The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Procurement Systems Division (PSD) oversees the Integrated Acquisition System (IAS), a USDA-wide automated procurement application. The IAS interfaces with USDA’s financial system and documents the full spending cycle for billions of transactions a year. PSD also manages the Charge Card Service Center (CCSC), which manages credit card and fleet card purchases for agencies throughout USDA.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Procurement Support Division (PSD)
Trained and Tracked More Than 18,000 CCSC Program Participants
Streamlined Communications with the IAS Community
Successfully Passed Yearly OMB Circular A-123 Audits
LINKVISUM'S SOLUTIONS
Taking over from an incumbent with a larger staff, LinkVisum provided an array of services in support of the PSD, including program management; independent verification and validation for all aspects of IAS’ system development and maintenance; Office of Management and Budget (OMB) audit support; website development and support; and oversight, outreach, and training for the CCSC. Our team worked closely with PSD staff to manage the division’s day-to-day program operations while delivering on requested program changes. LinkVisum also used its expertise to support the development and maintenance of effective internal financial controls as required by OMB Circular A-123 and to provide capital planning and investment control support in compliance with OMB and USDA chief information officer requirements. Additionally, LinkVisum developed and implemented a program-wide risk management process to ensure timely monitoring, evaluation, and resolution of risks and issues.
OUTCOME
LinkVisum became a trusted team member, assisting PSD in meeting its mission of maintaining and enhancing the IAS and CCSC. Program highlights include:
-
Trained and tracked more than 18,000 CCSC program participants
-
Automated the purchase request and approval process
-
Successfully passed yearly OMB Circular A-123 audits
-
Supported all phases of IAS quality assurance and user acceptance testing
-
Streamlined communications with the IAS community through email templates, automated website alerts, and calendar updates
ADDITIONAL PROJECT DETAILS
LinkVisum staff also worked with CCSC leadership and other stakeholder groups to identify current system interfaces and any changes that would need to be included in the requirements. LinkVisum staff also conducted market research, including primary and secondary research, to identify trends or additional features that could be included as requirements. LinkVisum supported CCSC initiatives specific to the Purchase Card program through activities such as providing facilitation support for quarterly meetings with Agency Program Coordinator by setting the meeting agendas, developing presentations, guiding discussions, and capturing meeting minutes.