What’s on The Horizon? The launch of OASIS v3!

With the launch of OASIS v3 fast approaching, we invited two integral people related to the project, Susie Neal, IAQG sponsor for OASIS, and Greg Fontaine acting IAQG IT focal, and project manager, to discuss why we are launching OASIS v3 now and what will be different? 

Neal remarked, “this is an exciting time for the International Aerospace Industry and the IAQG because we are embarking on new territory that will help us become more agile and get our product to market faster.”

This episode begins to answer some of the questions surrounding OASIS v3, but we recognize this is just the beginning of the conversation. Continue to watch for new podcast releases on topics intended to keep our members and the aerospace and defense industry current with IAGQ projects, goals, and improvements to our products, processes, and organizational structure. 

The IAQG is the International Aerospace Quality Group and sets the standard for quality within the worldwide supply chain for the aviation, space, and defense industry. IAQG currently maintains 26 active standards that establish common/shared tools and methods for quality improvement. To learn more, visit https://iaqg.org.  

Transcript

The Quality Horizon – The launch of OASIS V3 

[00:00:00]  

Susan: Greetings, everyone, and welcome. You're listening to Quality Horizon. An official podcast of the IAQG. I'm your host, Susan Matson, and with me today are Susie Neal, IAQG sponsor for OASIS, and Greg Fontaine, acting IAQG IT focal and project manager for OASIS V3. Welcome to the show.  

Susie: Welcome everyone.  

Susan: Well, Susie, I wanted to kick things off with you. Obviously, we're going to be talking all things OASIS in this episode. And for those of you who are listening and don't know, OASIS stands for Online Aerospace Supplier Information System. But honestly, Susie, what is OASIS and why do we need it in the first place?  

Susie: So the Oasis system is the system that we use with our certification bodies and certified organizations [00:01:00] to record all of our audits in that are being conducted, the results, any non-conformances that we may have and then how an organization responds to those.  

Susie: In turn, then our certified organizations and their suppliers can go in and see those results and then look and see how capable these company systems are. And we, the reason that we need it is if you're a supplier to a large OEM, they actually can look in there and see what the health of your system is. And a lot of the suppliers are using that and our customers are using that also to validate your systems and not have to come in and do all the on site audit.  

Susan: It sounds like it's a very valuable platform for our system and it's been around for quite some time. I believe the first iteration of Oasis came out in 2004. Have there been some evolution or history highlights that we would want to talk about or share with our listeners?  

Susie: So we have actually upgraded the system around about two or three [00:02:00] different times. The last one that we did was about six years ago, and that was a major enhancement that we did. But we knew at that time that eventually we were going to outgrow our current system and have to move over to something that was, more modern that would give the auditors and the certification bodies and the organization some additional enhancements and things that they need. 

Susan: Ah, so enhancements is really the bulk of the reason why we're talking about an OASIS V3 platform. But Greg, what was the move for that? What technical things did we want to enhance or have additional data or information available to us with a new one?  

Greg: The version the, several iterations of Oasis were all built specifically to the IAQG's needs at the time, and so they were built with very specific functionality that had been designed and built by or specified by the IAQG. 

Greg: But the result is that every single improvement or enhancement that you wanted in the platform was going to require [00:03:00] the development group to go back and add every single feature. And an awful lot of the features were only developer accessible in terms of configuring and improving. As we looked at the Oasis platform and where the IAQG wanted to be, years down the road, structured data for reporting and analytics features and enhancements that they needed would have been inordinately expensive to simply continue developing on your own. You, you were essentially reinventing the wheel that existed in other places just for yourself. And after an analysis process, it was decided that the best way to meet IEQG going forward would be to have a more commercially off the shelf program modified or configured and adjusted to meet their needs and that there'd be great long term benefits to that.  

Susan: So going from custom to more off the shelf, what does that allow for the IAQG [00:04:00] to be able to do? Does it mean easier changes? Does it mean easier adaptations for those enhancements? Can you give us a little more understanding of that? 

Greg: Sure. The short answer is that almost all of the things that the IAQG typically needed to have done to OASIS are now able to be done through configurations and settings and data entry rather than through development by a programmer. It will allow for faster changes to some things. It will allow for easier implementation of certain new enhancements and there will be enhancements that are available automatically to the IAQG simply because they're on a platform that is being designed to meet the needs of a wide range of auditing, you know and certification communities. 

Greg: So there'll be enhancements that, there'll be changes they can make very easily and much more quickly and then there will be enhancements that they get with no [00:05:00] additional direct cost to them, other than the platform costs, because the whole platform is being constantly evolved to meet the needs of auditing and certification bodies and certification communities. 

Susan: So from a business perspective, from the IAQG perspective, this move to OASIS V3 is a monumental change, but from a user's perspective, what's different? What can they expect?  

Greg: I mean clearly the biggest change to end users is going to be the visual interface, because the old Oasis was designed, again, its basic interface was designed, as you said, back in, the early 2000s, and it's been, modified and upgraded over the decade that followed, but the the user interface for the new platform is one that was designed to be more flexible, mobile, friendly and meet the needs of a wide range of organizations. 

Greg: The look and feel will change dramatically with the fact that we're moving to  a pre-built platform that's been configured and modified for us, [00:06:00] there will be changes to the workflow, the data is structured slightly differently. Now, the advantage to the data being structured differently is that it's designed to be analyzed and reported on and structured in a way that it'll be easier and more effective to leverage that information on behalf of the IAQG. But from the end user perspective, the biggest change will be the interface itself.  

Susan: Wonderful. And will all the information currently in OASIS, will that be in the new one?  

Greg: Yes, in some way, shape or form. That's been our largest challenge over the whole process is that we wanted as much of what's of what you would call the discrete data. The actual fields of data that have been filled into the starting in the gen two the gen 2016 release of Oasis. We wanted as much of that data to be in the matching and equivalent field in the new platform so that we could take advantage of the historical data for that that analytic [00:07:00] and search ability and the data mining capabilities. 

Greg: But even the old data going all the way back to the beginning where they didn't enter stuff, they were simply uploading documents and forms. All of that data is being transitioned in some way, shape, or form. So yes it's been a monumental undertaking to try and get all of the old data in its old formats and its old constructs into the new platform and in the new data constructs and the new structures. 

Greg: So yeah, that's been a huge challenge, but we felt it was important both short term and long term for the IAQG because the whole purpose of this system is that record keeping aspect and to make a move where we didn't have access to that historical data wouldn't make a whole lot of sense.  

Susan: Thank you, Greg. And Susie, I think this next question Greg somewhat already answered, but really has to do with some of the delays that we've been hearing in the industry. This is, I believe we were going to launch this at the beginning of this year and you know we're now not in the beginning of this year [00:08:00] anymore, but can you talk to reasons why we've been having some delays? 

Susie: The biggest reason for the delays is any time you start transferring over from one software system to another, the tables are never the same. The data that we may have had in one system may not be exactly what we're going to have to collect in the right formats or the same tables. And all of that's a little bit different in every system. 

Susie: Greg and them have done an excellent job on trying to go in and get this data to transfer over, but every time we do a fresh load, there's something else that maybe, were we on the old OASIS, we did it in iterations. We would constantly add things in. If it wasn't there beginning in that data that we're trying to carry over from 10 years ago, but we just added it last year, then we've got a huge number of records out there that doesn't have that information. So, it's missing when you try to transfer it over. And behind [00:09:00]  the scenes, they're having to address each and every one of those before we can actually go live.  

Susan: So, data migration really has been a critical path, hasn't it, Greg?  

Greg: Yeah, it absolutely has. In theory, we had at the end of the last year a system that could have done the work of the IAQGs current OASIS platform. In our user testing, we certainly found things that people wanted changed and to work differently to make it easier more like what they were used to or more functional or a smoother process for them. We tried to, in a couple of iterations, address all of those things.  

Greg: But what has really kept us from being able to go live for probably eight to the last 8 to 12 months has been the fact that we want as good a quality data set from the old system to the new as possible, both for historical record keeping, as well as the ability to leverage that information going forward and each and every data point as [00:10:00] Susie indicated is been something we've had to check and address to make sure it's coming over, that it's correct, and that in some cases, we've had to do a lot of cleanup. There are places where in the old system, the data was data entered, freeform text.  

Greg: In the new system, it's tied to another piece of data, relationally. Well, that means we have to convert freeform text data into wherever possible, discrete data that can then be connected. And so that turned out to be probably a bigger undertaking than I think anybody in the original team before I took over or at Intact thought it would be. But we are getting through it and I think it's going to be, it's going to be a bit worth it when it's all said and done.  

Susan: I heard that, and Greg, you'll have to correct me, I heard millions of lines of code. 

Greg: Millions of lines of code are being replaced, tens and hundreds of millions of data points, are being converted over, [00:10:00]  and we're trying to make sure that what we end up with is as clean and useful for the long term as possible.  

Susan: So let's talk about the launch. What can people expect? Can they use their existing logging credentials? How is that going to work?  

Greg: What they'll expect is that there will be a short freeze period where we will have to stop people from putting data into the current version of OASIS so that we can take a final Snapshot of all the data and run that last set of sinks over to the new system so that data will not get lost during the transition period and that there will be a period of days where they will not be able to enter new data. 

Greg: They'll still be to look at and reference all the material, the data. of the IAQG will be available continuously through the whole process, but there'll be a period that they cannot enter new information. When that freeze is over, every active user in the system will receive an invite to the new one via email. 

Greg: They will not be using their old credentials, [00:12:00]  but everybody who had credentials and is active will receive an invite to create their new ones tied to their email account. The transition should, from that perspective, be very smooth. In the worst case, if somebody's email is, blocked or canceled or spam filtered or whatever, they'll be given instructions via the IAQG on the fact that there's other ways for them to get their credentials set up. 

Greg: But the short answer is everybody should receive an invite. And we'll have access to the new system without having to recreate accounts and recreate their information. Everything down to even people's existing watch list should be transferring over cleanly and smoothly.  

Susan: And once the new Oasis, the V3 launches, will people still be able to use OASIS NextGen? 

Greg: They will not be able to use it to enter data. Again, once we freeze it, no new data goes in, but the old version will exist. If they want to go back and reference or double check or look [00:13:00] at something, that version will still remain in a read only format for an undetermined period of time, but it will be around for reference as long as the IAQG wants to to fund its continued existence in its read only state. 

Susan: Thanks. Now, Susie, let's talk about training. What kind of training is going to be available? What kind of documentation will people have access to?  

Susie: We actually have NTAC there creating the training materials for us. So you'll have the same type of training that you have today for the same users, the same user level. 

Susie: It will be a different look, different feel, naturally, because we're going to a totally different platform. But if you are able to go in today and find training materials for an OASIS administrator at the certified organization level, that will be there. We will be conducting different training sessions across the, we'll have maybe two or three times, we'll set them up in various time zones. 

Susie: But[00:14:00]  just to go through in that way, if anyone wants to ask any questions, but everything will be online. That you can go in and access at your convenience. We're testing the material. So we have there's two different people that are testing it. And then if we need to modify it, we'll get back with Intact and give them the recommendations to upgrade it. 

Susan: And for everyone listening, Susie, who is Intact?  

Susie: Intact is the company that actually owns the new system that we're transferring over to, and then we're partnering with Jaspin, which is where Greg works, to help us actually configure the systems.  

Susan: Great, thank you. When OASIS does finally launch, Greg, is that it? Are there more enhancements to come?  

Greg: No, it won't be done by a long shot. The goal for the initial launch of OASIS was to reproduce the existing data, functionality, and processes that the IUQG currently has, so they could continue to work in the new platform. There are a number [00:15:00] of things that are already planned to go. 

Greg: The minute this is launched, we'll be going back and looking at the next set of feature enhancements. There are features built in the current OASIS. The new version of the platform that we have not turned on right away, because let's be clear, most people love change and this is going to be enough of a change with just the interface change that we're not going to get into some of the other features that will require people to learn new processes. 

Greg: And so there are a whole new set of enhancements that are already available. We're just not turning them on and ones that are already planned and will be added. And by the way, it will be an ongoing process. We already know about the new standards that are coming and have plans for how they'll be rolled out and included. 

Greg: And again, the good news is on this new platform, those things are easier than they have ever been for the IAQG to enhance and adapt in most ways.  

Susan: Oh, good to know. So I have to ask one of the things that has been on the table for quite some time for people who have been using OASIS [00:16:00] is that offline auditing capability. Is that one of those enhancements that you're talking about?  

Greg: It's absolutely one of those enhancements. Part of the reason this platform was chosen is that it already had the offline auditing app that people wanted and needed. It was already built into this, the intact, platform. And, what's one of those features that we're not turning on day one, but it's already there. 

Greg: Because again, there'll be a whole new set of procedures people would need to learn to do that. When you do offline auditing on the intact platform, you check out an audit order. So it comes out of the online system and you've checked it out into your computer, tablet, whatever device you're going to be using. 

Greg: You do your auditing and you check it back in. In the meantime, no one should be messing with it in the online version. Understanding those processes and those other things along with all the other changes in just the interface wasn't something we were introducing on day one, but offline auditing is absolutely[00:17:00] part of the new platform. 

Greg: It's actually already there. We just weren't going to tackle that rollout along with the entire change to the new platform that was there. There are other ones like that and other things planned, but yeah, that one's covered. And by the way, that was one of the things that was, I believe, Susie, correct me if I'm wrong, what was originally supposed to be part of Gen 2 and got put off somewhat indefinitely because of the original cost associated with it. 

Greg: And again, one of the advantages to moving to a commercially developed cross industry platform is that those kinds of features aren't necessarily things the IEG has to fund going forward. If there's features that the entire certification auditing industry wants, Intact's going to continue to improve its platform. And those features will become available to the IAQG as simply part of being, on the platform.  

Susan: So, Susie, IAQG v3 has been years in the making long before we actually started [00:18:00] this process, probably since the rollout of next gen, because you wanted to add things that maybe weren't on there, but there's lots of people, it's not just you and Greg working on this. Can you shed light on who's been on this journey to get OASIS to the launch day.  

Susie: So we've really had a lot of participation in from the certification bodies. Their auditors have been very involved in it. We've had multiple writing teams for the IDRs and SDRs, those are the industry document reps. They have all been very active in this. Then naturally we've had Intact, we've had Jasper and we've had consultants people that were used, that used to work with industry, but are now actually working with us on these various teams to help make sure that we get this right. 

Susie: And from day one, the IAQG executive team has said we will not release [00:19:00] it until we know we have a very good quality product going out. And that goes back to a lot, some of the delays we've had because we could have released it earlier, but would it have been what everyone needed and what they expect from an organization, from a quality organization. 

Susie: So there's been a lot of people that have been working on this, a lot of effort has gone into this project to make it a really good product before it's rolled out. It's a good product to start with from both Intact and OASIS, but combining the two together, with all the data that's in there, that has taken a large team to get us to this point. 

Susie: And it's going to be even more important when we roll it out, that everyone gets in there, they go into it with a positive attitude, that no system is perfect. I don't care what system it is, there's no system that's perfect. Are we going to have some issues? Guarantee it. [00:20:00] Minor ones, yes, but we can fix them. And that's why we have to have this large network to work on those.  

Susan: It really is to represent the whole industry. So this is a huge undertaking. And as you aptly said, it wasn't just two people or ten people, hundreds of people I think along the way have looked at this, have seen it, have been part of the testing of certain aspects of it. 

Susan: One last thing I did want to talk about though before we move on is, a larger digital conversation. One of the themes going back to the episode that Andy just did, we talked about how a digital transformation or an emphasis on changing over our data to be more usable. Something like Oasis is just part of a larger overall process. But how does these changes that you're seeing, and Greg, I'll start with you from an IT perspective, what have you seen that we can now do because of some of these changes?  

Greg: [00:21:00] Oh, wow. Yeah, this is the last piece of the original, OASIS is the last piece of the original digital transformation project, which covered, I think, touched on almost everything the IAQG does from, its web presence to member management to the ability to collaborate to, the resources they have lie SCMH and the dictionary and AIMM, even how they handle the accounting and e-business aspects. 

Greg: So the work that's been done over the last three, three years or so, maybe a little longer now, has been dramatic. The ability to look at membership and part of an actual member management system and the data and the people involved and how they interact, compared to when who was a member and who was other stuff was kept on individual spreadsheets that people emailed around. 

Greg: Yeah. I think it's just been dramatic. And again, all of that, including what we're doing with OASIS [00:22:00] comes down to data and the ability to look at it and to understand and to use it for making better decisions going forward. I think the big word that I use a lot is that this whole process and OASIS is the last piece of it was to, based on what we were told by the IAQG and the direction they wanted to go was to get them a good IT foundation that could support their efforts as, the governing body for aerospace quality for all practical purposes and give them the insight information tools they needed to do what they wanted to do more effectively and continue to improve the industry as a whole. 

Greg: And I think the change has been dramatic and we have certainly achieved that. I can tell you that as soon as, the same way as soon as OASIS is done and launched, we're going to be looking at the next set of enhancements. There'll probably be another conversation of, hey, we've had a lot of these other tools now for a couple of years. What's next? Where do you want to end up [00:23:00] three more years from now? And we'll help them come up with a plan and keep it going.  

Susan: Susie, from a business perspective and from an industry perspective, because you've been involved in this industry, I suspect your entire career, what does any more to add to that? 

Susie: I think the biggest thing here is we're going to be able now from the certified organizations, the OEMs, the supplier side to go in and pull more data about these organizations and where we're having specific issues. One of the big pieces of it is the OASIS feedback process. I know a lot of our regulatory authorities and DCMA, they are using that now. They're actually, they have a standard out there, 9018, to where they are using the OASIS feedback, so any issues that they see within their four walls, they now have a method there to escalate it up to the certified organizations, the certification bodies, so they can go in and just dig deeper on these. [00:24:00] 

Susie: So that's one of the bigger benefits there for the DCMA and the regulatory authorities. And we continually will see different ways in there that we can pull data out. We don't ever want to get down to where we're looking at one specific certified organization. But we're able to aggregate it up and see you know, where's most of our issues coming from? 

Susie: If it's on time delivery, if it's management review, whatever it is, if it's in design and development, then the writing teams can take that information, use that to build on in their next release of their next version of that standard. So constantly, it's wherever, continually improving our standards, and that's really what we're here for, is to improve those standards, improve the processes, and make sure that our stakeholders are satisfied with the products we're giving them, and the products that's coming out of these organizations. 

Susan: Absolutely. Thank you both. Thank you, Greg. Thank you, Susie. [00:25:00] It's been great to hear about all the things that are going on with not only OASIS V3, but the digital transformation of the IAQG in general. And for any of those who are listening, want to know more about this platform, please visit IAQG.org and click on the OASIS V3 webpage that's under tools. I'm Susan Matson, and you've been listening to the IAQG Quality Horizon. Till next time, stay safe, all.