Amy Allison
MIDAS Program Manager
Farm Service Agency
The MIDAS Project is making exciting strides as Go-live approaches on schedule for the first deployment in Winter 2013. As MIDAS program manager, my responsibility is to ensure the successful delivery of the future system. Given that the MIDAS team wants to deliver the best possible product for our farmers, ranchers and employees, there will be modifications in the deployment schedule resulting in a higher degree of confidence in the system and organizational readiness.
The MIDAS team, working with the FSA and USDA leadership, evaluated the Release 1 schedule and made necessary modifications to the deployment schedule. The scope for Release 1 remains the same, as does the scope for both Deployment 1.0 and Deployment 1.1, but the Deployment 1.0 schedule has been updated. Deployment 1.0 will be released in a phased approach in both Winter 2013 and Spring 2013, and Deployment 1.1 will be released in Summer 2013.
This Deployment 1.0 staggered release aims to ensure system readiness. The Deployment 1.0 launch in Winter 2013 will include Farm Records with GIS Integration, Business Partner – Fiduciary, and Product Master (CVS). The second half of the staggered Deployment 1.0 launch that follows in Spring 2013 will include Acreage Reporting with GIS Integration, Inventory Reporting with GIS Integration, and Analytics to support Acreage Reporting and Inventory Reporting. Deployment 1.1 is scheduled to release in Summer 2013. This deployment will include MAL Program (excluding sugar and cotton), BIN Management with GIS, Measurement Services, Analytics for MAL, and Business Partner. All deployments are closely coordinated with Farm Program business cycles.
Additionally, the MIDAS training schedule has been revised to synchronize with the system delivery to provide “just in time” training for all FSA employees. The training of super users and state trainers will be staggered to align with the staggered approach of the Deployment 1.0 schedule. The MIDAS training team’s goal is to have farmers, ranchers and employees feel comfortable with the deployment schedule and have a successful integration process.
The entire MIDAS team appreciates the support for the necessary schedule modifications and is excited to reach our deployment goals with the highest quality possible. Thank you for your continued support to MIDAS.
