Armedia had been awarded a contract with FederalConference.com (FedCon) who was in need of a system to aid them in event management after a sudden increase in their workload. This increase came after FedCon was selected for the Army Strong Bonds program, which orchestrates 3,000 events every year. This increase to FedCon’s events meant that they needed a system that must:

• Drive increased efficiencies throughout the Event Management Process
• Enhance Office Automation
• Provide real-time 24/7 access
• Standardize records keeping and centralization of event files

These requirements were all met by Armedia’s distinguished staff of professionals who implemented Armedia Case Management (ACM) as a solution to increase efficiency across the board.

So far, this project was sounding a lot like the others the team had completed since I had come on board.

Army Strong Bonds is a unit-based, chaplain-led program which assists commanders in building individual resiliency by strengthening the Army Family.

The core mission of the Strong Bonds program is to increase individual Soldier and Family member readiness through relationship education and skills training. These training sessions are held in an offsite location in order to maximize the training effect. These retreats are orchestrated through FederalConference.com and aim to build the strength of families who have to endure the stresses of military life.

The true value of this project became clear to me the more I learned about Army Strong Bonds that not only are our systems improving business processes, but also helping improve the quality of life of our Armed Forces and their families through better organization of these events.

This project illustrates that there is more than “improving efficiency and increase office automation.” It shows how valuable these systems can really be in the context of improving the way we work, but also in the way we live.

People tend to expect a piece of software to be the “be all, end all” or “one size fits all” application. Developers and users alike, find themselves in these never-ending, “I’m a Mac. I’m a PC” or “Java vs. .Net” or “thick client vs. thin client” battles all because they want to believe in their heart of hearts their chosen product is infallible, and or at least a much better pick than the other person’s choice. Yet, nothing out of the box does everything, and no off the shelf product applies to everyone.

In fact, by the time a product has attempted to solve every combination of needs imaginable, it is too bloated or complex to work with properly. Users, over time and versions, either suffer along with the product or switch to other faster and easier to use products, repeating the cycle all over again.

So I offer these challenges to ponder…

Customers, when the time comes to purchase software, will someone convince you the “latest and greatest” product “slices, dices, chops, and purees” when you only need a slicer, or are you going to use Jay’s example? Will you prioritize all of your needs first; find the product that best meets high priority needs; then look at how easily the product can be modified to meet the more specific needs?

Software developers, are you going to account for an infinite combination of user needs until your product is too complex to use or support, or are you going to build an application to perform your determined task better than anyone else? Are you going to be open in your design enough for the Jays of this world to easily configure or customize your application to meet needs you may have never considered?

By the time Jay had finished his modifications, the mower had clamps to hold all of his basic tools, and the trailer had been “bumped out” to fit wider loads, and eye hooks were added allowing him to bungee cord down what was in the trailer. Even the “lawsuit avoiding” safety features, as he saw it, had been by-passed, because he really wanted to mow grass in reverse, without holding down a little yellow button. This summer he is enjoying a mower that fills his needs, and his yard is nicer for it.