Evaluation of Current Automated Civil Engineer System Non-Appropriated Funds Project Programming Procedures

It is essential that businesses continually improve their automated information systems (AIS) to support the changing needs of the organization. The Air Force civil engineering organization is no exception, and they have drastically improved their Automated Civil Engineer System (ACES) since its implementation in 2000. However, there are many problems associated with the non-appropriated funds (NAF) project programming business rules within ACES. These problem areas were not addressed until recently when an integrated process team (IPT) met and proposed numerous changes to how NAF programming is accomplished in ACES. This research effort, through a web-based survey, focuses on the perceived benefits of these proposed changes from a base-level programming perspective. It also investigated current programming procedures that might affect how well the proposed changes are implemented along with NAF and ACES training issues. Descriptive statistics were used to answer the research questions using survey responses from a sample size of 35 base-level programmers. The results indicated that programmers "agree" or "strongly agree" that the majority of changes proposed by the IPT will be beneficial in improving NAF programming in ACES. However, several potential problems areas might surface, due to current programming procedures at base-level, when these changes are implemented into ACES. Automatic email notifications on project status, electronic attachments to the project file, and use of non ACES templates are all areas of concern brought up in this research effort.