IPPS-A hosts Agile-focused industry day

On May 22, 2023, PEO EIS’ Integrated Personnel and Pay System – Army (IPPS-A) Future Capabilities Office (FCO) and Capability Support Office (CSO) hosted an industry day. Over 300 people attended the event — some in-person at the Fort Belvoir Officers Club in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, and many virtually via PEO EIS’ livestream on YouTube.

Young Bang, principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology [ASA(ALT)], kicked off the event with a run-down of the Army’s shift from waterfall to the Agile methodology and expressed the importance of partnering with industry experts to achieve the implementation of Agile at scale.

Bang also touched on the Army’s need for human resources (HR) processes evolution and called upon industry to propose new, unique solutions outside of a single vendor.

“We want different options,” Bang said. “We want different mindsets. We want different solutions.”

Following Bang was PEO EIS’ Program Executive Officer Ross Guckert, who praised IPPS-A for its major software release (called Release 3), which was rolled out to over 1.1 million Soldiers earlier this year. Guckert said that in alignment with ASA(ALT), PEO EIS is moving away from the waterfall methodology and toward an Agile methodology. He provided further details about PEO EIS’ Agile journey — including how the entire acquisition workforce will be trained and how the organization is establishing a Lean Agile Center of Excellence (LACE) at headquarters to help with all aspects of the organization’s digital transformation.

“This is a culture shift in how we do business,” Guckert said of PEO EIS’ ongoing transformation. “Industry must be on this transformation journey with us.”

Representing IPPS-A, Project Manager Col. Robert Mikesh from PEO EIS and Deputy Director of the Functional Management Division Col. Rebekah Lust gave an overview of the Army’s online HR solution. They covered what problems IPPS-A is attacking, current IPPS-A functionalities and where it can go in the future.

Lust outlined that IPPS-A’s requirements are split into capability groupings, each with a list of priorities: IPPS-A Baseline for Release 3 backlog requirements and HR enhancements; Pay Solution for Army payroll tasks; and Outside Software Solutions for additional HR capabilities.

Mikesh added on with an IPPS-A organizational overview and a deep-dive into the specifics of Agile within IPPS-A — and how industry can tap into the existing architecture when considering a proposal.

IPPS-A’s deputy product manager for FCO, Michael Van Buskirk, provided insights into FCO’s efforts and contracting strategy. He noted that IPPS-A has begun request for information (RFI) solicitations for Pay Solutions, with RFIs for the other capability groupings to follow. From the Army Contracting Command – New Jersey (ACC-NJ), contracting officer John Scott reiterated Van Buskirk’s comment regarding RFIs and provided further details about the contracting process.

Mikesh summarized the presentation for attendees, followed by an audience Q&A session to wrap up the event.

Industry should refer to SAM.gov for IPPS-A RFI solicitations.

Links:

YouTube Recording of IPPS-A Industry Day

IPPS-A Capability Support Office

IPPS-A Future Capabilities Office

IPPS-A Industry Day slide deck

List of companies that registered for IPPS-A Industry Day

PEO EIS procurement forecast

SAM.gov notice