Quality Assurance: Management Approach
Black Knight Technology Inc. (Black Knight) has assembled a team within the framework of SeaPort Enhanced (BKTSE) which possesses extraordinary depth and capabilities to address the various requirements of NAVSEA Warfare Center and other Virtual SYSCOM customers. This team is comprised of enterprises with extensive knowledge and experience relative to the defense industry and the Navy in particular. Each teammate has a proven history of performance, and can readily provide specific expertise to achieve designated efforts as demonstrated in attached Table A. The BKTSE will build on the superlative engineering, technical and programmatic support services and product strengths of each team member to meet objectives in a timely and cost-efficient manner.
This management approach was developed entirely by Black Knight Technology Inc. and the BKTSE Team members without the assistance of any consultants or other outside assistance.
Best Practices and Performance Based Contracting
Definition of a Best Practice: A Best Practice is defined as a superior method or innovative practice that contributes to improved performance of the process or achievement of a goal.
Through the sharing of best practices among team members as provided in the teaming agreements executed by each team member, and the examination and review of practices of others, BKTSE will identify, adopt, and incorporate those methods and procedures most likely to foster and promote innovation and cost reduction. Further, BKTSE acknowledges the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) indicated desire for acquisitioning to move towards performance based contracting. We endorse this approach, as it would allow us to promote our strengths stemming from a lean management approach with quick responsiveness and are confident in are ability to operate successfully in that environment.
Black Knight has grown steadily and successfully over the past five years from a one-man shop with a single contract into a thriving small business with fourteen employees (eleven technology engineers/analysts and three administrative/accounting support) and several contracts involving multiple task orders.
With an operating history of over five years showing sustained growth and profitability, existing and continuing awarded contracts, a strong capital base and an established line of credit with a large national banking institution, Black Knight is financially stable and capable of managing the financing requirements that will result from an award of a SeaPort Enhanced contract. In addition, in August 2004 our cost accounting system successfully passed a DCAA audit receiving a satisfactory evaluation. Black Knight maintains an active Secret facility clearance and can support both prime and subcontractor tasking up to that security clearance level (H. 13). Black Knight maintains policies providing all required insurance coverages as set forth in the solicitation (H. 15). Black Knight computers and software are compliant with SeaPort Portal Requirements (H. 18).
In conjunction with and in addition to the demonstrated capability of the Black Knight management team, the team members of BKTSE have committed to lend support, including management expertise, to achieve successful results to effort. Black Knight will maintain regular communications with team members to meet those goals.
Professional Support Services Approach
Communication is the mainstay of the BKTSE plan to integrate and utilize professional support services across and within NAVSEA and other Virtual SYSCOM to determine the best practices available and institute such where appropriate to effect cost savings. This includes all stakeholders, specifically task order customers, NAVSEA acquisition coordinators, team subcontractors, and other sources identified as having valuable ideas or better methods.
Black Knight will use two primary means of communicating among team members and with existing customers and prospects: 1.) Meetings, planned formal or informal, with any and/or all stakeholders involved with an awarded contract; 2.) To establish and maintain a BKTSE website containing the information requirements specified by the RFP (H. 11) and such other information as the team may deem convenient and appropriate.
Meetings
The members of BKTSE will participate in regular meetings as agreed to relay and review information and measure task progress and performance against benchmarks and standards. The agendas of these meetings will cover Contract/Subcontract status, Task Order status, staffing and costs status, security requirements, periodic training needs, and review of existing and new quality programs and processes (best practices), cost savings initiatives, and metrics.
BKTSE Website
Black Knight has identified and will interview two qualified website developers, one of which we will select to design a dynamic and scalable website that upon award of a contract initially will include all the information and capabilities listed in section H. 11 of the solicitation. Black Knight intends to enhance and improve the website on discussion with team members as to desired information and functions.
Best Practices Approach
Each member of BKTSE is committed by the terms of its teaming agreement to cooperate and share information as to methods and procedures identified as “best practices” (defined above) with BKTSE and its members individually with the objectives of maximizing innovation and efficiency.
Cost Savings Approach
Black Knight will take a similar approach to identifying and incorporating novel ways to reduce costs and measure the effectiveness of cost saving programs in place. At the monthly and quarterly meetings we will review status of established programs and measure progress against anticipated/projected results to provide metrics for assessment of efficacy.
Management Capabilities and Processes
Beyond our experience and communications approach described above, Black Knight will continue Six Sigma Training through our subcontractor Northrop Grumman to establish policies and procedures to ensure that contract and subcontract activities are performed properly, consistently, and efficiently. In addition, Black Knight will send management team members to training seminars to familiarize them with policies and procedures.
Managing a Subcontractor Team
Black Knight’s management team has considerable experience managing teams. Also, our management team knows the NSWCDD contracts personnel and what is expected of a prime contractor. In those instances where we find we need to shorten our learning curve we will rely on other prime contractor team members for guidance relative our best practices approach to systems.
Managing Change
The ability to manage change is one of the strong advantages of a technology focused, research and development small business. The BKTSE is better equipped to predict, react and adapt to changes in industry than many large defense contractors with their substantial commitments to existing programs and technologies. Black Knight as team leader has small, more localized management and technical teams that can respond more quickly to the customer changes and requirements than a larger company with multiple layers of management and approvals.
As to managing changes to project hardware, software, firmware, or system configurations, our team is experienced in using a variety of tools that provide configuration control of project information and artifacts (such as Doors, StarTeam, Caliber, etc.). Configuration and change management requirements will be established at the onset of each task order.
Managing Quality Improvement
The most important impact on quality is the person working on the project and their commitment and desire to deliver high quality products or services. The next strongest factor is the environment in which that person works. The organization, management, tools, and co-workers all play a role in determining quality. To maintain this level of quality, and translate it to the customer, our team will continue to pursue ISO 9000 certification. Our subcontractors already implement this or comparable processes, and we will utilize them to establish and adapt a set of quality standards and processes.
In addition, lessons learned and future improvements will be discussed on a monthly and quarterly basis in the ongoing team and customer management meetings. Templates will be developed for all repetitive forms of documentation (including various types of reports, proposals, budgets, etc.). These templates will be reviewed and approved by the appropriate customers and task order managers. The templates will be available to all team members and their use will improve the consistency of our documentation.
Managing Responsiveness and Customer Satisfaction
Our approach to guarantee responsiveness to and cooperation with customers involves several components:
- Task order proposal templates will be generated and available to all team members for each type of possible task order. This will facilitate faster and more accurate team responses to SeaPort Enhanced RFQs/RFPs.
- Continuous channels of communication with the various customers (technical, contracts, team mates). This will be accomplished through regular meetings, drop-by visits, phone calls, and emails.
- Establishing Plans of Action & Milestones (POA&Ms) for each task. This synchronizes expectations on deliverables and schedule between the customer and the BKTSE task team.
- Management oversight during execution of task orders and management visits with customers to assess level of customer satisfaction or to identify issues.
Managing Problems
Our approach to problem resolution is related to our approach in managing responsiveness and customer satisfaction. The best method to reduce problems in the first place is a well conceived and agreed upon plan and frequent communication with task order stakeholders. The POA&M will minimize problems due to unmatched expectations and the frequent communication will catch smaller problems before they become large. Once a problem is detected, direct communication between the task order manager and the government POC will happen right away. A standard overall process will be available on the BKTSE website which can be tailored by the customer and task order manager to meet their needs and resolution approach expectations.