FORT MEADE, Md. – On September 9 and 10, the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) National Background Investigation Services (NBIS) team hosted its first Product Days at Fort Meade, bringing together representatives from over 50 agencies and industry.
“This two-day event represents a milestone for NBIS. We are bringing together stakeholders to ensure the transition from legacy government systems to advanced technologies that address users’ real needs, while also incorporating vital changes to address the requirements of Trusted Workforce 2.0,” said Rebecca Cellarius, NBIS chief product officer.
Cellarius opened the event by emphasizing that the purpose of Product Days was to help her team build an enterprise capability that aligns with the needs of stakeholders. “In the past, there has been too much of leadership talking to the user, rather than listening to the user. We want to hear from you to ensure we build the best product we can,” she said.
Participants were organized into groups and engaged in interactive user experience and user interface (UX/UI) breakout sessions to conceptualize the ideal digital product. UX/UI specialists facilitated these sessions, enabling participants to propose design and functionality enhancements that are not only intuitive but also visually appealing.
Designers rapidly translated participant input into mock dashboards and wireframes, which participants could view at the event. This iterative process provided real-time user feedback to direct subsequent stages of product development.
At the conclusion of the event, attendees expressed their appreciation for being involved in the product design process and their desire for continued engagement.
These engagements are part of DCSA’s integrated SAFe Agile approach to software development and delivery. Engaging and collaborating with users from multiple stakeholder groups ensures the design of the products meet government-wide requirements and aligns with DCSA’s customer-centric focus.
NBIS leadership committed to providing regular updates regarding product rollouts and highlighted the importance of user feedback throughout all development stages. The agency plans to hold Product Days on a recurring basis to foster collaboration between designers and users.
NBIS is the IT system enabling the end-to-end personnel vetting process and is critical to TW 2.0, the whole-of-government effort aiming to better support the federal government and cleared industry. TW 2.0 implementation across the federal government will reduce the time required to bring new hires onboard, enable mobility of the federal workforce, and improve insight into workforce behaviors. For more information on NBIS, please visit www.dcsa.mil.