News
Stay informed with the latest updates on our company milestones, contract awards, technological innovations, and community impacts.
Avum and Appian Deliver Results to The Navy
April 01, 2023Avum and Appian's partnership with the Silver Appian Acquisition Accreditation program delivers consistent results. Leveraging the Appian platform's efficiency and flexibility, Avum successfully delivered the Navy Minimum Viable Product (MVP) contract writing capabilities. Avum's acquisition expertise and the Appian platform's robust end-to-end process automation support allow us to rapidly deploy solutions to our customers and consistently deliver confident results in record time.
To learn more of the benefits of the Appian Partner Program, please visit Appian's Partner Program page.
Read More
Acquisition Decision Support Tool based on Avum's Cognitive Learning Application Framework
May 9, 2018This paper investigates whether the neural network modeling technique can be confidently relied upon to meaningfully explore variable relationships within acquisition business datasets. The paper uses a direct action methodology to develop and test a prototype Acquisition Decision Support Tool based on a Cognitive Learning Application Framework, and tests the application’s feasibility using acquisition test data sourced from a variety of acquisition business system archives. The test hypotheses use a correlated performance-based analysis approach. The framework and resulting repositories facilitate the fusing of multiple data sources with the goal of creating an Acquisition Decision Support Tool and Business Intelligence repository for rapid dashboard development and an ad-hoc query capability. The primary focus for model development and predictability in this paper will pertain to the area of contract structure and terms relative to vendor performance.
Click here to read our white paper.
Read More
Avum Completes U.S. Navy's Contract Writing System (CWS) Feasibility Study
March 25, 2022Avum completed the U.S. Navy's Contract Writing System (CWS) feasibility study for Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy - Procurement (DASN (P)). The feasibility study incorporated a portfolio approach to providing the DON contracting workforce with the end-to-end (E2E) procurement capability required to execute the DON's contracting mission as it procures goods and services. The team leveraged Appian Low-Code Platform and the Air Force CON-IT application to build and deliver a working CWS, including end-to-end (E2E) procure-to-pay (P2P) interfaces within the DON-specific architectures and cybersecurity requirements and environmental constraints.
Read More
Meeting Changing Requirements…
August 24, 2018The number one indicator of whether a software development project will succeed or fail is the quality of the requirements. Unfortunately, there is rarely a comprehensive set of clear, concise, and well-defined business processes, rules, roles, and data elements available at the start of a business system development project, or, when there is, they are often developed in a stove-pipe without buy-in from the target users. When your project is modeled after dynamic and fluctuating business processes and customer needs, the development lifecycle can be a rocky road. Requirements drafted six (6) months ago may no longer capture today’s environment. Going out with a big bang development effort with what may later prove to be incomplete or inaccurate requirements will leave you and your team dead in the water. This is where Agile Scrum really shines. Taking the effort into digestible, bite-sized pieces and planning mini-releases across the development cycle allows the customer to provide course correction throughout the process.
Traditional waterfall-based development methodologies are often too inflexible when the customers’ business needs shift. As requirements change, the time and effort it takes to reverse course and go back to the design phase in these traditional models can severely impact the project’s schedule, cost, and overall risk. If the customer notices during the user acceptance testing (UAT) phase that the product does not address their current needs, the project might have to start from square one, or risk total failure and the equivalent of setting the customers’ money on fire.
This is why software development companies around the world have embraced the Agile-based methodologies. Iterative work cycles, known as Sprints in Scrum, are focused around delivering functional application pieces to the customer early in the project lifecycle. This removes the risky fog of uncertainty by putting the software product in their hands right away. Customer feedback guides future development and distinguishes the high-priority requirements from those that have become irrelevant or non-essential.
Requirements can change at any point, coming from an evolving technical landscape, overlooked functional gaps, or top-down policy directive. Through customer collaboration, progress transparency and the agility to pivot project efforts, you can make sure that the final product is not only completed within the agreed upon budget and schedule, but also conformed to the customers’ expectations and pragmatic use.
Read MoreAvum and Appian Deliver Results to The Navy
April 01, 2023Avum and Appian's partnership with the Silver Appian Acquisition Accreditation program delivers consistent results. Leveraging the Appian platform's efficiency and flexibility, Avum successfully delivered the Navy Minimum Viable Product (MVP) contract writing capabilities. Avum's acquisition expertise and the Appian platform's robust end-to-end process automation support allow us to rapidly deploy solutions to our customers and consistently deliver confident results in record time.
To learn more of the benefits of the Appian Partner Program, please visit Appian's Partner Program page.
Read MoreAvum Completes U.S. Navy's Contract Writing System (CWS) Feasibility Study
March 25, 2022Avum completed the U.S. Navy's Contract Writing System (CWS) feasibility study for Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy - Procurement (DASN (P)). The feasibility study incorporated a portfolio approach to providing the DON contracting workforce with the end-to-end (E2E) procurement capability required to execute the DON's contracting mission as it procures goods and services. The team leveraged Appian Low-Code Platform and the Air Force CON-IT application to build and deliver a working CWS, including end-to-end (E2E) procure-to-pay (P2P) interfaces within the DON-specific architectures and cybersecurity requirements and environmental constraints.
Read MoreMeeting Changing Requirements…
August 24, 2018The number one indicator of whether a software development project will succeed or fail is the quality of the requirements. Unfortunately, there is rarely a comprehensive set of clear, concise, and well-defined business processes, rules, roles, and data elements available at the start of a business system development project, or, when there is, they are often developed in a stove-pipe without buy-in from the target users. When your project is modeled after dynamic and fluctuating business processes and customer needs, the development lifecycle can be a rocky road. Requirements drafted six (6) months ago may no longer capture today’s environment. Going out with a big bang development effort with what may later prove to be incomplete or inaccurate requirements will leave you and your team dead in the water. This is where Agile Scrum really shines. Taking the effort into digestible, bite-sized pieces and planning mini-releases across the development cycle allows the customer to provide course correction throughout the process.
Traditional waterfall-based development methodologies are often too inflexible when the customers’ business needs shift. As requirements change, the time and effort it takes to reverse course and go back to the design phase in these traditional models can severely impact the project’s schedule, cost, and overall risk. If the customer notices during the user acceptance testing (UAT) phase that the product does not address their current needs, the project might have to start from square one, or risk total failure and the equivalent of setting the customers’ money on fire.
This is why software development companies around the world have embraced the Agile-based methodologies. Iterative work cycles, known as Sprints in Scrum, are focused around delivering functional application pieces to the customer early in the project lifecycle. This removes the risky fog of uncertainty by putting the software product in their hands right away. Customer feedback guides future development and distinguishes the high-priority requirements from those that have become irrelevant or non-essential.
Requirements can change at any point, coming from an evolving technical landscape, overlooked functional gaps, or top-down policy directive. Through customer collaboration, progress transparency and the agility to pivot project efforts, you can make sure that the final product is not only completed within the agreed upon budget and schedule, but also conformed to the customers’ expectations and pragmatic use.
Read MoreAcquisition Decision Support Tool based on Avum's Cognitive Learning Application Framework
May 9, 2018This paper investigates whether the neural network modeling technique can be confidently relied upon to meaningfully explore variable relationships within acquisition business datasets. The paper uses a direct action methodology to develop and test a prototype Acquisition Decision Support Tool based on a Cognitive Learning Application Framework, and tests the application’s feasibility using acquisition test data sourced from a variety of acquisition business system archives. The test hypotheses use a correlated performance-based analysis approach. The framework and resulting repositories facilitate the fusing of multiple data sources with the goal of creating an Acquisition Decision Support Tool and Business Intelligence repository for rapid dashboard development and an ad-hoc query capability. The primary focus for model development and predictability in this paper will pertain to the area of contract structure and terms relative to vendor performance.
Click here to read our white paper.
Read More