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The Adams National Historical Park was in need of a Project Management and Technical support team to support weekly end user issues, and project management initiatives. After a period of time with limited technical resources, the park had accumulated several compounding technical difficulties in their systems that reduced their available resources and degraded the efficiency of their work environment. The park’s primary source of income, customer visits, was being processed through a system with substantial inaccuracies due to configuration neglect as a result of the absence of corporate knowledge. The result was frequent system down time and unsatisfactory utilization of the tool due to a cumbersome process. Additionally, a long list of unattended technical issues and poorly performing office equipment with outdated configuration needed some attention.
The existing configuration issues in the processing software, VISTA, used by the National Historical Park required a major system overhaul. AVATAR Computing stepped in as the project management resource, conferring with both NPS front office staff and NPS management to assist in defining their needs. After articulating the areas of attention required, AVATAR Computing engaged both the remote hosting company and the VISTA software manufacturer in order to define the required actions to take, and facilitate the project plan through completion. These efforts included an extensive process of database modifications, graphical user interface redesign, management reporting definition, and refinement of statistical analysis. Upon completion, AVATAR Computing directed an orientation of changes to the software through on site and remote staff training, and developed support documentation in the form of Standard Operating Procedures, and frequently asked Questions. Prior to opening day, the system was overhauled, and the staff was trained on the changes, yielding a user friendly ticketing process, and reporting process with increased efficiency.
Through the onsite efforts at the Adams National Historical Park, AVATAR Computing has increased efficiency for onsite personnel through system upgrades and recommendations, troubleshooting and help-desk ticket support. By engaging the manufacturer, AVATAR Computing was able to mitigate document center scanning malfunctions on all multi-use devices within the Quincy Park. This is considered ‘a big success’ by both AVATAR Computing and the Park staff, who have struggled with the misconfiguration of the devices over the course of several years.
AVATAR designed and developed a freestanding form page, built to aesthetically work in a fashion that quickly and clearly provides information that is curated and filtered by location. The web-friendly display is both mobile-responsive and printable. The design was coordinated and influenced by the already running 1alliance.org website, equipping it with the capability to securely pass data elements between the two instances. To support these efforts, AVATAR also developed a database that refines and solidifies the information being populated and end user query in a secure environment.
AVATAR Computing continues to fulfill the Project Management and Technical Support needs of the Adams National Historical Park contract through a customer-centric support model, mirroring the unique rhythm of the park, while owning the customer’s issues. The Adams National Historic Park continued to actively engage AVATAR Computing for weekly support, as well as project based consulting. Under Contract agreement through 2016, AVATAR Computing was there to support the future initiatives of the Adams National Historic Park at the highest levels possible for the Industry.
The service is presently available on a mobile-friendly website, but with the help of AVATAR, 1st Alliance will be engaging in a second phase, offering the service on a downloadable mobile application. Future plans include setting up private forums for the providers so they are able to exchange ideas and best practices. This app has quietly gain momentum within the fields, with several news articles spotlighting the project and funding pouring in from Massachusetts law enforcement associations, First Responder non-profit groups, and private donations. With the continued support of AVATAR, 1st Alliance intends to keep re-inventing the wheel for our heroes, pooling resources quickly and effectively.
AVATAR Computing, Inc. is a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) providing technology solutions to the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force, the Department of Interior, and select businesses within New England.
