Service management - LICENSE MANAGEMENT PLANNING

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The USMC along with other Department of Navy (DON) components were aligning to be consumers of an enterprise service provided by a DON program office. The utilization schedule, to include the number of users from each component and when exactly they would be using the system continued to change as development delays and requirement changes impacted the end users ability to migrate to the system.  

CHALLENGE:  The DON program office was not prepared to manage licenses across multiple organizations, each with their own requirements and processes for internal cost accountability for budgeting and utilization of licenses. Their operating process for development was based off a functional requirements document that did not even have a portion dedicated to Access Management. The need for license management had been a subject of discussion for at least 6 months with minimal to zero movement besides the acknowledgement that it needed to be addressed.   

SOLUTION:  Hartwood Consulting Group documented the many discussions related to License Management and cost allocation from the functional representatives of all current and future service consumers and created a requirements list that would satisfy the needs for transparency of license utilization, and management of licenses at the appropriate levels within each DON component.   

RESULT:  Hartwood was able to convert the notes from previous meetings into a complete license management plan that was presented to the functional community for review. After two special meetings, the license management plan was approved and utilized by the DON program office for the management of licenses. The plan also included the technical modifications required in the form of engineering change requests to allow for the implementation of the plan.

When Hartwood Consulting Group was first awarded the ARDB Records Management (RM) contract, the state of the program was nearing total disarray. Lack of policy contributed to an extremely disaggregated user knowledge base, technology support proved minimal to non-existent, training options were limited to a single outdated, computer-based class, and all requests for information (RFIs) had to be filtered through ARDB government staff, who themselves were limited on manpower and bandwidth.   

CHALLENGE:  Immediately, Hartwood staff went to work to identify and remedy the most immediate, critical gaps within Marine Corps RM. After probing conversations within the target community, historical research, and data analysis, our subject matter experts (SMEs) soon recognized that the programmatic decline was related to three main factors: a scarcity of current policy regarding the electronic RM migration, a lack of clarifying guidance resulting in varied program management from unit to unit, and the absence of “reach back resources” or personnel to conduct proactive outreach. 

SOLUTION: In order to communicate the current state and outline plans for future improvement, contract support took the initiative to write a comprehensive RM program plan of action. In it, it detailed the need for full-time Outreach and Training Coordinators—personnel dedicated to daily liaising with command RM representatives in order to bridge communication gaps between ARDB and the RM community. The plan also detailed the need for technology support, specifically a senior SharePoint developer, to revamp the RMKS site that was created under the previous contract. These development efforts would ultimately standardize the programmatic construct of USMC RM across the enterprise and serve as the genesis of CROSS (Command Records Operational Support Site). Finally, Hartwood began drafting policy to collectively update and inform the RM population as to specific, phased requirements for program compliance. 

RESULT:  The execution of Hartwood’s RM plan has been extremely well-received, both by ARDB government as well as RM customers. Not only has CROSS evolved into the USMC’s official Phase I RM system solution, but Hartwood’s outreach efforts have also exponentially boosted site traffic—up more than 33% in less than 18 months. Additionally, Hartwood trains upwards of 150 personnel per month on RM policy and system compliance. Finally, due in no small part to contract support, ARDB published clarifying policy on 5 March 2021, outlining the enterprise’s three-phased approach in support of a wholistic ERM migration. 

Prior to Hartwood coming on contract, ARDB had two email smb inboxes (e.g., group inboxes) designed for customer support. This was the only mechanism by which Records Managers (RMs) could contact HQMC with questions regarding RM compliance. The backlog of requests for information (RFIs) was significant. Furthermore, due to a shortage of manpower, ARDB’s response times were sporadic, often taking several days if not weeks to reply.     

CHALLENGE:  When Hartwood first developed the Command Records Operational Support Site (CROSS), we made very sure to include a “Contacts” box for customer support. This feature directly notifies the entire team when a customer submits an RFI. However, we also included the capability for Command Designated Records Managers (CDRMs) to make direct contact with the subordinate RMs within their command structure—an unprecedent feature to date. We recognized that, due to high volume turnover, it is often difficult for CDRMs to maintain regular contact with, or simply keep track of their RM staff. This capability now not only allows CDRMs to manage their staff in real time, but it also allows them to communicate internally and “pass” new information/compliance standards in one, consolidated location. Hartwood is also now able to quantify our response times to customers, which rarely exceeds a 24-48 hour turnaround. In addition, we also hired both a full-time Outreach Coordinator as well as Service Desk Support.    

SOLUTION:  Hartwood Consulting Group documented the many discussions related to License Management and cost allocation from the functional representatives of all current and future service consumers and created a requirements list that would satisfy the needs for transparency of license utilization, and management of licenses at the appropriate levels within each DON component.   

RESULT:  With this kind of proactive communication, ARDB has seen an exponential increase in CROSS traffic, which effectually translates to overall RM program compliance. For context, in October 2019 CROSS had an approximate 18% total Marine Corps registration rate; as of July 2021, we are now at 55% with more than 3,200 users. Of note, formal policy mandating CROSS use was not published until March 2021, meaning that the majority of growth was achieved via proactive outreach and word-of-mouth. As a result, ARDB is wholistically able to respond faster and to a higher volume of customers. And it’s only upwards from here...   

An existing legacy Records Management Knowledge Site (RMKS) was developed by the incumbent contract staff, which focused on the registration and maintenance of Command Directed Records Managers (CDRM) appointment letters. After a couple years of utilizing the site to collect demographic information on CDRMs, we recognized that the emphasis should shift to commands/units, rather than individual CDRMs. HCG and various stakeholders, including the government staff, came to an understanding that, in order to facilitate a successful Records Management (RM) program for the Marine Corps, a new system would have to be developed, complete with a new data architecture in which the programmatic elements existing within the command structure were the primary elements. 

CHALLENGE:  The USMC employs nearly 600 commands and 200k+ Marines, civilians, and contractors that all (potentially) produce records. We therefore faced the serious challenge of collecting and maintaining large quantities of command file plans, electronic appointment letters, and rotating Staff Section RM personnel assignments—all within an unstructured environment and with limited-to-no policy/governance. Furthermore, the existing data structure did not support CDRM/RM staff turnover since personnel assignment/information is often dynamic in nature. In addition, RMKS did not provide any technical delineation between RM roles (i.e., Primary/Alternate CDRM, Staff Section RM etc.), allowing the same functions to be conducted by both command and subsection staff personnel.

SOLUTION:  Hartwood revamped the RMKS site initially into, what eventually became CROSS 1.0. The solution was ultimately moved over to its own site collection, at which point, we discovered just how much of the legacy RMKS solution was housing unnecessary and obsolete personnel data. After sanitizing the unnecessary data, HCG employed an Agile Scrum development methodology to develop and deploy CROSS to the new site collection, focusing on a command structure, rather than the individual RMs, as the key element. In addition, we focused on specific tenets of training and policy development to ensure the enterprise-wide adoption of CROSS. This in turn, made turnovers seamless, file plan updates readily available, and resolved ambiguity surrounding IG checklist compliance. 

RESULT: CROSS was met with overwhelmingly positive results and has now become an official RM application for the USMC. Due to its rising usage by commands, development of 2.0 is under design. CROSS 1.0 was focused mainly on data collection and functionality definition, whereas 2.0 will focus on pro-active utilization and inspection support capabilities.

DON TRACKER

The USMC realized based on end user analysis that remote training would need to be provided to assist with the migration of the Marine Corps Action Tracking System (MCATS) user based from the legacy system to the new DON TRACKER.  

CHALLENGE:  The Hartwood Consulting support contract for the migration from MCATS to DON TRACKER did not include any funding for training nor was training included as part of the SOW. When examined, the contract being used had hit the ceiling and so no further modifications were allowed to potentially add training and ODCs. It was also determined that the prime DON TRACKER contractor did have training as part of the sustainment contract but due to delays in getting the sustainment contract awarded, they did not have enough time before the migration to hire, train and coordinate a training team for the USMC.

SOLUTION:  Hartwood Consulting Group worked closely with the client to present an analysis of the options and from that, we created a schedule to perform all training within the Jan 4th to March 14th timeframe with most commands being visited and all others provided with options to attend trainings a nearby locations. We then worked with the DON TRACKER prime contractor to work out a sub contract that would allow them to meet their training requirement and satisfy the needs of the USMC.

RESULT:  The analysis and plan was so well thought out and executed that Hartwood was able to not only meet the required 5 locations and 24 training sessions during the 12 weeks but for the same cost, were able to train at 15 locations and conducted 48 training sessions. Over 850 trainees attended remote training sessions during this time which exceed the total planned trainees for all locations of 760.      The prime contractor asked us for permission to extend the training contract to allow for support with future Navy User training.

DON TRACKER

The USMC was the first of a series of organizations scheduled to be a consumer of an Information Technology (IT) service being provided by the Department of Navy (DON) and they needed to ensure that the USMC end users were trained prior to deployment of the service. There was also a need to ensure that there was post deployment supporting training materials available. 

CHALLENGE:  The DON as the service owners had told all potential consumers of the new service that training materials were available within the system, and that there was an approved User Manual for the new system. When the USMC reviewed the “embedded training materials”, it was obvious to the entire team that the materials was too focused on screen by screen utilization of the system and not appropriate to meet the needs of the USMC. As a new system, there were no subject matter experts within the USMC that they could turn to with the knowledge to create training materials and there were no lesson’s learned from previous users of the systems on how to best create a training package.

SOLUTION: Hartwood Consulting Group took up the challenge and focused on what we did know and that was the legacy system. We were able to identify how the legacy system was being utilized and then focused on creating training materials that would show the same user base, how they would perform the same activities in the new system. The training materials also focused on highlighting the differences between the two systems including the improved functionality that was expected to make it easier to manage task actions within the USMC.

RESULT:  The Hartwood training team was able to put together a complete training package that included a MS PowerPoint for instructor led training, four (4) hands-on practical application scripts for trainees to perform within the training site, and an alignment of the old system functionality to the new system functionality that assured the trainees that they will be able to perform their job responsibilities in the new system better than they had in the old system. 

In order to satisfy a NARA mandate for the identification, maintenance, and ultimately, the disposition of electronic records, the USMC found itself requiring a standardized records center solution capable of being distributed to the entire Marine Corps, agnostic of SharePoint version of environment. However, the USMC’s existing records management procedure developed by the incumbent contracting team was not standardized across the Marine Corps, leaving command units to speculate the requirements for configuring their own, specific records center instance. There was a need across the Marine Corps to provision an electronic record filing solution that was accessible to all USMC end-users within the systems already being utilized for information management. 

CHALLENGE:  In addition to the lack of standardization, the previous version faced numerous issues with the foremost being the inability to extend MCTILM 1.0 capabilities to the prospective upgrade to SharePoint Online. Other issues, based on feedback from users of the previous version of MCTILM, included cumbersome configuration, lost records, rigid data design, inability to “back date” migrated records, as well as the inability to mass upload/undeclare records. MCTILM 1.0 was also not command based, therefore, any unit in the USMC could deploy their own MCTILM instance. Overall, the initial version of MCTILM did not have the simplicity or flexibility to accommodate the expected growth in electronic records management requirements for the immediate future of the USMC. 

SOLUTION: Hartwood meticulously analyzed multiple years’ worth of data and development progress from the incumbent contractors and developed a solution to mitigate as many of the challenges that were discovered during the initial 1.0 phase. We worked closely with the government staff and other key personnel, such as the EIS farm administration team, to ensure that the technical capabilities were available and corresponded to NARA ERM policies. Upon development, we assisted in preparing a test command to pilot the program, ensuring that the product was tested thoroughly by an operational unit. This newest version of MCTILM provides a more customizable SharePoint solution for automatic record retention, categorization, and disposition on a system that requires minimal (<1hr) setup time, into a deployable, single solution file. 

RESULT:  The second pilot program is still underway to test additional workflow capabilities, but initial feedback from the first pilot program (MCAS New River) were positive, specifically with the data structure and ease of setup. HCG has setup additional reporting metrics recently to accommodate and track existing MCTILM deployment instances across the Marine Corps. 

OMB-M-19-21 required all federal agencies to manage their records electronically by 31 December 2022. Prior to that, USMC’s Records Management (RM) policy and business practices were based almost exclusively on paper (textual) RM processes. There was no standardized methodology for maintaining an RM program at the command level—Command Designated Records Managers (CDRMs) typically created and controlled the organization’s file plan via three-ring binders and excel spreadsheets. Furthermore, Headquarters Marine Corps (HQMC), specifically, the Records, Reports, Directives, and Forms Management Section (ARDB), had no way of verifying command’s RM compliance, outside of biannual IG inspections.

CHALLENGE: Hartwood Consulting Group realized early on that, at both the command and enterprise level, the USMC had no way of identifying 1) records locations 2) their format (i.e., electronic or paper), or 3) the policy conflicts and/or logistical limitations that could prevent those records from being managed in an electronic environment. Hartwood also realized that in order to fully migrate to electronic RM (ERM), the USMC had to first take inventory of its current readiness posture, determine any training and policy gaps, and decentralize its cultural RM processes.

SOLUTION:  Recognizing the need for a standardized system, Hartwood developed CROSS—the Command Records Operational Support Site—to meet all programmatic RM needs. A sharepoint configuration, CROSS provides both CDRMs and ARDB an “at-a-glance” snapshot of a command’s RM readiness posture. It also standardizes the programmatic construct of RM programs across the enterprise and enables CDRMs to manage their unit hierarchy, Staff Section RM assignment, file plan, and IG checklist in one, central location.

RESULT:  Representing Phase I (of III) of the USMC’s ERM migration plan, CROSS has successfully taken the guesswork out of RM while allowing commands to tailor their programs to suit their individual business needs. It has also provided a level of transparency and analysis to ARDB and IG staff previously denied. As a direct result of CROSS implementation, CDRMs have not only received noteworthy inspection recognition for their RM programs, but they have also—some, for the first time—come to appreciate how a decentralized management model can improve collaboration and compliance.  

As a Department of the Navy, the Marine Corps is required to utilize the Navy’s retention policies for Records Management. In 2018, the Department of the Navy consolidated approximately 6,000 Standard Subject Identification Code (SSIC) retentions into approximately 712 Record Schedules. These schedules determine when and how records are destroyed or transferred to the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). 

CHALLENGE:  Marine Corps personnel have historically used four-digit SSICs to categorize and dispose of their records. With the advent of the new Record Schedule dispositions, they are now required to manage two population sets: one to categorize/label their records according to subject (SSIC), and the other to label that same record’s retention policy (Record Schedule). Both data elements are required for each individual record and require records managers to manually “crosswalk” SSICs to their corresponding record schedule disposition. To further complicate matters, current USMC business practices require only the first four digits of an SSIC (ex., 1650) to be identified on a record itself—in actuality, SSICs can drill down five to seven digits (ex. 1650.1b), with each sub paragraph aligning to a different retention (ex. SSIC 1650.1b belongs to RS 1000-5 while SSIC 16501.c belongs to RS 1000-7). This has led to an enormous amount of confusion, compounded by a lack of available training.  

SOLUTION:  Recognizing the information disparity across the enterprise, Hartwood immediately went to work, hiring subject matter experts who performed a comprehensive analysis of every Record Schedule data point. We quickly realized that over 100 schedules are Navy specific, meaning that they have little to no bearing on any USMC mission/records at all. We also identified that of the 712 schedules, only 40% have “hard” retention policies—meaning that they have an event-based or manual “trigger” for disposition. This renders the remaining 60% nearly impossible to program into electronic workflows or retention policies, which is the endstate of DoD Office 365. Finally, we recognized that many of the record schedule descriptions (such as RS 1000-1) are vague and nearly impossible to interpret/categorize correctly. While COVID-19 interrupted our progress, Hartwood plans to reschedule an RM Workshop in which leaders of all ranks and Mission Occupational Specialties can convene to hammer out and “augment” more articulate record descriptions. Hartwood also designed a USMC-specific training, utilizing Articulate software, in order to provide self-guided training on the proper crosswalk of SSICs to Record Schedules. This resource, now posted as an E-Learning tool in CROSS, has enabled RMs all over the USMC to learn the proper application of an extremely antiquated and convoluted process. 

The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) required that all government organizations be compliant with the capture, storage, and management of email records by 31 December 2016. The United States Marine Corps (USMC) was aligned to utilize another organizations compliant system but when that option fell through at the last moment, another option was needed within 3 months.  

CHALLENGE:  The USMC was able to get a 3 month storage arrangement that technically met the capture and storage requirements of Capstone but did not allow for the proper conversion into records or the efficient management of the records. Hartwood was asked to explore options for a low cost solution that would bring the USMC into compliance with the ability to provide coverage for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 24 months. Of course the solution would need to be able to be implemented within 3 months. 

SOLUTION:  Hartwood Consulting Group reached out to other organizations across the USMC to determine if there were any existing architectures that could be leveraged to provide a short term compliant records management repository. Via this communication, it was discovered that there was an existing prototype architecture already on a USMC network that would be viable for the Capstone RM needs. Hartwood proposed 3 technical options that included different capabilities such as Deduplication, automated metadata assignment to assist with retrieval requirements, and of course licenses and support for the RM of the emails. We covered Information assurance requirements, storage requirements, and complete technical integration between software products.

RESULT:  After presenting the technical options, Hartwood was able to coordinate with the appropriate best in industry solution providers to align resource requirements, communicate across the USMC organizations, and provide full documentation of the extent of the work required to allow the USMC to acquire the funding, coordinate the contracting, and the management of the work. This included the complete lifecycle of the email from determination of Capstone officials to ensuring the ability to retrieve the records as needed to support the transparency requirements of the US government.

USMC had a requirement to streamline the management of electronic records as new guidance and policies were quickly being implemented. These new policies drove an effort endorsed by ARDB to develop a SharePoint system designed to manage command file plans, hierarchy, and records managers. The resulting application, CROSS is now widely used as the records management application across the Marine Corps. 

CHALLENGE:  A previous version of a records management system was developed by the incumbent, that focused on individual records managers instead of a command-based application structure. When a new organization was identified as being ready for records management center deployment, new site pages had to be created for each organization, making the process cumbersome and time-consuming. The site maintenance and usage instructions were not well documented and the site, eventually became unmanageable due to the inability to distinguish legacy data from current data. 

SOLUTION:  HCG created an application and all supporting training, end-user guide, and technical document to assist in the initial implementation of command CROSS usage by organizations across the USMC. The supporting documents were updated regularly to ensure that the most up-to-date instructions and technical capabilities were captured, defined, and communicated to the Marine Corps in a timely manner. 

RESULT: Through meticulous consumer interviews, process research, development, and continuous communication with operational commands, we provided an end product that significantly reduced the time that it takes for commands to manage their records program. The technical documents will eventually be utilized as the baseline for the architecture and design of CROSS 2.0. 

Prior to Hartwood coming on contract, ARDB had two email smb inboxes (e.g., group inboxes) designed for customer support. This was the only mechanism by which Records Managers (RMs) could contact HQMC with questions regarding RM compliance. The backlog of requests for information (RFIs) was significant. Furthermore, due to a shortage of manpower, ARDB’s response times were sporadic, often taking several days if not weeks to reply.     

CHALLENGE:  When Hartwood first developed the Command Records Operational Support Site (CROSS), we made very sure to include a “Contacts” box for customer support. This feature directly notifies the entire team when a customer submits an RFI. However, we also included the capability for Command Designated Records Managers (CDRMs) to make direct contact with the subordinate RMs within their command structure—an unprecedent feature to date. We recognized that, due to high volume turnover, it is often difficult for CDRMs to maintain regular contact with, or simply keep track of their RM staff. This capability now not only allows CDRMs to manage their staff in real time, but it also allows them to communicate internally and “pass” new information/compliance standards in one, consolidated location. Hartwood is also now able to quantify our response times to customers, which rarely exceeds a 24-48 hour turnaround. In addition, we also hired both a full-time Outreach Coordinator as well as Service Desk Support.    

SOLUTION:  Hartwood Consulting Group documented the many discussions related to License Management and cost allocation from the functional representatives of all current and future service consumers and created a requirements list that would satisfy the needs for transparency of license utilization, and management of licenses at the appropriate levels within each DON component.   

RESULT:  With this kind of proactive communication, ARDB has seen an exponential increase in CROSS traffic, which effectually translates to overall RM program compliance. For context, in October 2019 CROSS had an approximate 18% total Marine Corps registration rate; as of July 2021, we are now at 55% with more than 3,200 users. Of note, formal policy mandating CROSS use was not published until March 2021, meaning that the majority of growth was achieved via proactive outreach and word-of-mouth. As a result, ARDB is wholistically able to respond faster and to a higher volume of customers. And it’s only upwards from here...   

When Hartwood was first awarded the ARDB contract, one of the first things we identified was an extremely disaggregated knowledge base throughout the records management (RM) community. Previous contracts had put out obsolete guidance that were still in circulation, critical policy pointed to websites where links/resources no longer worked/were accessible, and the look and feel of USMC RM reflected the same bare-bones framework from the last decade. Putting ourselves in position of these RMs, Hartwood quickly realized that program “buy-in,” especially at the forefront of a mass migration/transition to electronic RM (ERM), was at an all-time low.  

CHALLENGE:  Our challenge was three-fold: 1) to create products that would intrinsically address, if not directly counter outdated information/practices already in circulation, 2) to give an overall “face-lift” to the Marine Corps RM program, and 3) to ensure that the “new-and-improved” RM program would resonate within the community long-term.   

SOLUTION: In developing two system solutions for RM, Hartwood hired a Graphic Design and Visual Communications Specialist to design, market, and brand these solutions to the community. These efforts culminated in a series of custom-tailored logos and taglines, all of which support the Marine Corps’ three-phased migration to ERM compliance. Most notably, we have also created a Records Manager of the Marine Corps (RMMC) logo to distinguish the RM section from the other three sections (i.e., Forms, Directives, and Reports) inherent to ARDB. This logo and tagline have since been integrated into all ARDB personnel email signature blocks, products, training, etc. It is the only section within ARDB to have this distinction. We are also in the process of codifying the use of these branding concepts in a comprehensive Style Guide, which will serve to canonize these efforts for current and future use. 

RESULT:  As a result of Hartwood’s efforts, our logos are becoming increasingly stand-alone symbols throughout the enterprise. When customers see the RMMC logo in our signature blocks, despite being contract support, they know we speak on behalf of ARDB. Furthermore, our products all complement each other with a similar “look and feel,” color schematic, and design. While these changes may appear minor, to the customer they reflect a visual maturation of the RM, solicit stakeholder buy-in, and distinguish Hartwood products from that of the rest of the Marine Corps.  

The USMC Sergeants Major Slating Process is a forum conducted by the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps with Force Level Sergeants Major. It was introduced in February 2000 to ensure the assignment of the best qualified Sergeant Major leadership and experience to General Officer (GO) level commands and to ensure all eligible Sergeants Major receive fair and equitable consideration for those assignments.

CHALLENGE:  The process typically begins months prior to the actual slating board. Candidate packages are submitted through email to the Headquarters Marine Corps Manpower Management (MM) Office. Personnel from the MM office access multiple web databases to retrieve military records for each candidate and store them on local computers and shared drives. In preparation for each board, candidate packages are printed and consolidated into binders for review by the voting members. When the board convenes, all Force Level Sergeants Major around the world travel to Headquarters Marine Corps to participate in the slating process, expending resources to hold the event. In an effort to reduce costs and save valuable time for each voting member, the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps requested an online mechanism to hold virtual slating boards, keeping Force Level Sergeants Major in place during the vote.  

SOLUTION: Hartwood developers built a one-stop-shop, wizard driven solution for building and managing multiple, simultaneous virtual slating boards. The tool provides a fully functional dashboard, equip with web redirection technology to display only what is needed, depending on the permissions associated with the visiting user. The home page is configured with a communication mechanism, allowing for the posting and dissemination of all related board messages, and sends automated email notifications at various times during the board process. Global navigation links are utilized to bring forth a full directory (including photos, links to bios, and POC information) of all Sergeants Major currently serving in GO assignments. The tool streamlines the collection and tracking of packages, creating separate folders for each candidate, and providing drag and drop capability to quickly upload all required documents. At a pre-designated time, the tool creates a virtual board, pulling in all candidate packages and displaying them, in order, for voting members. Each voting member can vote in place, online, from their home office. Upon completion of each board, the tool provides a single-click mechanism for tallying votes, which are then displayed for voting members and the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, who signs off on the vote. Board results remain on the dashboard for 30 days, then are automatically retired to an archived state with retention of up to 2 years. 

RESULT:  Hartwood consultants presented the solution to the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps and received high praise for the effort and accuracy of the slating process, incorporated into the tool. He authorized deployment and requested the solution be presented with a full demonstration at the 2017 Sergeants Major Symposium.

USMC

A major change was coming that would impact the entire USMC all at once with a tail end of 10 to 15 years of continued influence. A new Department of Navy (DON) application was scheduled to be deployed to replace the legacy Marine Corps Action Tracking System (MCATS) that has been around for almost 20 years. The replacement was scheduled to occur at one time across the Corps creating a huge organizational change.

CHALLENGE:  The Hartwood Consulting Group needed to figure out how to effectively reach out to the stakeholders, determine what resources were available, and hope to establish a communication effort that would provide awareness, continual updates and at the same time set the stage for pre-deployment and post deployment collection of concerns and issues related to the projected deployment schedule.

SOLUTION: Hartwood Consulting Group worked closely with the client to generate a strategic communications plan that was comprised of multiple avenues of communications. Hartwood first presented a plan that was filled with objectives but was light on activities due to the lack of knowledge available on options for communication. Over the course of the 8 months preceding the deployment of the replacement system, Hartwood worked to complete the strategic communications plan with over 6 different versions being reviewed, modified, and then accepted.

RESULT:  As the plan matured, a multi-pronged communications plan was approved, implemented, and tracked that allowed for members of the Hartwood team to conduct over 55 Customer Engagements in person via VTC, 2 Corps wide Town hall meetings, the generation of MARADMINs for distribution and the creation of a Pre-Deployment Communication Package that was distributed to POCs established during the customer engagements.

Communications governing Marine Corps Records Management (RM) have been historically scarce. With only a handful of bulletins, MARADMINs, and clarifying policies, most RMs have been forced to almost exclusively rely on the Marine Corps Order and SECNAV (Navy) policies to ensure programmatic compliance. As the Records, Reports, Directives & Forms Management Section (ARDB) made attempts to update policy and business processes, a strategic communications plan failed to materialize. This unfortunately, resulted in disparate knowledge base and disaggregated information dissemination throughout the RM community. 

CHALLENGE:  In an effort to meet compliance with the OMB M-19-21 mandate—which requires all federal agencies to transition to electronic RM (ERM) processes by 31 December 2022—ARDB contracted Booze Allen Hamilton to configure a SharePoint solution known as the Marine Corps Tool for Information Lifecycle Management (MCTILM). Unfortunately, while MCTILM was deployed across most of the western region of the Marine Corps, the contract abruptly ended, and the RM community was left without clarifying guidance. This gap occurred in conjunction with the Marine Corps’ pilot of the DON Task, Record, and Consolidated Knowledge Enterprise Repository (DON TRACKER) for which an implementation plan was largely lacking. Upon their awarding of the contract in 2018, Hartwood was not only immediately forced to contend with these opposing systems, but also a critical manpower shortage, a forthcoming service inspection by the National Archives & Records Administration (NARA), an overhaul of policy which consolidated 6,000 Standard Subject Identification Codes into just over 712 record schedules, overhaul of the Records Management Knowledge Sites (RMKS), and little to no means of communicating these changes to the masses.  

SOLUTION: After triaging critical information gaps, Hartwood leveraged its Training and Graphic Design personnel to develop more than sixteen products for immediate publication and dissemination across the enterprise. This included a quick sheet series, broken down by RM role, multiple slick sheets outlining each phase to ERM compliance, and a host of trainings, end user guides, and a Frequently Asked Questions guide which was posted to the Command Records Operational Support Site (formerly RMKS) as well as the ARDB public facing site.    

RESULT:  Thanks to these mitigating efforts, RM customers now have the ability to access and download information in a centralized location. They are also to review, at leisure, materials that are specific to the Marine Corps’ ERM migration (which differs from that of the Navy) and explicitly support both CROSS and MCTILM compliance. Hartwood continues to develop products in support of ERM and looks forward to creating a curriculum of self-guided instruction that will help move the Marine Corps and the RM community into the digital information age.