The National Archives and Record Administration’s (NARA) National Personnel Record Center (NPRC) is the central hub for personnel-related records for military and civil services of the United States Government. The records in the NPRC date back to 1942.
Managing over 60 million military personnel and related records is a continually growing responsibility for NPRC staff. Fearless is proud to work with NARA to find new ways to manage and reduce current records backlogs. We're also excited to create new systems with robotic process automation (RPA) to improve future efficiency.
Reducing backlogs and meeting the needs of the public.
Fearless’ one-year contract will help NARA meet the information needs of the public while improving efficiency and reducing current backlogs. Along with digital services firm Softrams, we’re building a Proof of Concept (PoC) on the use of RPA.
Fearless is providing discovery and planning, human-centered design (HCD)-infused product management, and a range of technical support. This will include DevSecOps and continuous integration/continuous delivery (CI/CD) automation. Using a Discovery, Explore, Build, and Evaluate approach, we’ll develop a human-centered PoC for NARA.
Preventing future backlogs from ever happening.
There are more than 530,000 Official Military Personnel File (OMPF) information requests in the current NPRC backlog. Our work will reduce the burden on NARA employees and help prevent future backlogs from occurring.
Robert Testerman, Fearless’ Federal Civilian Portfolio Director, says this project will “reduce the burden on federal staff and get a return on investment from the taxpayers as quickly as possible.” By introducing automation, NARA hopes to “reduce the records backlog caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and allow the NPRC technicians to more effectively serve their customers.”
By exploring RPA, NARA believes it can reduce the current backlog and improve the handling of future requests. RPA has the potential to empower NARA staff to focus on current priorities and whatever challenges the future holds.
This work will directly support veterans, their families, and federal agencies. It will do so by providing efficient and secure remote access to the valuable records held by NPRC.
NARA helps safeguard our collective past while making important records usable to individuals. Fearless is honored to help reduce the burden on NARA staff, improve the experiences of those seeking records from them, and ensure that NARA will work more efficiently and effectively in the future.
This announcement was published independently of the National Archives and Records Administration. This release does not constitute or imply an endorsement by NARA or the United States Government of the product, process, or service, or its producer or provider. The views and opinions expressed in any referenced document do not necessarily state or reflect those of the NARA or the United States Government.