SDWIS NextGen Update

It has been a few weeks since there’s been anything about SDWIS Next Gen in the Weekly Update. In some respects, it has been fairly quiet during that period, since none of the focus groups have been meeting. On the other hand, significant work has been going on behind the scenes, as the process for developing SDWIS Next Gen requirements has been retooled to hopefully provide a more efficient and effective process.

Greg Fabian (EPA-OGWDW), the new project manager, in consultation with key state leaders, has developed a process that takes advantage of information already developed by all the groups that have been working so far, as well as basic content information in the current SDWIS/State. The EPA contractor, Indus, will use this existing material to develop a draft Business Requirements Document (BRD). This is the “to be” of the new SDWIS Next Gen. It provides a broad view of the business needs for Next Gen. Five “stewards”, representing 3 states, one EPA region, and OGWDW, will review the BRD and provide a revised version to the SDWIS Steering Committee for approval. Once the BRD is final, the real work of building the Next Gen application begins. Detailed development of Next Gen modules will take place in “scrums”. These scrums are part of the “agile development” process that EPA is using for Next Gen. Over a two week period, the contractors, working with subject matter experts from the appropriate focus group, will develop the screen displays and background programming needed to implement the specific business needs for that module. Once a module is complete, a new scrum will begin to address new business needs.

In September and October, EPA will be completing the BRD and running two scrums to evaluate that tool in the development process. Additional information will be available as more of the details are worked out. This topic will also be discussed during the State/EPA Roundtable at the ASDWA Annual Conference.