PMAPS Report-26 Nov 2015 AAC-SDR

PMAPS Report-26 Nov 2015 AAC-SDR.pdf - 1 –
© Crown copyright 2008
PMAPS Report, 2015
(Proposal Management and Production System)
Date: 24 November 2015
Author: Alicia Coke
(Senior Business Administrator, PMAPS)

PMAPS
PMAPS Timeline and Milestones
Began
PMAPS
Project
May
2015
Discussion
of PMAPS
Attributes
June
2015
Review of
PMAPS
Attributes
July
2015
PMAPS
Training
Conducted
July
2015
Additional
PMAPS
Training
Conducted
Aug
2015
PMAPS
Accreditation
Completed
Successfully
Oct
2015

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PMAPS Report 26.11.15 V10
Contents
Section 1: PMAPS Report Overview............................................................................................ 3
Section 2: PMAPS Exisiting Content Review ............................................................................. 3
2.1 Corporate Information........................................................................................ 3-4
2.2 Capability Statements........................................................................................... 4
2.3 Professional Information Records (PIRs) ........................................................... 4
Section 3: Progress from May 2015 to the end of October 2015 .............................................. 4
3.1 PIRs, CVs and E-Signatures............................................................................. 4-5
3.2 Main and Sub Topics as at 8 June 2015 ............................................................ 5
3.3 Revision of Main and Sub Topics .................................................................... 5-6
3.4 PMAPS Training..................................................................................................6
3.4.1 Session 1 (July 2015)...................................................... 6
3.4.2 Session 2 (August 2015)................................................. 7
3.4.3 Outcomes of PMAPS Proficiency Training................ 7-8
3.5 PMAPS Accreditation........................................................................................... 8
3.5.1 User Types (Original and Revised)........................... 8-9
3.6 Collaborations with Proposal Software, Inc. for Enhancements ................... 9
3.7 Proposal Software, Inc. Workshop (Administrator Training)...................... 9-10
3.8 Using PMAPS for Met Office Accreditation Processes (Achilles)................. 10
Section 4: Summary .................................................................................................................... 11
Section 5: Next Steps.................................................................................................................. 12
Appendices
Appendix 1: Main and Sub Topics as at 2 July 2015 ............................................ 13
Appendix 2: Current Main & Sub Topics and Protocols on PMAPS ................... 14
Appendix 3: PMAPS Training Feedback Form-August 2015 ............................... 15
Appendix 4: Feedback from PMAPS Training Session 2 ..................................... 18
Appendix 5: The Search Screen on PMAPS .......................................................... 19
Appendix 6: Proposal Software, Inc Adresses Users’ Concerns........................ 21
Glossary ...................................................................................................................................... 22

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1. PMAPS Report Overview
This report is about the development of PMAPS (Proposal Management and
Production System) to enhance best practice in the storage and retrieval of accurate
and relevant information to assist in the production of bids, proposals or grants. The
database is used mainly by the Government Services and International
Development Teams and is primarily used for the storage, extraction, adaptation
and use of Professional information Records (PIRs) to create CVs for use in
proposals/bids.
This report includes an overview of the steps taken to increase the number of
compliant PIRs held and review and catalogue Met Office corporate information
required for inclusion in proposals and grants. It also contains an outline of
developments leading to the successful streamlining of categories of information
included in the database to make the system more user-friendly. The report
highlights the positive cumulative effects of recommendations, suggestions and
requests made by regular users of the system in relation to the most appropriate
data categories to include before the reassignment of attributes to documents
uploaded onto it. It emphasizes the importance of adopting a consultative approach
to achieve an effective data management system through the use of PMAPS.
Finally, the report will also summarise the outcome of PMAPS training sessions, the
creation of user guides, levels of user proficiency and the number of licences
issued.
2. PMAPS Existing Content Review
In January 2015 an internal ‘data cleanse’ of existing content on PMAPS had been
undertaken by Suzanne Pearman in Government Services. Alicia Coke, the current
Senior Business Administrator (SBA) with responsibility for PMAPS began the role
on May 11, 2015. This section outlines the PMAPS data content as at May 2015.
2.1 Corporate Information
Corporate Information on PMAPS consisted of business details about the Met
Office, including insurance certificates, policy documents and annual reports and
accounts. There were 149 Corporate Information documents on the database. Of

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these, 113 were deemed ‘Active’ denoting that they were compliant, current and
able to be used for proposals. Of the remaining 36 documents, 35 were ‘Archived’
and one document was marked ‘To be deleted’. A number of duplicated policy
documents were stored on PMAPS which included expired and active versions of
the Health and Safety Policy and the Environmental Policy.
2.2 Capability Statements
This category includes strategic information about what the Met Office can do or
what it has the capacity to do. 53 capability statements were included in the ‘data
cleanse’ spreadsheet. All were active documents except 2 that were archived.
2.3 Professional Information Records (PIRs)
Over 100 PIR documents and old CVs were held on PMAPS during the data content
review. Many of the PIRs were ‘non-compliant’ as they had a short expiration date
and had not been modified since loading. Additionally, it was difficult to determine
which CVs were compliant and which were non-compliant as duplicate versions of
CVs existed on PMAPS and the M: Drive for the same people.
3. Progress from May 2015 to the end of October 2015
3.1 PIRs, CVs and E-Signatures
Between May and August 2015, the SBA began the process of identifying staff – the
subject matter experts (SMEs) - who needed to submit a PIR or whose CV needed
replacing based on lists provided by Business team members or resource managers.
Members of staff were then contacted by email and provided with guidance notes
and a PIR template for completion. Pre-populated PIRs were provided where an
existing CV was on file. Completed PIRs were uploaded onto PMAPS. In order to
effectively manage personal information to meet data protection requirements, dates
of birth were removed from the PIR document. This data was entered into a
spreadsheet held on PMAPS with restricted access and the dates of birth fields
populated with the phrase ‘Data Held Securely’ or ‘Data Not Supplied’. The review
cycle of PIRs was also extended from six to twelve months to ensure PIRs remained
compliant for a longer period before requiring SMEs to update and verify the content.

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There are just over 200 PIRs held on PMAPS, the majority of which are compliant
(an increase of over 100% since May 2015).
In June 2015, a separate e-signature page was added at the end of the PIR
document so that SMEs could sign and submit this for secure storage on PMAPS.
Signatures are often required in bids to confirm staff availability and accuracy of CV
details. The e-signature pages have been uploaded onto PMAPS with restricted
access together with dates of birth. There are currently 47 e-signatures stored on
PMAPS.
3.2 Main and Sub Topics as at 8 June 2015
In June 2015 it became apparent that the lack of precision in existing data category
headings was causing confusion with users.
In July 2015, the SBA arranged a meeting with the System Administrator for PMAPS,
the Bid Managers from Government Services and International Development Teams
and the Business Efficiency Manager to discuss and review the existing main and
sub topics on PMAPS. The team brainstormed ideas about how to refine the attribute
categories on the database. The discussions during the brainstorming session
revealed that there were too many categories of data that were miscellaneous,
duplicated or unnecessary. A significant attempt was made to begin the process of
streamlining and re-categorising them. The main and sub topics as at 2 July 2015
can be found in Appendix 1. The new main and sub topics can be found in Appendix
2.
3.3 Revision of Main and Sub Topics
At the International Development Team meeting on 26 August 2015, the newly-
devised main and sub topics on PMAPS were presented to the team for review and
comment. During this meeting, it was suggested that customer references and
naming conventions in PMAPS should be consistent with the existing customer and
account management database used by Met Office staff; Goldmine. A reliable
approach to handling data, assigning attributes and manually including brief
summaries of document content would ensure there was a more robust approach to
data input and record management.

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Additionally, individual users of PMAPS from other Business teams such as Road
and Rail provided specific recommendations for additional main and sub topic
categories on PMAPS along with making suggestions to refine the existing
protocols. The diagram summarising the current categories and protocols can be
found in Appendix 2.
3.4 PMAPS Training
3.4.1 Session 1 (July 2015)
In July 2015 a training session for version 10 of PMAPS was arranged for 15 users:
1. Alicia Coke Senior Business Administrator, PMAPS /Trainer 1
2. Amanda Squires Systems Administrator/Trainer 2……………………………
3. Phil Helmore Bid Manager, Government Services (PMAPS Super User)
4. Cindy Somerville Bid Manager, International Development…………………..
5. Ian Robson Partner and Project Support…………………………………
6. Zoe Widger Senior Business Administrator………………………………
7. Phoebe Russell International Development Summer Placement Intern……
8. Robyn Lockyer International Development Summer Placement Intern……
9. Kathrin Hall Senior International Business Development Manager……
10. Bill Leathes Senior International Business Development Manager……
11. Tamara Janes Senior International Business Development Manager……
12. Emily Wallace Scientific Consultant, Applied Science……………………..
13. Helen Kendall Key Account Manager, Rail………………………………….
14. Jane Sattary Senior International Business Development Manager……
15. Rebecca Lye Marketing Manager…………………………………………..
The full functionality of PMAPS was not accessible during the training session as
Internet Explorer 11 was not available to all users. Attendees using Google Chrome
had better functionality to perform the required operations during the session.
Feedback, questions and issues raised by the PMAPS training session included:
“What are the attributes for capability statements and how do I use PMAPS to build
a bid?”

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3.4.2 Session 2 (August 2015)
On 17 August 2015 a second PMAPS training session was held for 15 users:
1 Alicia Coke Senior Business Administrator, PMAPS /Trainer 1
2 Amanda Squires Systems Administrator/Trainer 2…………………………….
3 Phil Helmore Bid Manager, Government Services (PMAPS Super User).
4 Cindy Somerville Bid Manager, International Development…………………...
5 Ian Robson Partner and Project Support………………………………….
6 Phoebe Russell International Development Summer Placement Intern…….
7 Robyn Lockyer International Development Summer Placement Intern…….
8 Kathrin Hall Senior International Business Development Manager…….
9 Helen Kendall Key Account Manager, Rail…………………………………..
10 Jane Sattary Senior International Business Development Manager…….
11 Rebecca Lye Marketing Manager…………………………………………....
12 James Griffiths International Relations Summer Placement Intern…….…..
13 David Corbelli International Business Development Manager…………….
14 Tim Donovan Senior International Development Manager/Meteorologist.
15 Helen Kendall Key Account Manager, Rail…………………………………..
This training session was aimed at encouraging proficiency in the use of the system
based on revised attributes and allowed feedback before, during and after the
session. Feedback included comments about the difficult layout of the main and sub
topic attributes and problems with navigation of the search screen of PMAPS. This
feedback informed the new category layout in Appendix 2. The issues raised were
addressed with one-to-one, follow-up training sessions which were supported by the
creation of user guides containing guidance on how to configure PMAPS to enhance
the user experience. The feedback form for this session is in Appendix 3 and the
feedback received in Appendix 4. In addition, the new recommended layout of the
search screen in PMAPS is illustrated in Appendix 5.
The main finding, however, was that PMAPS was not used as it was hard to………..
navigate and information quality was not trusted. Usage was one in May and by the
end of October it had increased to four frequent users…………………………………
3.4.3 Outcomes of PMAPS Proficiency Training
Although the aim of the second training session was to promote PMAPS proficiency,
IT compatibility issues made this made this particularly difficult. Fortunately, PMAPS
users were able to discuss the functions and content of PMAPS using handouts
during the session. The user guide with screenshots prepared beforehand did not

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match the visual display due to the limited functionality but this was addressed
through one-to-one training sessions with many of the attendees afterwards.
3.5 PMAPS Accreditation
At the end of July 2015, an accreditation process was initiated for PMAPS. It was
aimed at assessing the risks to information and whether they were at an acceptable
level to the Met Office. The accreditation involved consideration of the
data/information retention policy, document control and bid/proposal control on
PMAPS. It also included completion of a technical assurance process by the main
users through a document authored by the System Administrators responsible for
PMAPS; Amanda Squires and Nikki Hill.
The accreditation process was a success and PMAPS was certified with ‘Authority
to Operate’ at the Met Office in October 2015.
3.5.1 User Types (Original and Revised)
The accreditation additionally required the identification of different types of PMAPS
users. This was important for granting or withholding access to certain types of data
held on PMAPS, affecting how data could be used (e.g. deletion or editing rights). At
the same time, steps were taken to reduce the user types on PMAPS to simplify
access rights. Through this exercise, the number of user categories was rationalised
from 6 to 4.
Original User Types (at May 2015)
User Group Internal or External to the Met Office
Data Editor
Internal
Bid Extractor
Internal
Bid Manager
Internal
Super User
Internal
System administrator
Internal
Data Editor
Internal

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Revised User Types (at October 2015)
Role Approx. No. of Users
Admin 2
Bid Manager 5
Data Editor (Basic User) 12
Super User 5
3.6 Collaborations with Proposal Software, Inc. for Enhancements
On the 20 August 2015 Met Office feedback was discussed on a conference call
with Proposal Software, Inc. in the USA. The Systems Administrator, Bid Manager
(PMAPS Super User) and SBA attended the meeting from the UK. The feedback
from PMAPS users and responses from Proposal Software, Inc. can be found in
Appendix 5: Proposal Software, Inc. Addresses Users’ Concerns.
As a result of this meeting, an enhancement request was submitted by the Met
Office. This was accepted by Proposal Software, Inc. who advised that in the next
upgrade of PMAPS a ‘Clear All’ button would be included. This would replace the 3-
step process of re-setting and sorting filters and clearing the search tab after
performing search functions.
3.7 Proposal Software, Inc. Workshop (Administrator Training)
On 17 September 2015, the SBA attended a PMAPS Regional Workshop in
London. This session provided an opportunity to discuss how the Met Office uses
PMAPS and how we have devised and ordered our main and sub topic attributes
compared with other users (who were mainly from financial or asset management
organisations). Attendees were given a manual to work through and received
training on various features including how to use Compliance Central and the

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dashboard on PMAPS to validate documents before collating them for the bids
process. Attendees were also shown how to compile reports using specific criteria.
3.8 Using PMAPS for Met Office Accreditation Processes (Achilles)
In late September 2015, the SBA was given the opportunity to test the efficacy of
PMAPS by using it (together with the Met Office intranet, MetNet) to find and collate
information and documentation relevant to the Achilles Procurement accreditation
process for the Commercial Business team. Achilles is an external verification
framework for purchasers to be able to select companies who are included on an
approved supplier database. The Met Office is required to upgrade their basic
membership from Bronze to Silver to satisfy the requirements of some of their bigger
commercial customers.
An accreditation template was provided showing details of the documents required
to evidence compliance with Achilles. The accreditation process also requires the
collation of information about the Met Office concerning its quality standards, health
and safety and sustainability policies, etc. The accreditation process requires a
day’s audit. Once the higher level clearance is obtained, the Met Office can increase
membership level to silver and proactively use the database to identify and secure
work.
The number of documents collated for the purposes of the Achilles accreditation
process is currently over 120.

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4. Summary
Since the SBA started in May 2015; to October 2015
1. New main and sub topics have been created based on user feedback. This has
significantly simplified the process of finding documents on PMAPS.
2. All 198 PIR records have been re-categorised under the main topic ‘People’ and
the sub topic ‘People-PIR’ and the compliance process has been updated.
3. All 1665 documents on PMAPS have been re-categorised and given their
appropriate status.
4. Two formal training sessions have been held in the Met Office College in July
and August 2015.
5. One-to-one training sessions were delivered in September and October 2015 to
enhance users’ knowledge, proficiency and confidence.
6. Proposal Software, Inc. has provided technical support and made software
developments in response to feedback.
7. The SBA has benefitted from the face-to-face PMAPS Regional Workshop held
in London in September 2015.
8. The Achilles Accreditation process has provided an excellent opportunity to
source up-to-date assurance information to upload onto PMAPS.
9. To enhance the user experience, a range of user guides has been created
including one for optimal screen set up to enable easier navigation of the search
screen. The suggested search screen configuration for setting up columns
including Main Topic, Sub Topic and Brief Summary can be found in Appendix 5.

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5. Next Steps
1) Capture current usage of PMAPS in 6 months.
2) Encourage increased uptake of PMAPS from current 4 users to all designated
licence holders to encourage rationalisation of the number of licences.
3) Make an MetNet (internal) announcement regarding PMAPS: what is it, what
information is stored on it, who uses it, what is it used for?
4) Continue CV deletions from the Shared (M) Drive to ensure all users access the
same version of PIRs and CVs using PMAPS.
5) Review of licence costs and numbers of licences held.
6) Roll out PMAPS to other teams.
7) Add sector information on Capability/Offer.

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Appendix 1: Main and Sub Topics on PMAPS as at 2 July 2015

14 PMAPS Report 26.11.15 V10
Appendix 2: Current Main & Sub Topics and Protocols on PMAPS as at August 2015

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Appendix 3: PMAPS Training Feedback Form - August 2015
Name: (Optional) Team:
Please select and indicate one response for questions 1 to 3:
1. How frequently do you use PMAPS? Daily Weekly Monthly Rarely
Never
2. What do you use PMAPS for? Bids /Proposals/Grants PIRs/CVs Corporate
information Other
If you use PMAPS for any other reason please explain in the space below:
3. How useful have you found PMAPS? Extremely useful Moderately useful Not at
all useful
4. How useful have you found the training today? Please comment in the space below:
5. As a result of the PMAPS training you have received, do you think you will use PMAPS:
More? Less? About the
same?
6. Do you have any suggestions or recommendations for the improvement of PMAPS? Please
comment below:
7. Are there any individuals for whom you believe a PIR would be particularly useful which are not
yet on PMAPS? Please list the names in the space below:

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Appendix 4: Feedback from the PMAPS Training Session 2

19 PMAPS Report 26.11.15 V10
Appendix 5: The Search Screen on PMAPS

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Appendix 6: Proposal Software, Inc. Addresses Users’ Concerns

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Glossary
Achilles An external procurement verification framework
PIR Professional Information Record (a long version of a CV)
PMAPS Proposal Management and Production System
PMAPS Webpro The full name of the PMAPS database and software
Proposal Software, Inc. PMAPS software developers
SBA Senior Business Administrator (i.e. Alicia Coke)
SME Subject Matter Expert

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Met Office
FitzRoy Road, Exeter
Devon EX1 3PB
United Kingdom
Tel (UK): 0870 900 0100 (Int) : +44 1392 885680
Fax (UK): 0870 900 5050 (Int) :+44 1392 885681
enquiries@metoffice.gov.uk
www.metoffice.gov.uk

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