eForms is now "FEAM"... really?

[Brian]

Received this email today - no real news here other than it's the first time I've heard of the rename, as most of this information was shared a while back. I do hope they figure out how to get auto form3 approvals done prior to waiting on the new system, whatever/whenever it will be. There's no reason those shouldn't auto-approve and that would make both dealers and customers a lot happier.

I'm not sure I would have gone with FEAM though. LOL.

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Good afternoon:

You are receiving this email because you are a registered ATF eForms user.

ATF eForms Update

The new eForms has been named the “Firearms and Explosives Application Module (FEAM)”. This name was selected to emphasis that FEAM is more than a “fillable form”. It is a business process module which will include at a minimum the functionality listed below:

· Auto assignment – All applications will be immediately upon submission assigned to an examiner for processing.
· Auto approval – Some forms, like the ATF Forms 2 and 3, if they meet certain pre-determined criteria will be automatically approved by the FEAM system upon submission.
· Internal controls and performance measurement reporting – ATF has a full audit trail of every application received with date and time stamps for every step in the process. Digital signatures can be used to lock down portions of the form to ensure the security of the data and the authenticity of the submitter.
· Improved business processes with automatic Records Management & Retention, as mandated by the Office of Management and Budget.
· Electronic Signature (for submitter and ATF personnel) - provides enhanced authentication, validation and improves processing and approval.
· Enhance Industry satisfaction: user-friendly interaction.
· FEAM provides the Application Program Interface (APIs) needed to update the existing ATF back end databases, to allow for the batch submission of multiple forms using one computer session.
· Improves efficiency for the Enforcement Programs and Services staff – Forms can be automatically routed, evaluated and tracked so that final determinations can be made in a consistent and expeditious manner.
We had hoped to be able to present the first iteration of FEAM at the 2016 SHOT Show. ATF performed an assessment of what was contracted to be developed for FEAM and what the contractor planned to deliver. At the end of the assessment, all parties involved felt that the product outlined in the current contract did not fully provide all the functionality that we expected, or that the industry requested. For these reasons we decided that rather than to continue on the current course, we would take the steps listed below to ensure that FEAM is a worthwhile investment for both the industry and ATF:

1. Curtail the current development effort.
2. Determine what is needed to sustain the existing eForms system, until the full requirements for FEAM can be determined and developed.
3. Make the necessary changes to eForms to stabilize the infrastructure with the ever-increasing user population.
4. Determine if we can re-introduce the Form 3 to the current eForms, through load testing and other system validations.
5. Perform an assessment of the ATF and industry requirements for FEAM.
6. Secure required funding for a new FEAM initiative, based on the revised requirements.
7. Restart the FEAM initiative, to include industry participation during the requirements gathering and testing processes.
We look at this as only a minor delay. It is our intention to use this delay to acquire the tools and resources necessary to develop a product that will provide more functionality and a stable workflow process and infrastructure. All the work previously done on FEAM is not lost. It will be the foundation for the work that is yet to come. If you have any questions you can contact Lee Alston-Williams at lee.alston-williams@atf.gov.

[Brian]

Apparently, also a Japanese girlpop band...

http://i.imgur.com/mk2jazN.jpg

[Monky]

So... the .gov contractor working on this failed to meet the mark... why should this surprise anyone? I bet they did the obamacare site too

[asmo]

1. Curtail the current development effort.
2. Determine what is needed to sustain the existing eForms system, until the full requirements for FEAM can be determined and developed.
3. Make the necessary changes to eForms to stabilize the infrastructure with the ever-increasing user population.
4. Determine if we can re-introduce the Form 3 to the current eForms, through load testing and other system validations.
5. Perform an assessment of the ATF and industry requirements for FEAM.
6. Secure required funding for a new FEAM initiative, based on the revised requirements.
7. Restart the FEAM initiative, to include industry participation during the requirements gathering and testing processes.

This is the best part. Obviously written by a government droid, where there were 10-20 meetings, attended by more government droids and doughnut eaters, about the exact numbering and ordering of the steps, and everything finally came to an agreement. But not once did some one actually ask someone in industry how they would handle or do it.

To reiterate:

1) Stop all development so we can redo the contract with the prime
2) Do a requirements analysis on the existing eForms system - and keep doing requirements analysis until we develop a ton of requirements for the new system (hint, if we keep looking at requirements for the old system then they really arent applicable to the new system). Also note, step 1 where we will already do a contract with a Prime to develop the system - which means we give them money to develop a system that we don't have any requirements for yet.
3) Make changes to a system that we have already said we are going to stop all development on (make sense)
4) Do more requirement analysis on a system that we have previously determined has failed, to see if we can make changes to the system we have already stopped all development on (step 1)
5) We are going to do another round of requirement analysis, but this time we are going to actually ask people closely connected to the existing system and have an interest in it. But remember, we have already started paying the Prime to develop the system that we don't have the requirements on yet.
6) We are going to go get funding for all the stuff we already did in steps 1-5. This time we are going to ask for more staff so we can implement it 'correctly' (see steps 1-5)
7) We are going to throw away everything we did in steps 1-6 and start over, but this time we are going to ask industry to evaluate the old system and give us feedback (on the system we have already decommissioned)

[Circuits]

We have been waiting for automatic approvals for quite some time, so that's a plus, hopefully, at least.

Transfer to/between SOTs should involve a computer check that the item is on the registry, and the SOT status of the transferee, followed by instant approval. If it works out that way, it'll cut the time for interstate transfers in half.