in the financial management and reporting areas. The OIG diligently monitors NASA’s progress regarding correcting its material weaknesses and pursuing its corrective action plans. The OCFO holds weekly meetings with the OIG and the OIG provides a valuable oversight role to assist NASA in its efforts towards financial management improvement.

Process

Process standardization plays a critical role in producing financial data that can be integrated, compared and analyzed across mission, programs, and projects. In contrast to several years ago when each Center uniquely defined and executed its own financial management processes, we’ve come a long way. During FY 2008, we’ll build on that progress, focusing on further standardization of the following processes: Accounts Payable, Accounts Receivable, Financial Statement Preparation, and Property, Plant and Equipment. These are all key to continuing to build a healthy financial management system for NASA.

Tools

To use financial and resource data and improve its decision-making competency, the Agency needs financial and resource management information systems and operating tools, and as with processes, these tools need to be standardized. Therefore, we’ll continue to refine existing financial management systems and tools such as Meta Data Manager; the tool used to identify, create, and track work breakdown structures across appropriations, missions, themes, programs, and projects; and Business Warehouse, the reporting tool used to access data from the Agency’s financial management system.

Property, Plant & Equipment

If you have followed past IG or GAO audits, you know that NASA, like many Federal Agencies, has struggled with the best way to track the cost of Property, Plant and Equipment (PP&E). In the coming weeks, look for new PP&E guidance in the form of a NASA Interim Directive developed to address the issues that have been raised. The policy will allow the Agency to do a better job of determining whether something we are buying or building is an asset (and needs to be uniquely tracked throughout its life cycle) or an expense (and does not need to be uniquely tracked for financial statement purposes). We’re making the change to improve the accuracy of information in the Agency’s balance sheet and statement of net cost. At the same time, we anticipate that the change will benefit programs and projects by reducing the administrative effort associated with depreciating capital assets.

While we improve our financial management guidance, the Office of Institutions and Management is also reviewing and revising our guidance on how to manage NASA’s public property holdings. Our goal is to better account for property during its full life cycle, from the time we acquire it, until it moves through the Government’s disposition process.

Last, but not least, we are updating the information management systems used for property accountability and disposition. When the new system comes online during the coming year, we will have more meaningful information than ever about our property holdings. We will be able to more accurately determine what property we have, who has it, where it is, as well as its value and condition.

NASA’s Deputy CFO and Nominated CFO

I appreciate all the hard work Deputy CFO Terry Bowie and his team have done. Terry has gotten us on a good path towards improved Agency financial health. He is a real trooper and agreed to take on the additional responsibility of Acting CFO while the nominee for this position has been going through nomination and confirmation. The Chief Financial Officer is one of the four Presidentially-appointed, Senate-confirmed positions (known as PAS) at NASA. The other three are: the Administrator, the Deputy Administrator, and the Inspector General. The Senate is now considering confirmation of NASA’s CFO nominee, Ronald Spoehel. Ron served as Executive Vice President, CFO, and member of the Board of ManTech International and served as an executive officer of other global technology companies. His financial management experience will be an asset to NASA as we build upon the good work that Terry and his team are doing.

IEMP Gap Analysis


Overview

Last week and this week, I have been going into a fair amount of detail on subjects that will be fairly dry to many. These issues, though — financial management and IEMP — are some of the very important foundations for NASA. As Mike Griffin has said, all elements of NASA need to be healthy because a failure in financial or legal, among others, can be just as devastating to NASA as a program failure. Gap analysis will no doubt appear academic and even boring. But, this issue is actually critically important because one of the primary goals of NASA’s business systems is to provide the type of information that is needed by projects. If not, then projects and programs will feel compelled to create their own shadow business systems and this is inefficient and a waste of money. This was my first concern. The analysis has been broadened from the original concern, so read on to see where this is going.

Background

Over the past few years, IEMP has implemented numerous Agency-wide systems which have fundamentally changed how NASA manages its mission support processes and information. IEMP has centralized and consolidated many of the Agency’s key business functions, and changed how we transact and report financial information, manage our payroll and personnel services, process travel authorizations and vouchers, manage our contracts, and hire new personnel. In 2008, IEMP will be rolling out additional capabilities related to travel management; personnel and workforce reporting; and the tracking and valuation of property, plant, and equipment. Integrating commercial software with existing NASA-unique systems, IEMP has installed a core business infrastructure which will serve our Agency for many years to come.

The introduction of these new technologies and capabilities, however, doesn’t equate to a remedy for all the issues. I’ve heard from many individuals, including our auditors, that there’s more work to be done to fully leverage our business system investments and to better meet the needs of our projects and other organizations. This need is not surprising and, in fact, was recognized early in the formulation of IEMP. Industry analysts have noted that there are typically three phases of business process re-engineering within the life-cycle of major business system investments. First, recognizing a need for significant improvement and change, an organization will re-engineer its existing business processes requirements prior to acquiring and implementing enterprise-wide software solutions. The reality is that commercial software rarely meets all the unique needs of an organization, especially large government entities like NASA. This results in the second phase, which is the organization adapting and changing its re-engineered requirements to align with the capabilities of the software. The third and final phase is when an organization becomes familiar with the new software and its potential, identifies additional requirements and process changes, and leverages the software’s capabilities to effect business process and reporting improvements. For example, when NASA implemented its new financial system (SAP) in 2003, everyone struggled in using the system because it was so complex and different than what we previously used. As we’ve gained familiarity and learned its capabilities (and constraints), we now want to effect many changes and improvements. In doing so, we need to make sure we’re making the right improvements.

Last fall, I asked the IEMP to work with a small number of key NASA projects to identify and characterize where NASA’s management and business systems are not meeting the needs of NASA’s mission projects. Below is a brief overview of IEMP’s approach to conducting this “gap analysis,” the results of this effort, and the next steps toward filling the gaps.

Gap Analysis Approach

It was determined that systems engineering disciplines needed to be applied in performing the gap analysis mentioned above. IEMP coordinated with the Office of the Chief Engineer to identify an experienced systems engineer, Al Motley, from the Langley Research Center, to plan and lead the gap analysis effort. Mr. Motley coordinated with NASA’s Management and Business Systems Integration Group (M/BSIG), which consists of representatives from the mission directorates, mission support offices, and Centers, to help him plan and execute the effort.

Early in the effort, it became apparent that there needed to be a common understanding of the term “gap.” It was determined that gaps would be identified in four areas: (1) data gaps, in which the projects determine there is missing, incomplete, redundant, or incorrect data; (2) application gaps, in which the projects experience an inability to retrieve, input, or modify information; (3) process and policy gaps, in which policy and unique processes are either non-existent, not standardized at local levels, or are not satisfied by Agency-provided systems and, therefore, workarounds are developed; and (4) human gaps, in which the projects are performing non-standard practices, or have inadequately trained staff on use of the system.

Mr. Motley and the M/BSIG selected a representative sample of mission projects in which to conduct workshops. Applying a methodical process using 30 weighted characteristics (e.g., project size, mission area, project phase, types of partners, etc.), five projects were chosen from an initial set of 16 representative NASA projects. The selected projects were:

  • ­ Hypersonic Boundary Layer Transition Experiment (Hy-BoLT/HSA)
  • ­ Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-N)
  • ­ James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)
  • ­ International Space Station (ISS)
  • ­ Orion

Mr. Motley established a team which conducted workshops with each of these projects. Results of these workshops are described below.

Gap Analysis Results

The gap analysis team conducted five workshops, interviewed 68 individuals, and identified 150 raw gaps. These were subsequently consolidated and integrated into a final set of 58 normalized gaps. This set was then prioritized, with help from the five participating projects and the M/BSIG, to identify the following 8 gaps as relatively high priority:

  1. Projects do not always receive funding in a timely manner. This is primarily a process issue which was exacerbated at the beginning of this fiscal year due to delays in opening up the financial system, and funding holdbacks related to Congressional budget approvals (i.e., continuing resolution). Nevertheless, it was noted that there appear to be delays in distributing funds to the mission directorates. Further analysis is needed to penetrate problem areas.
  2. Projects have concerns over the integrity of data in the system. A number of factors may contribute to this issue, including charges against incorrect WBS elements, costs being recorded in incorrect time periods, apparent discrepancies when reporting from different systems, and other factors.
  3. Projects are limited by system configuration to obligate and cost funds at the same WBS level. This constraint was driven by system design trades and process decisions.
  4. Projects have difficulty maintaining effective planning and control during the end-of-year closeout period. Several factors have contributed to this problem, including delays in system start-up at the beginning of the fiscal year, changing WBS numbers, pooling un-obligated funds at start-up, re-allocating uncommitted funds, and others.
  5. Projects occasionally need more WBS elements (levels) than are available. Similar to #3 above, system design trades resulted in constraints that have limited the resolution of data that projects can maintain in the system and, therefore, projects have created workarounds (e.g., tracking spreadsheets).
  6. Projects receive conflicting data when pulling reports on the same information but from different systems. This results from similar reporting coming from different systems in which there are timing differences in the data, variations in the reporting formats and data displays, ambiguity on the actual system of record for labor reporting, and other factors.
  7. Projects lack standard systems, processes and reporting requirements across projects. In general, there is a lack of reporting standards across, and sometimes within most Agency organizations. The projects are requested to report data to stakeholders in various formats. Also, projects often export data to Excel or other applications to develop specialized reports and to integrate financial data with other data for analysis and reporting, etc.
  8. Projects report that the integration of WBS, financial, manpower planning, and scheduling data is a problematic and manual process. There is no Agency-wide standard system for integrating schedules, budgets, and actual costs. Many projects have developed there own unique integration and reporting tools to support earned value management and other project analyses.

Next Steps

Solving these high priority gaps / problems, as well as the others, will require much more work. IEMP has hired an Integration Manager, Sandra Smalley, to take over the work and information that Mr. Motley delivered. Ms. Smalley, in concert with the M/BSIG, will be performing detailed analysis of the gaps in order to translate them into a set of actions and requirements. Similarly, she’s working with NASA’s mission support offices to gather their ongoing requirements to compile an integrated set of Agency business system needs which will be factored into an Agency Business Concept of Operations.

In summary, I recognize that closing these gaps will be a challenging task, one that will involve multiple organizations and strong leadership, and will require compromises to establish common solutions. The gaps are complicated because most of them involve combinations of policy, process, data, application, and human factors. Many of these solutions may require funding which will be competing with many other high priority initiatives. Nevertheless, I recognize the critical nature of instituting additional efficiencies in our business processes, information integration, and reporting, and I am committed to making this happen within the constraints of competing requirements and available budget.

NASA’s 50th Anniversary

NASA was formed on October 1, 1958, and we will soon be kicking off our 50-year anniversary celebration. We have so many accomplishments to celebrate from the past 50 years and a great deal on which to focus in the future. NASA has brought real benefits to our society in security and prosperity, in inspiration and innovation, and in saving lives and protecting the environment.

NASA 50th Anniversay logo

Every decade has brought advances to our society from the space program. Remote medical monitors were developed for physicians to monitor the health and fitness of astronauts during Project Mercury in 1960s. The Landsat Earth-observing satellites first launched in the 1970s to observe the climate and environment to benefit agriculture and global climate change research.  Recently developed technologies include paper-thin solar cells and advanced water recyclers. A lot of effort has gone into describing NASA-related technologies in a not-too-technical way that the average person can understand. Check out the new top 20 list of NASA-related technology spinoffs

We have a tremendous number of accomplishments from the past 50 years to commemorate, but we are also looking to our next 50 years and all the achievements these years will bring. We plan to continue to explore our solar system and beyond. The James Webb Space Telescope will provide even more data, furthering the great body of knowledge gained by the Hubble Space Telescope, and we will come even closer to understanding the properties and origins of our universe. Our Earth observation program will continue to launch missions and analyze data to help us better understand our climate and environment. We will complete and begin using the Ares and Orion spacecraft to go to the Moon to establish a lunar outpost for long-term human presence, and then go beyond. We will continue our aeronautics research program to enhance the safety and performance of our aircraft. All of these efforts will result in as-yet-unknown additional innovations.  We strive to continue to inspire the public and encourage our young people to pursue careers in math, science, and engineering.

NASA 50th Anniversary Events

NASA is planning the following events as part of our 50th anniversary celebration of our past and our future:

  • Annual Goddard Autumn Event at the National Air and Space Museum (NASM) — This will be the official opening of the Agency’s 50th anniversary calendar on October 3, 2007. Dr. John Mather, 2006 Nobel Laureate in Physics will present duplicate Nobel Prizes to NASM and NASA and provide a presentation on how the James Webb Space Telescope will find the first galaxies formed in the early Universe.
  • NASA Lecture Series — The Series is focused on reaching policy-makers and specific target audiences with information about NASA programs and results, and how those results benefit society in various ways. Dr. Griffin opened series with lecture on September 17th in Washington, DC.
  • Commemorative 50th Anniversary Magazine — The magazine will be published by Faircount Publishing in cooperation with NASA. The company will provide copies for all NASA employees, articles to feature stories about past, present and future with special emphasis on NASA people.  It is scheduled to be released in October 2007.
  • Conference on the 50th anniversary of the Space Age — The NASA History Division and the National Air and Space Museum History Division will hold this conference, to be held in Washington DC on October 22-23, 2007, in conjunction with the 50th anniversary meeting of the Society for the History of Technology. The conference is titled “Remembering the Space Age,” and encompasses two main themes:  (1) National and Global Dimensions of the Space Age, and (2) Remembrance and Cultural Representation of the Space Age. 
  • NASA Future Forums — In conjunction with corporate sponsors, NASA is developing a series of Future Forums around the country. Future Forums are day-long conferences to discuss the role of innovation and competitiveness (technology, R&D) in promoting and sustaining economic development. Participants will include members of the local entrepreneurial, technology and academic communities as well as elected officials. The first Future Forum is scheduled for January 2008. 
  • Business Week Magazine — The magazine reaches an audience of 4.8 million readers and will produce one or more special advertising sections in 2008 highlighting NASA’s 50th anniversary and its contributions to technology, innovation and leadership in space exploration and research.  These sections will help to explain the role of the “space economy” and NASA’s contributions to innovation and competitiveness for the Nation.    
  • Smithsonian 2008 Folk Life Festival — This event provides NASA the opportunity during our 50th Anniversary year to promote our mission activities and to present the heritage of our scientists, engineers, astronauts and craftspeople to a huge, ethnically diverse audience. NASA will be the featured Federal government agency for festival. The Folk Life Festival opens the end of June 2008.   
  • Television and Film — NASA plans to collaborate with Discovery Channel on a four part series on NASA’s Greatest Missions, due out in October 2008. NASA also is working with History Channel on 50th Anniversary programming. 
  • NASA 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala — The gala will be produced by the AIAA at the National Air and Space Museum Udvar Hazy Center on September 24, 2008. This featured event will culminate a year of celebration of NASA’s 50th Anniversary. 
  • Arts and Culture Initiative — The NASA@50 Arts and Culture Program consists of primarily ten works of art along with five cartoons from artists that have supported/captured/documented NASA over the years. The works should be completed in time for the NASA 50th Anniversary Celebration Gala where they will be displayed. The collection will then go on tour to museums, galleries, and science centers around the country.

For information on the above events, please contact Bob Hopkins, NASA Chief of Strategic Communications.

Wired NextFest 2007 and NASA Lecture Series


Wired/NextFest 2007

On Thursday, September 13, I spoke at the Wired/NextFest opening ceremony where I introduced Scott Kelly, Commander of the STS-118 Space Shuttle mission who then introduced the STS-118 crew.  Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson and Wired executive Drew Schutte, Hitachi North America CEO Tadahiko Ishigaki, Los Angeles Mayor Anthony Villaraigosa, and Northrup-Grumman Director for Diversity Sandra Evers-Manley also spoke.  It was Education Day and a large number of middle school students comprised the audience.  They were incredibly excited to see the STS-118 crew.

I then spoke of a collaboration between the X-Prize Foundation and Google for the Google-Lunar X Prize, a new X-Prize challenge where private companies will compete to land a privately-funded robotic rover on the Moon.

Finally, I had the privilege of introducing NASA’s 50th anniversary logo. (+ Read more about NASA’s 50th anniversary logo.) In my next posting, I will be discussing the exciting events NASA has planned this year and next as part of our 50th anniversary commemoration.

Shana Dale at opening ceremony of Wired/NextFest 2007



NASA booth at Wired/NextFest 2007



Unveiling of the NASA 50th anniversary logo in the NASA booth at Wired/NextFest 2007

Mike Griffin Speaks at the NASA Lecture Series

Yesterday, Mike Griffin gave the inaugural speech for the NASA Lecture Series, co-sponsored by Lockheed Martin. Mike’s speech focused on the Space Economy, the term that captures the full range of value and benefits that are realized through exploring, understanding and utilizing space.  Mike discussed how NASA and other space agencies and organizations contribute to the Nation’s economic competitiveness through the development of new technologies and services that stimulate our economy and improve our lives.  Mike also noted the role of space exploration and scientific discovery as key means of inspiration to students interested in pursuing scientific and technical fields.  Download the speech “50th Anniversary Lecture Series: The Space Economy” or view it online.
    
The NASA Lecture Series will feature several prominent speakers over the course of the next year with topics focused on the benefits that space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research provide in addressing global issues such as the economy, education, health, science, and the environment.

Earth Science


Focused Here on Earth

When I talk with people outside the agency, they usually want to talk about human space flight and science, specifically our efforts to explore and understand the cosmos. What a lot of people don’t realize is that some of the Agency’s most important and interesting work is focused right here on Earth.

When people see a news report about a hurricane approaching our shores or a wildfire encroaching on a neighborhood, they should know that NASA is at the forefront of developing the technologies to better understand the causes in addition to assisting in helping other organizations respond. It’s good to know that NASA helps to protect lives.

I consistently hear from other agency representatives and, in fact, users of NASA’s Earth research — forest rangers, fisherman, meteorologists, oceanographers — that NASA satellites and the data they retrieve are one of the key information sources in helping them do their jobs and in many cases helping to better protect our Earth’s natural resources.

NASA launched the world’s first experimental meteorological satellite in 1960, and currently we have 14 Earth-observing satellites in orbit doing incredible research that has direct benefit to humankind. Once we develop and test new technologies, we hand them off to other federal agencies like NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey to provide vital services to the nation through operational meteorology and climate satellites. But at the core, it’s NASA’s essential advances that have helped revolutionize the information that emergency officials have to respond to natural disasters like hurricanes and wildfires.

I think we all watched the news coverage of the western wildfires this summer. One of our new technologies, an unmanned aircraft system, is being developed to demonstrate improved wildfire imaging and mapping capabilities. Called Predator B “Ikhana,” it has completed four flights testing a sophisticated thermal-infrared imaging sensor and real-time data communications equipment developed by the Ames Research Center.

We also are developing a sensor that can peer through thick smoke and haze to record hot spots and the progression of wildfires. The system collects data that can transfer within minutes information to aid personnel battling active wildfires. That technology comes from NASA’s Ames Research Center partnering with the U.S. Forest Service.

We’re exploring the uncharted places few, if any, humans have ever seen. The Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica, for example, is a collaborative effort between NASA, the United States Geological Survey, the National Science Foundation and the British Antarctic Survey to make the best-ever satellite map of Antarctica. This mosaic stitches together thousands of scenes and gives stunning new views of one of the least explored places on our home planet!

Scientists working on the project say that the comparison of the new map to previous ones is like the difference between a 1970s 12-inch black and white TV and a state-of-the-art 50″ high definition plasma screen. Aside from being beautiful, every pixel of the map is scientifically meaningful to researchers who study features and changes on the frozen continent. Keep an eye out for the full release of the image mosaic later this fall.

Earth Science Mission Launches

There are two Earth Science missions planned for launch in the first part of 2008. First up is the Ocean Surface Topography Mission in June. This joint NASA-French space agency mission will improve weather forecasts and better predict hurricane paths.

Later, in December 2008, the Orbiting Carbon Observatory will launch. This mission will make space-based measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide with amazing accuracy and resolution never before achieved. Such information will improve forecasts of concentrations of this important greenhouse gas and how this affects climate and climate change. Other state-of-the-art NASA climate research satellites are planned to be launched in 2009 and 2010, and a new Landsat mission is planned for launch in 2011.

The world counts on NASA to examine our planet from the unique vantage point of space. Other agencies and local governments are enthusiastic about receiving our data. These of course are only a few examples out of numerous exciting Earth research activities. I recommend you visit our Life on Earth web sites to learn more.

Launching into Space and Beyond


International Space Station

This week we launched Space Shuttle Discovery into orbit to conduct one of the most challenging and complex missions on the International Space Station (ISS). Discovery’s crew will install an Italian-built U.S. multi-port module onto the ISS. The node, called Harmony, will allow future Shuttle crews to attach the European and Japanese science laboratories to the ISS so we can increase the size of our science crew. The additional crew and lab space will significantly increase amount of important research we can do on this one-of-a-kind orbiting facility.
 
When I think about how this mission is going to benefit our ability to do science on the ISS, I also focus on the broader picture of NASA’s overall science portfolio. NASA’s science program is amazing. We study the Earth and we explore the Universe, and everything in between. We land on planets and orbit others. We puzzle over some of the most profound questions of our time: how the did the universe begin and what is its ultimate fate, is the Earth changing, and are we alone. The results of our science missions feed our innate intellectual curiosity, but the innovations required to answer these questions also spark new technologies that help maintain our quality of life and benefit the lives of every person on Earth.

Public Outreach

So, how do we tell the public about our incredible discoveries? I think one of the most powerful tools we have for communicating with people is the amazing images our missions produce, and the visualizations that can be created from the scientific data being returned from our orbiting explorers.
 
We’ve seen pictures from two landers that have been operating from the surface and craters of Mars since January 2004. We’ve seen stunning up close images of the rings of Saturn and active volcanoes on Jupiter’s moon Io. And, of course, there’s the Hubble Space Telescope which has produced some of the most compelling and enduring images ever taken. The famous picture of the stellar nursery in the Eagle Nebula taken by Hubble is among the most iconic in NASA’s history.
 
Being understood matters to us at NASA. After all, the value of our work reaches only as far as it contributes to the pursuits of the American ideal, or “the Progress of Science and useful Arts” as the Preamble to the Constitution puts it. That’s why we place so much importance in developing tools to make our work meaningful and clear. NASA operates a fleet of Earth orbiting satellites to collect the information that scientists use to understand our dynamic planet. Each day, these satellites send the data equivalent of the entire Library of Congress to the ground where it is collected, stored and made available to scientists around the world.
 
While getting the data to the scientists is of course critical, is it equally important that we tell the American taxpayers how we are spending their money and what we are learning from our science programs. Let’s face it. Science is complex, and some of our findings are difficult to explain.

GSFC’s Scientific Visualization Studio

At NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, scientists and expert storytellers are teaming up in what Goddard calls its Scientific Visualization Studio to create visualizations of complex scientific processes using actual data . People say a picture is worth a thousand words. So, if we want to be more effective communicating with the public, why not show them what’s going on in the world around them using actual data. That’s where Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio can help.
 
Working together, scientists, computer experts and skilled communicators turn millions and billions of 1’s and 0’s into stunning images that can tell a story. They can show the historical ebb and flow of massive ice sheets at the North and South Poles, pinpoint the location and movement of forest fires like those in California, track the global distribution of dust and pollution, and demonstrate how the abundance of tropical rainfall and the temperature of the oceans provides vital clues for predicting hurricane activity and intensity.

Science on a Sphere

Additionally, Goddard’s Science on a Sphere is an exciting way to communicate science to the public. It provides a unique canvas to view our planet and the universe. The genius of Science on a Sphere is it reminds us neither the Earth, nor much else that we come in contact with every day, is flat. It uses advanced 4-projector, computer controlled technology to present advanced satellite data and other visual effects on a large globe that is suspended on an invisible wire. The first time you see an earth image, or a planet, or other data set projected on the sphere in an otherwise dark room, it takes your breath away. You see the planet the way it actually looks — round, and three dimensional, a complete 360-degree view of whatever is on the screen. Walk around to the other side and you’re suddenly seeing the other side of the world.
 
The system was developed at NOAA as a means of depicting planetary data sets, like cloud movement, temperature gradations, atmospheric chemistry, and more. Taking the concept one step further, a small but incredibly talented and devoted team from Goddard developed a way to put some of NASA’s most compelling images, animations and visualizations on the Sphere.
 
On the Sphere we can show the pulse of the planet as satellite sensors measure global chlorophyll concentrations to indicate the distribution and abundance of vegetation which feeds most of the world’s animal life. We can track the evolution of Atlantic hurricanes from their birth off the African coast to their eventual demise over land. We can see what the planet looks like as it crosses from day to night and the city lights turn on. But Earth is not the only star of the show. We can also show planets and their moons as they would look to an orbiting spacecraft, or what the universe looked like in the moments after the Big Bang. The first full-length program created for the Sphere, a movie called “Footprints,” proved so novel and innovative that it was awarded one of Time magazine¹s greatest innovations of 2006.

A Busy Year Ahead

Next year will be one of the busiest for NASA and for Goddard with the launch of the GLAST, the Hubble Servicing Mission, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO), and the Solar Dynamic Observatory. With its detailed map of the lunar surface, LRO is the first and a most critical step in our plans to move boldly to implement the Vision for Space Exploration. The science delivered by these new and exciting spacecraft, and a practically brand new Hubble, will revolutionize our understanding of the influence the life-giving Sun has on Earth, and unlock many questions about the universe still shrouded in mystery.
 
But what I really can’t wait for is to see the data returned from these extraordinary missions projected on the Sphere, and finding other ways to share these amazing adventures with the public. It’s going to be an exciting time and through the wonders of technology and innovations like those at Goddard, we’re going to be able to take everybody on the journey with us. 

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