SMART ASSESSMENT AND PHASE 1A BETA DECISION

UNCLAS STATE 028721 E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AMGT AINF AADP ACOA ASEC KRIM SUBJECT: SMART ASSESSMENT AND PHASE 1A BETA DECISION REF: A) 05 STATE 219156 B) 05 STATE 152885, C) 05 STATE 13048 ¶1. Please provide wide dissemination of the information in this telegram. ¶2. This message provides an update 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. ¶3. The current phase of SMART - Phase 1A Beta solution - was completed and tested in January 2006, in accordance with the modified delivery order with the vendor. ¶4. An eleven-member multi-bureau Performance Assessment Team (PAT),chaired by Glen Johnson, met February 7-10, 2006, to assess the beta solution and prepare options for consideration by the SMART Steering Committee. The PAT drew on comprehensive reports from the vendor (Northrop Grumman),the Independent Verification and Validation team (Gartner),and the Department's SMART Program Management Office. ¶5. The SMART Steering Committee, chaired by former CIO Bruce Morrison and comprised of senior representatives from geographical and functional bureaus of the Department, met on February 15, 2006, to consider the PAT report and recommend a course of action to the Under Secretary for Management. ¶6. As a consequence of the PAT analysis and Steering Committee review, the Department of State (a) reaffirmed the SMART vision, but (b) decided not to exercise its option to have Northrop Grumman move the beta solution into a pilot deployment. ¶7. Instead, the SMART Steering Committee will evaluate how best to implement the SMART goals, fine- tuning them as necessary, and recommend an approach for implementation to the Under Secretary for Management by March 31. ¶8. The SMART websites will be updated regularly to keep you informed of developments. Please visit http://smart.state.gov/ on OpenNet or http://smart.state.sgov.gov/ on ClassNet. These sites contain a full account of SMART since its inception, including the vision of a "simple, secure, and user- driven system to support the conduct of diplomacy through modern messaging, dynamic archiving, and information sharing." ¶9. Minimize considered. RICE