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Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) hosted its first Data Challenge Showcase event on September 12, highlighting how project teams within the command used innovative approaches with data and analytics to drive value and streamline formerly time-consuming processes.
Organized by NAVWAR’s Office of the Command Information Officer (OCIO), the challenge built on objectives listed in the 2022 NAVWAR Strategic Vector and encouraged participating teams to “integrate data, analytics, and dashboards into Enterprise environments that will drive outcomes the Fleet needs to fight and win.” Submissions were accepted from April to June from across the command. In total, 229 projects were uploaded to the Data Challenge tracker.
The showcase was hosted by NAVWAR Data Director Grant Kluzak and featured projects from Timothy Manning, Program Executive Office (PEO) Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) data artist; Diane Larson, Cybersecurity Figure of Merit (CFOM)/Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) audit lead; Shannon Hill, human capital analytics lead and Lt. Cmdr. Mike Cribbs. The projects ranged from spend plan management, position (billet) management, Risk Management Framework (RMF) and cybersecurity assessment.
Although the topics ranged vastly across competencies, all the presentations showed how innovative approaches to workflows could improve data and reduce repetitive tasks, making work processes more efficient. Teams presented their findings and provided examples of how they used data, as well as who at NAVWAR could benefit from their projects.
Larson spearheaded a project to gather CFOM data and organize it into an easily digestible dashboard. CFOM was developed in 2019 by NAVWAR’s Office of the Chief Engineer as a scorecard to inform program offices of their systems’ cybersecurity health. A figure of merit is a term used across industries that assigns a numerical quantity based on one or more characteristics of a system that represents a measure of efficiency or effectiveness.
By integrating data from a CFOM questionnaire, Enterprise Mission Assurance Support Service (eMASS) and CYBERSAFE, Larson and her team created an intuitive interface that provides Navy leaders with a data-driven approach for cybersecurity in acquisition systems. The CFOM Dashboard features FICO-like CFOM scores, filters and actionable steps for program offices to improve their cybersecurity posture. Although CFOM is a relatively new concept, she and her team have been at the forefront of exploiting data and creating dashboards for decision-making purposes. The CFOM team is also exploring additional data sets, including mission mapping, financial and a “What If: Cybersecurity Investment” dashboard to provide additional context to Navy Leadership to inform their cybersecurity investment decisions.
“We are thrilled at the opportunity to not only participate in the NAVWAR Data Challenge, but also present our CFOM Dashboard to the enterprise,” said Larson. “CFOM is a great way for our Navy leaders to understand their cybersecurity gaps and make improvements, ultimately allowing them to ‘embrace the red’ and practice ‘Get Real, Get Better’ cybersecurity best practices and strategies for better protection and resilience of our systems for the warfighters and Fleet.”
Presenters also explained how they used a variety of data management tools provided in the Department of Navy (DON) Enterprise environments such as FlankSpeed and Jupiter. Many of these tools, including Databricks, Power Automate, Power Apps and Power BI, are freely available and accessible to all Navy users.
“The goal is to get all of NAVWAR working on data-informed projects in some fashion,” said Kluzak as part of his closing remarks. “From workflow automation or advanced analytic techniques in Jupiter, I hope that everyone at NAVWAR will be able to use data in innovative, new ways to fulfill our Strategic Vector goals.”
Due to the overwhelming success of the first Data Challenge, the NAVWAR OCIO is kicking off a second round of the Data Challenge, with the submission period running through November 30, 2022. This second round will continue to support the Lead Naval Digitization objective in the NAVWAR Strategic Vector and the goal of Driving Data-informed Decision-making and Digital Transformation.
Awards will be given for the most innovative data projects across NAVWAR. One award will be available for NAVWAR Headquarters and its Naval Information Warfare Centers (NIWCs) and one for each PEO. A group of digital innovation practitioners will evaluate projects based on creativity, utility, and scalability across NAVWAR and the Navy.
“We are thrilled the NAVWAR community embraced this data challenge and the showcase,” said Tonya Nishio, NAVWAR command information officer. “The energy and creativity our teammates used to tackle these challenges was fantastic and proves there’s nothing we can’t do once we set our minds to it. Their efforts will drive new solutions and improve our processes and best practices. This exercise proves our NAVWAR teammates are ready to move into the digital future. The insights and progress gained from this challenge ensures we are the catalyst for change with a dynamic workforce harnessing the power of digital analytics.”
About NAVWAR:
NAVWAR identifies, develops, delivers and sustains information warfighting capabilities and services that enable naval, joint, coalition and other national missions operating in warfighting domains from seabed to space and through cyberspace. NAVWAR consists of more than 11,000 civilian, active duty and reserve professionals located around the world.
| Date Taken: | 11.16.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 11.16.2022 12:56 |
| Story ID: | 433377 |
| Location: | SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Web Views: | 247 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NAVWAR Data Challenge Highlights Innovative Data-Driven Approaches, by Lily Chen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
