Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05STATE219156
2005-12-03 00:09:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Secretary of State
Cable title:  

SMART UPDATE

Tags:  AMGT AINF AADP ACOA ASEC KRIM 
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UNCLASSIFIED STATE 00219156 
VZCZCXRO4031
RR RUEHAT
DE RUEHC #9156/01 3370016
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030009Z DEC 05
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO ALL DIPLOMATIC AND CONSULAR POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHTRO/USLO TRIPOLI 5296
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 219156 

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT AINF AADP ACOA ASEC KRIM
SUBJECT: SMART UPDATE

REF: A) STATE 152885, B) STATE 13048,
C) 03 STATE 284912, D) 02 STATE 195704

STATE 00219156 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 219156

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AMGT AINF AADP ACOA ASEC KRIM
SUBJECT: SMART UPDATE

REF: A) STATE 152885, B) STATE 13048,
C) 03 STATE 284912, D) 02 STATE 195704

STATE 00219156 001.2 OF 002



1. Please provide wide dissemination of the information
in this telegram.


2. This message is another in a series of updates on the
status of SMART, the State Messaging and Archive Retrieval
Toolset. SMART is designed to consolidate cables, e-
mails, and memos on a single platform integrated with a
centralized searchable archive. The original SMART
timeline called for systems development in 2003-2004,
pilot testing at 15 posts in summer 2005, and worldwide
deployment in 2006. Because of vendor delays, the
contract has been amended (at no cost to the government)
to stipulate completion of the first phase by January 31,

2006.


3. The Department's Steering Committee for SMART consists
of Assistant Secretary- and DAS-level representatives from

functional and regional bureaus department wide. it meets
regularly to review the status of the SRT program and to
provide program direction. The Under Secretary for
Management, Henrietta Fore, opened the September 28 and
November 9 meetings of the SMART Steering Committee. She
emphasized the importance of the SMART program and the
requirement for a new integrated messaging system for the
Department.


4. In light of the delays of the SMART contractor in
delivering a solution and the importance placed on this
program by the Under Secretary, the Program Office updated
a 2002 survey of existing messaging practices of 24
organizations, both public and private sector. IRM was
also tasked to provide a contingency paper on how the
State Department could complete SMART utilizing IRM as an
integrator or in a general contractor role.


5. In September, an ad hoc Senior Review Group
(Ambassadors Reis, Thomas, and Powell, Bruce Morrison and
Frank Machak) was convened to review the updated survey,
IRM's approach paper, as well as overall program status.
The Senior Review Group's report to the Steering Committee
concluded the following:

- The best solution for the Department is that the
SMART contractor succeeds.
- The requirement for a new messaging system is more
imperative today than ever.
- There is not a SMART-like solution currently
available in either the public or private sector.
- Should the contractor fail to deliver, then the
Steering Committee needs to prioritize the
functionalities required to modernize the legacy
telegram system.
- IRM could serve as an integrator; however, this
approach is not without some risk to the government.


6. At the November Steering Committee meeting, Under
Secretary Fore announced that Steering Committee Chair
Ambassador oe Lake will be joining the Office of the

Inspector General as a WAE and has also accepted a
position as president of the American Center for Mongolian
Studies, a non-profit academic organization. She thanked
Ammbassador Lake for his three years of service on the
SMART program and reported that former CIO Bruce Morrison
had accepted her invitation to serve as the chair upon
Ambassador Lake's departure.


8. Usability demonstrations and evaluations were
conducted September 14 - 20 and November 9 - 10, 2005.
These sessions included 45 business users, system
administrators, and Steering Committee members. Feedback
from the demonstrations confirmed steady progress in the
user interface of SMART; however work remains with system
administrator training.


9. In addition to measuring usability factors, the
contractor is conducting rigorous testing against
functional, technical, and performance requirements under
the watchful eye of State's Independent Verification and
Validation (IV&V) team. The IV&V team reports that bugs
remain to be fixed and performance at Department specified
standards has not yet been demonstrated. The contractor
will continue testing and fixing bugs until late December.
Final acceptance testing will take place in the latter
part of December and January. The Steering Committee will

STATE 00219156 002.2 OF 002


consider the results of acceptance testing in February and
make a recommendation to the Under Secretary for
Management on whether to continue with the current
contractor.


10. In the event that agreed standards for a user-driven
messaging system are not met by January 31, 2006,
contingency planning is underway for an alternative to
satisfy the SMART vision.


11. Visit http://smart.state.gov/ on OpenNet or
http://smart.state.sgov.gov/ on ClassNet for the latest
information on the SMART program. These sites contain a
full description of the system being designed including
features such as search and retrieval, instant messaging,

and collaboration software. The site also includes a copy
of the recent study examining messaging systems in 24
public and private institutions.


12. Minimize considered.
RICE