'AID' FOR TUITION ASSISTANCE
requests for information or schedule an industry day to see what options are available?
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If you’re the Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems (PEO EIS), you use your extensive programmatic and acquisition experience, as well as your in-depth technical exper- tise, to craft a different path forward—one that entails working closely with the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisition, logistics and technology (ASA(ALT)) to tailor the Adaptive Acquisition Framework to rapidly respond to a critical acqui- sition problem.
ASSESSING THE CHALLENGE When PEO EIS first became engaged in conversations about ArmyIgnitED, a tuition assistance portal that replaced the GoArmyEd platform in mid-2021, the system was experiencing stability challenges that hindered Soldiers from receiving tuition assistance, counselors from reviewing and approving applications, and the Army from making payments to educational institu- tions. Te general thinking among stakeholders involved with the project—including its new owner, the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC)—was that PEO EIS, with its strong understanding of business system requirements and acquisition, would be able to exercise the proper authorities and get the online system working as intended.
In January, PEO EIS’s Acquisition Innovation Directorate (AID)—known at the time as the Director, Acquisition Systems Management/Strategic Initiatives Group—rolled up its sleeves and got to work. Te first order of business was briefing the then- senior official performing the duties of the under secretary of the Army, who gave PEO EIS a fall 2022 deadline to deliver the initial capability. Given the compact time frame, the director- ate conducted an accelerated analysis of alternatives, considering falling back on GoArmyEd, as well as potential modifications to the existing system and solutions implemented by other mili- tary services.
A PROVEN SOLUTION PEO EIS was particularly intrigued by the Air Force Automated Education Management System (AFAEMS), an enterprise-wide, web-based application used to manage the Air Force Voluntary Education and Training Program overseen by force development flights. Te education and training portal manages an Airman’s
38 Army AL&T Magazine Fall 2022
hat do you do when you inherit a high-profile, software-based program that needs to be fixed fast? Stand up a new program office and plan a brand-new acquisition strategy? Send out
FIRST 'AID' TO PMOs
PEO EIS’s Acquisition Innovation Directorate (AID) relaunched under its new name earlier this year with a focus on helping the organization’s project manag- ers and directors determine which project management office (PMO) should oversee a new program require- ment, then working with that PMO to develop the acquisition strategy and documentation.
The directorate team—composed of several acquisi- tion and program management specialists—has two primary areas of focus: acquisition support and stra- tegic initiatives. Acquisition support provides guidance on all acquisition-related matters, from documentation review to transitioning new program starts for execu- tion. Strategic initiatives leverage team members’ executive-level contracting and technical expertise to help plan new operational initiatives.
Besides ArmyIgnitED, some of the key initiatives that the directorate will be focused on in coming months include the Army case-execution system, the enter- prise services infrastructure, and the theater medical information requirement. The directorate also will develop tools for PMO leadership, including a check- list of required documents for shaping programs in the acquisition pathway and supporting project managers’ execution of those programs.
complete education and training record, tuition assistance budget and all related processes, automating all routine tasks performed by force-development personnel.
While Air Force processes differ from those of the Army, they fulfill the same function and have similar requirements, accord- ing to Aric Sherwood, director of the Acquisition Innovation Directorate at PEO EIS. During technology exchanges PEO EIS held with TRADOC’s Combined Arms Center and the Air Force, the technical aspects of AFAEMS seemed to be a good match, and Air Force leaders were receptive to the Army’s poten- tial tailoring of the system to its own needs via business process re-engineering. In fact, many Soldiers currently use AFAEMS for education conducted by the Air Force, and the Florida National
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