OASIS UPDATE

Well the rumors are flying now. Oasis is terrible. Oasis does not work. There will be many work-arounds. Oasis will be delayed a year. Oasis will never get installed. Oasis is a piece of #%&*%#. All of these, to some extent may be true.

First, I want to thank all those who participated in the recent Oasis testing in ACY. The testing was approached in a honest, firm and constructive manner. I understand there were times that "honest and firm" created some difficulties, emotions ran high. Over time, I believe all will look back and agree this provided long term benefits to the program, going a long way to insure the success of the program.

The recent testing of Oasis resulted in many PTRs, trouble reports. At the writing of this article the number was up to 240 PTRs and when all PTRs are in, the total should top 300. Some of these PTRs are significant and some are minor. Currently, all of these PTRs are being compiled, categorized and prioritized. [As an observation, at this point in time, representatives from ATO and ACT are working towards fielding a system that meets our needs, we will see over time if this continues.] The next phase is to determine who pays for what. What PTRs must the vendor correct at their own expense, what PTRs will the agency pay for and then finally what PTRs that will not be addressed. Our course of action is clear, we will participate in the formulation of the PTR list and take the necessary action on those PTRs that neither the vendor or agency plans to address.

During the testing in ACY, some software PTRs that were written are significant. This was the reason to push the OT&E [operational testing and evaluation] testing, in SEA, back to the January/February time frame. Once the PTRs are finalized, there may be an additional schedule slip. Also, the recent budget from congress may have an adverse impact on the schedule also. The complete impact from the PTRs and the budget have not been determined yet, hopefully by next month's newsletter.

Kurt