MODERNIZING TODAY

MA R C H 2 0 0 0

United States Office of Personnel Management 

Retirement Programs

Volume Two • Issue One

Ed Flynn, A s s o c i ate Dire c t o r

for Retirement and Insurance 

Modernization effort— A strategic initiative to rethink, reevaluate, and 

ultimately reengineer the various processes 

that support and provide retirement services.

Last fall, we held a series of very

helpful and thought-provoking

meetings with our customers

around the country to listen to their

thoughts about the Modernization

e ffort. We heard the concerns and

expectations of people who depend

on our services in Philadelphia,

Pennsylvania, Minneapolis,

Minnesota, Washington, D.C.,

Portland, Oregon, and Boyers,

Pennsylvania. These focus groups

included current Federal employees

and human resources specialists, all

of whom have a direct interest in the

success of our Modernization eff o r t .

The feedback we got was

t r e m e n d o u s—we received positive

responses to our initiative and

additional suggestions for change.

I was extremely pleased with the

reports of active participation by

everyone who attended and I thank

everyone involved. 

As a result, we learned that our

customers are looking to us to build

a retirement system that makes the

most of modern technology and

focuses the power of that technolog y

The Modern i z ation Effo rt —

Focusing on the Customer

on helping the people we serve. In

the I’m Glad You A s k e d c o l u m n

you will see our answers to some

of the questions we received from

our customers.

This issue of Modernizing To d a y

also contains other items I hope

you will find interesting. We

have an interview with one of the

key technology players here at

OPM and articles that describe

other different facets of the

Modernization effort. Finally, if

you would like more information,

please take a look at the H a v e

Questions or Suggestions? s e c t i o n .

We would like to hear from you.
"One of the Reinventing Government initiatives was to empower employees to

make decisions in the workplace re g a rding means, methods, and technology. A

bonus of this initiative is that employees will provide better customer serv i c e .

Local 32 salutes RIS officials. They were open to empowering employees to

play an active role in the process. These employees are making valuable contri -

butions that are paying off alre a d y. With every accomplishment, the task forc e

shows us that a labor and management team – working collaboratively – re a l l y

can make a differe n c e .

To Ed and the task force, we say, ‘Keep up the good work and keep on keeping

us informed.’ As A F G E ’s slogan says: ‘Government employees – nobody does

it better!"

MODERNIZING TO DAY • MA R C H 2 0 0 0

In this issue

● The Blueprint of the 

Modernization Eff o r t p. 2 

● Quotable Quote p. 2

● Merle To w n l e y

I n t e r v i e w p. 4 

● Measuring Results p. 6

● The Modernization 

E ffort and Information 

Technology p. 8 

● I’m Glad You A s k e d p. 10

● Have Questions or

Suggestions? p. 12 

● Late-Breaking News p. 12 

Quotable Quote

From the President of AFGE Local 32

Michelle R. Tolson

The Blueprint of the Modernization Effort

By Shoshanna Goodman 

American Management Systems Team Leader

As you may recall from our last

issue of Modernizing To d a y, we

had a "late-breaking news" item

that the Modernization eff o r t ’s

project team had just completed

validation of the To-be model

and was embarking on creating

the blueprint for the reengin e e r e d

The Blueprint of the Modernization Effort

retirement processes. As we

explained, redesigning the

Retirement Program can be

compared to building a house.

Using the To-be model as our

foundation, the project team has

made significant progress in

translating the To-be model

sketch into a detailed floor plan

for our "new house." We are in

the process of documenting

what the redesigned processes

and new technologies will look

like. As the team leader for this

phase of our project, I would

like to share with you how we

have gone about creating the

blueprint and what we have

accomplished. 

PAGE 2

What is a blueprint?

The blueprint is the detailed layout

of what functions and processes

must be supported to ensure that

the Modernization effort meets

its primary goals and objectives.

As the detailed floor plan of our

"new house", the blueprint also

informs the project team of the

procedures and systems that it

needs to design to transform the

blueprint into a functioning system. We have been designing

our blueprint one process or

"room" at a time. This ensures

that we can adequately focus on

the details of each process.

c o n t i nued on page thre e
an ideal place to live, we are

validating each process blueprint

with our stakeholders (OPM

e m p l o y e e representatives, OPM

management, and representatives of other Federal agencies)

as we have developed it.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, we have incorporated

the results of our customer focus

groups, mentioned in Ed’s article.

These activities continue to

ensure that we are moving in the

right direction. 

Where is the Modernization

e ff o r t ’s project team on the

development of the blueprint?

The project team is almost

halfway through creating the

blueprints for the 6 core processes

(i.e., Member A d m i n i s t r a t i o n ,

Claim to Payment Initiation,

Annuity Roll Maintenance,

Benefits Counseling, Employee

Withholdings, and Trust Fund

Management) of our To - b e

model. American Management

System (AMS) is also working

alongside OPM and IBM to help

translate our blueprint into the

technical design we will need

The Blueprint of the Modernization Effo rt . . .

Creating the blueprint is a step by

step process. Each component of

the design builds on the previous

one. The first step we took in

this phase of the project was to

create detailed process steps

based on the To-be model. In

doing this, we added detail to

the To-be model and performed a

step by step analysis to determine

how work would flow. We

looked at who or what system

would perform the work. We then

used the detailed process flows to

list the required functions ( e . g . ,

the ability to determine coverage,

the ability to verify the member's

security information, the ability

to automatically determine service

credit) of the future systems and

processes. The finishing touch

of our blueprint is an analysis of

the types of data (e.g., member

identification data, Tier 1 customer service call information,

deposit eligibility information)

we will need to access to ensure

that we can properly automate

and support the processes set

out in the To-be model. 

Because our house must have

all of the elements that make it

PAGE 3

c o n t i nued from page two

to properly build the systems

that will support the future

Retirement Program.

Where do we go from here?

The project team is working

towards creating the blueprints for

the remaining core processes.

A d d i t i o n a l l y, AMS is gearing up

to begin designing the procedures

that support the To-be model

along with developing an implementation plan. We will ensure

that the employees who keep the

Retirement Program running

will be ready for any changes.

We will identify any training

needs that will be essential for a

smooth transition. Finally, OPM,

AMS, and IBM will continue t o

work together to ensure that the

processes and systems that we

develop work as a whole to

exceed the expectations of

employees, former employees, and

retirees of the Retirement Program.
MODERNIZING TO DAY • MA R C H 2 0 0 0

A. Yes. I have many diff e r e n t

responsibilities and the chance to

keep up and use the ever- c h a n g i n g

technologies and apply them to the

O ffice of Retirement Programs.

Q. How did the team get started

on the calculator endeavor?

A. We needed a kernel of business

rules that could be used as a prot o t y pe and be incorporated into

future systems. We had already

been working on this because our

traditional computer resources

were squeezed by a combination

of Y2K issues and the diff i c u l t y

in hiring technical people.

Also, the Office of Retirement

Programs' workload is shifting

from the old Civil Service

Retirement System (CSRS) to

the new Federal Employees

Retirement System (FERS) with

no offsetting increase in the tools

needed for FERS claims. T h e

project of building a calculator

seemed perfect for an "early win"

in our Modernization eff o r t .

Previous efforts to build a compreh e n s i v e Benefits Calculator had

not been productive. There were

vendors with benefits calculators,

but their products were more in

the category of "estimators"---

and that is a significant diff e r e n c e .

There is no margin for errors

when you are building a calculator

to compute federal employees'

monthly retirement pay.

Therefore, with the number of

FERS claims increasing, the

environment was right for an

O ffice of Retirement Programs

e ffort by people who understood

the program. 

Merle Townley Interview

Merle Townley is the Branch

Chief who leads the team working

on the prototype Benefits

C a l c u l a t o r. He works in

Operations Support Division, the

Office of Retirement Programs at

O P M .

Q. Merle, what is your job?

A. The Quality Control and

Authorization Branch (QCAB)

ensures that the 2.4 million federal

annuitants receive their payments

as scheduled and respond to

situations beyond our control

such as when checks are lost or

stolen—we make sure replacement checks are furnished as

quickly as possib l e . We’re also

responsible for quality control

and liaison with other Divisions

for Automated Data Processing

issues. Most recently, part of the

branch has evolved into a team that

helps with PC computer issues

t h r o u g h o u t the Office of

Retirement Programs. My job

is to make sure all the activities

work together as a productive

w h o l e .

Q. It sounds like your job

requires a lot of creativity?

Merle Townley Interview

By Joe Parker and David Lewis

Q. Don't you feel on the hot seat

for a possible failure?

A. At the beginning of the project

I guessed the odds of success

were 1 in 5. Yet we went forward

because the payoff would be

huge. QCAB's talented people

had the ability and courage to

pull off the project despite the

long odds. I believe if our task

was to put a satellite in orbit, we

could have accomplished it

because of our determination.

Q. Wouldn't it be easier to tell a

contractor what you want and let

them build it?

A. We'll be looking towards

Commercial Off - t h e - S h e l f

(COTS) solutions too, as new

applications become available

that meet our needs. As part

of the Retirement Systems

Modernization effort, we'll be

evaluating various COTS solutions to get the most cost-eff e c t i v e

solution for the long term. But

the main advantage of creating a

prototype calculator in-house is

that many of us were Benefits

Specialists and knew the work.

This allowed us to make larg e

impact decisions quickly. In addition, knowledge of retirement law

and current practices is dispersed.

There is no single person or source

that knows it all down to the detail

level. Telling a contractorwhat to

do can be a very slow process.

As I stated before, what we

actually created was an automated

set of business rules that can be

used in development of new tools

PAGE 4

c o n t i nued on page fi v e
through the Retirement Systems

Modernization effort. 

Q. How do you know what to

build into the system? 

A. From the technical side, the

QCAB team used the Internet and

also talked directly to developers

at Fortune 500 companies to

glean ideas. We also studied the

design of "estimators" and the

C O B O L code and design of the

current mainframe system. From

the retirement side, we tried to

add components of the calculator

that affected the largest number of

retirement cases.

Q. How do the users input their

ideas and needs?

A. Originally, because the developers were ex-Benefits Specialists,

we designed the system for us.

Then, as the project evolved, we

got a lot of feedback from the end

users and the FERS analysts. Now,

we have a more formal system

where an end user can email the

lead developer and we try to

respond in less than 24 hours.

Q. How long does it take to build

a new program like the Benefit

C a l c u l a t o r ?

A. About 18 months, and about 4

to debug it.

Q. What is beta testing?

A. Beta testing is selected user

testing. We alpha tested among

the development group first, then

beta tested with a select group of

users, then submitted it to Quality

Assurance Division for further

testing. We then put it in test production in the FERS adjudication

branches, carefully checking each

answer on every case. We also

had an independent IV&V t e s t

done by Booz, Allen and Hamilton.

Q. How do you choose who will

test the system?

A. We worked closely with the

FERS Division Chief and his analysts. They made suggestions as to

who should test the calculator.

Q. How do you know what to

c h a n g e ?

A. User feedback and discrepancies from known correct answers.

Q. What is it you would like the

readers to know about the new

Benefits calculator and how it

w o r k s ?

A. The easier it is to use means

the harder it was to develop. T h e

Benefits Calculator takes a very

complex process and presents it

to the user in an understandable

and streamlined fashion. It is

intuitive and based on English

language cues, not codes. T h a t

makes a big difference to people.

They don’t have to learn a lot of

codes. Our calculator only shows

t he user what they need and

hides the rest letting Benefits

Specialists be more productive

and make fewer errors. 

I would want my retirement

calculated using this tool.

M e rle Townley Interv i e w. . .

PAGE 5

c o n t i nued from page fo u r
MODERNIZING TO DAY • MA R C H 2 0 0 0

M e a s u ring Results

PAGE 6

By Chris Brown

We’ve reached the point in the

Modernization effort where we

need to figure out how we will

know if the project is achieving

the results we expect. Beyond this,

we need to measure whether the

Retirement Program is achieving

the program goals and objectives

we have established for it.

To do this, we need to establish a

system of what is called "performance measures." P e r f o r m a n c e

measures pertain to tracking the

performance of an org a n i z a t i o n

or a program to determine if it is

fulfilling its mission and meeting

its stated goals. Performance

measurement does not focus on

the performance of individuals.

H o w e v e r, as individuals, we are all

interested in how our org a n i z a t i o n

performs. It is the combination

of our individual efforts that

determines how well we meet our

mission to provide "fast,

friendly, accurate, and costeffective services . . ."

Performance measurement is

not a new science for us in the

Retirement and Insurance

Service. We have tracked and

reported our organizational performance for many years, using a

system of performance measures

that we call indicators. Since the

early 1990s, we have reported

these indicators as a part of our

annual financial reports required

under the Chief Financial

O ff i c e r s ’Act. In 1993, President

Clinton signed into law the

Government Performance and

Results Act which raised the

importance of performance

measures and required that they

be used in annual and strategic

plans and to track agencies’

progress toward meeting their

goals and objectives.

The performance indicators we

currently use for the Retirement

Program include measures of

customer satisfaction, such as

the percent of new customers

(annuitants) satisfied with how we

processed their claim for benefits.

Looking at this indicator allows us

to see how our customersf e e l

about the hard work we do to

process claims as quickly and

e fficiently as we can. 

c o n t i nued on page seven

I n t e rim Annuity Payment Processing T i m e s

7

5

4

3 3

FY 95 FY 96 FY 97 FY 98 FY 99

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

0
Our indicators provide other

ways for us to see how eff i c i e n t l y

we do our work. For instance, we

measure how long it takes us to

authorize interim and final annuity

payments. By aligning this information with customer satisfaction

information, we can see how

p r o c e s s i n g payments faster results

in high customer satisfaction.

So, performance measures help

us connect the work we do with

the results our work has on our

customers and our org a n i z a t i o n

We also measure the accuracy of

our claims processing when the

Quality Assurance Division

reviews a sample of completed

claims. Finally, we have financial

measures, such as the cost of

processing claims. We may

continue to use many of these

measures to evaluate whether

the Modernization effort is

working e ff e c t i v e l y. But, because

the effort involves new business

processes and systems, we may

decide that some new measures

are necessary. Also, we may

find that the new systems will

allow us to measure some

things that our current systems

d o n ’t measure. To work through

these issues, we’ve established a

performance measures committee

to review the goals and objectives

of the Modernization effort and all

of our current performance

measures. The committee will

recommend what we should

measure and how we should

measure it.

The Modernization effort will u s e

a very sophisticated system of

measures called the "Balanced

Scorecard." This system is called

the Balanced Scorecard because

it establishes a balanced set of

key measures that allow us to

evaluate performance from the

customer, business process,

financial, and workforce perspectives. The benefits of

doing this now include gaining

a program-wide perspective t h a t

includes functions performed by

agencies, a greater emphasis on

benefits counseling, and having

measures that serve as early

indicators for success, or warning

signals that will help us guide

the Modernization effort.

Measuring Results...

c o n t i nued from page six

PAGE 7

N ew Customer Sat i s faction with

O verall Retirement Process

100%

80%

60%

FY 95 FY 96 FY 97 FY 98 FY 99

% Very Generally Satisfied
The Modern i z ation Effo rt and Info rm ation Te c h n o l o g y

By Joyce Ludwig 

Business Systems Reengineering Division 

added on to old processes but

is used to support improved

ways of working. 

Who is working on the technology

architecture and what is the

purpose of it?

This spring IBM became the

Modernization project's information technology partner.

IBM is certified at Level 3 of

the Software Engineering

Institute's Capability Maturity

Model (for more information,

w w w.sei.cmu.edu). Currently,

IBM is developing the technology

architecture to support the process

redesigns developed by

American Management Systems.

The purpose of a technology

architecture is to define the

major kinds of technologies

needed to support the reengineering effort. For example, which

kind of database, relational or

hierarchical, will best meet our

needs must be considered.

Deciding what company to buy

the database from comes later. Of

course, our choices will comply

with the OPM Information

Technology Architecture and the

standards set by the Human

Resources Technology Council.

The Modernization eff o r t ’s

t e c hn o l o g y architecture will also

ensure agencies are not

required to change their technology architecturesin order to

participate in the e ff o r t .

MODERNIZING TO DAY • MA R C H 2 0 0 0

I’m sorry, I don’t have

that information-you 

can get it by calling...

Changing business needs often

require new ways of working.

Yet all too often, technology is

purchased to improve productivity

without rethinking the way work

is being performed. As a result,

dramatic improvements in service

that could be achieved are missed.

In successful business process

reengineering, technology is not

PAGE 8

c o n t i nued on page nine
How does a technology architecture

benefit us?

You can think of the technology

architecture as providing technology standards that apply to

the whole organization. These

standards ensure consistency so

that information from various

parts of the organization can be

connected through the technology.

A good example of the benefits

will be seen in our call centers.

Too many times, a customer’s

retirement data is not available

through the Customer Service

Specialist’s work station. This

forces the specialist to refer the

customer to yet another person

in yet another office (and it

may not stop there). By being

integrated and having access to

the same data as others, we can

handle most customer inquiries

right then and there. 

Another benefit is improved

system maintenance. This

allows the data processing

organization to respond more

quickly to user requests. By

eliminating the duplication that

occurs with separate systems,

only one part needs to be changed

instead of several, simplifying

maintenance. In addition to

meeting your business needs more

q u i c k l y, faster implementation o f

new technologies is possible,

keeping our systems modern. As a

result, technology serves those who

use it, not the other way around. 

How does the technology

architecure fit into the overall

Modernization effort?

In 2002, we will begin implementation of the redesigned

User Satisfaction Business Needs

Architecture

processes and org a n i z a t i o n ,

and underlying technology.

Technology will be implemented

in increments. Once each segment

of technology is developed,

IBM will provide training for

it. The redesigned processes,

organization, and supporting

technology will improve productivity and eff i c i e n c y, eliminate or

reduce paper handling, standardize

o p e r a t i o n s, harness the potential

of the Internet, and strengthen the

internal work force and participating agency benefit counselors. 

PAGE 9

The Modernization Effo rt and Information Te c h n o l o g y. . .

c o n t i nued from page eight
I’m Glad You A s ked 

From the Focus Groups

Will agencies want to participate

in the Modernization eff o r t ?

Throughout the Modernization

effort five agencies have served

as champions for the effort and

have worked side by side with

the rest of the Modernization

Team. They are the U.S. Postal

Service, U.S. Department of

Agriculture, Department of

Labor, Department of Defense,

and the Office of Personnel

Management. Their support

and input have shaped and

molded the processes so that

the Modernization effort will be

acceptable across all agencies,

and provide services that we

need to conduct our business.

We believe that every agency

will want to participate because

of the increased services it will

provide their employees. 

With the automation that will be

introduced, will an employee still

be able to speak to someone

directly if they don’t feel comforta b l e with the automated tools or

if they need special assistance?

We believe strongly that there

should always be an advisor

available for complex questions

or for the "comfort zone" of

employees and annuitants. To

that end, the Modernization eff o r t

is building a three-tiered approach

to customer service. In the first

t i e r, the employee/annuitant can

use self-service automation

tools that will handle frequently

asked questions or assist them

in making routine requests. T h e

second and third tiers provide the

customer with personal assistance

depending on the nature of the

request. For example, the second

tier would handle questions that

require a broad spectrum of

Retirement Program knowledge

that only a Retirement Counselor

at the agency can address. The

third tier would deal with more

complex questions that may

require OPM’s subject matter

expertise or interpretation. T h e

Modernization team will always

keep in mind an individual’s need

for human interaction when

discussing important decisions

that may have a life-long effect. 

I’m a Benefits Counselor in an

agency field office. Will the new

system result in loss of jobs?

The new system focuses on the

prompt payment of annuities

and agencies having the complete

history of an employee for

more comprehensive counseling.

The system should make the

counselor's job easier. In addition,

because of the access to information, agencies can do proactive

counseling. This will not cause

a loss of jobs, but makes it

even more critical to have

knowledgeable counselors available for their employees.

Will the Modernization effort

take into account challenges for

the West Coast, such as call

center hours?

We want to be available to all

our customers located all over the

world and know that time-zone

d i fferences present a challenge.

The Modernization effort will look

at various options for providing

our customers the services they

need when they need it, e.g.,

Internet access to retirement information, email inquiries/responses,

and additional options and flexibility with our current automated

Interactive Voice Response system.

MODERNIZING TO DAY • MA R C H 2 0 0 0 PAGE10

c o n t i nued on page eleven
We want employees, annui t a n t s ,

and HR Specialists to have as

many options as we can support.

But we are not just waiting for

Modernization. Our evening

call center hours have already

been extended. Callers can talk

to a live Retirement Customer

Service Specialist at OPM as

late as 8:00 p.m. eastern time

and as early as 7:15 am eastern

time. In addition, our automated

Interactive Voice Response

System is available 24hours a

d a y, 7 days a week. 

What is the status of the

Benefits Calculator?

As you've read in our previous

issues of Modernizing Today,

the RBC 2000 (Retirement

Benefits Calculator 2000) will

continue to be enhanced to

compute a variety of claims.

Currently it is computing a

majority of the FERS cases.

The calculator team will continue to work on additional

enhancements and expand its

capabilities. You can read

about the development team

and the process in the Merle

Townley interview featured in

this issue.

From OPM Retirement

Program Employees

About a year ago, we saw a

video at the all-hands meeting

that showed a lot of computer

technology. Does that really

apply to Retirement Program

employees and customers?

Yes it does. The video used

some dramatized scenarios to

show the capability of new

technology. Although we may

not currently use it, that technology

is available now. As we move

forward, the things we must

consider are the level of technology

available within the many

Federal agencies and also the

level of technology available to our

customers. The goal is to use the

highest level of technology available to best serve our customers.

PAGE11

I’m Glad You A s k e d . . .

c o n t i nued from page ten
H a v

?

e Questions

or Suggestions?

We'd like to hear what you think!

There are several ways to get

more information about the

Modernization effort, or provide

feedback. 

Contact BSRDRetirement and Insurance

S e r v i c e ’s Business Systems

Reengineering Division (BSRD)

supports the Retirement Systems

Modernization (RSM) eff o r t

and manages the communication

process. To find out more about

the Modernization effort, please

email us at: a s k r s m @ o p m . g o v

or write us at U.S. Office of

Personnel Management, Business

Systems Reengineering Division,

1900 E St. NW R o o m 3 H 2 8 ,

Washington, DC 20415-3400;

or fax us at (202) 606-0548.

Look us up on the

Wo rld Wide We b -

If you have Internet access, you

can visit the Retirement Systems

Modernization web site at:

w w w. o p m . g o v / re t i re/modern. 

Past Modernizing To d a y b u lletins and notes from the focus

group sessions can be found on

the web site.

L at e - B reaking New s

As this issue went to print, the

Member Administration Core

Process blueprint and the

Performance Measurement

Program report were completed.

Work on the Claim to Payment

Initiation and Annuity Roll

Maintenance core process blueprints has begun. 

M o d e rn i z ation Commu n i c ations 

Committee Members

From the A g e n cy A d v i s o ry Committee

Eleanor Ratcliff 

D e p a rtment of A g r i c u l t u re

Syrena West 

D e p a rtment of Defense

From OPM’s Retirement and Insurance Serv i c e

Chris Brown

Management Information Branch

Marty Ehrlich 

Business Systems Reengineering Division

Phil Gardner

R e t i rement Claims Division

Lesley Gordon 

Disability and Reconsideration and Appeals Division

Delberta Grossman 

R e t i rement Operations Center

Agnes Kalland

Insurance Planning and Evaluation Division

Pat Lancaster

Disability and Reconsideration and Appeals Division

John Landers, Chair

Associate Dire c t o r’s Office

David Lewis

Insurance Contracts Division III

Vivian Mackey

Office of Communications

Joe Parker 

Office of Retirement Pro g r a m s

Sandy Ringler 

R e t i rement Operations Center

Mary Sugar

Agency Services Division

Diane Tyler 

Business Systems Reengineering Division

Bernadine Wa l k e r

P i t t s b u rgh Te l e s e rvice Center

Special thanks to Ruth Ann Kier for her photography and 

Mike Garth for his help on developing a model for the art w o r k .

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