fpOnline Newsletter June 2024
   

fponline pdf download button

In This Issue

Breaking News

What’s happening? All existing active accounts in Forest Practices Application Review System (FPARS) will transition over to fpOnline. Prior to launch, DNR will transfer over the most recent contact information for each proponent.
 
What info will transfer?
  • Business address 
  • Representative’s name 
  • Representative’s email 
  • Representative’s work and/or mobile phone number
What this means for you. Your account information will automatically transfer over to fpOnline.
What you have to do. Nothing. No action is required from users.

Project Milestones & Phases

  • The Planning phase involves preparation for RFP, team selection and High level requirements. This phase started in May 2023.
  • The Procurement phase involves request for proposals, technology budget, vendor selection, and contract negotiations. This phase started in November 2023 and ends in April 2024.
  • The Discovery phase involves determining detailed requirements and ensure common understanding. This phase starts in June 2024 and ends in August 2024.
  • The Configuration phase involves Software configured to meet requirements. This phase starts in June 2024 and ends in October 2024.
  • The Testing & Training phase involves Configuration tested and compared to requirements and Users trained using multiple formats. This phase starts in July 2024 and ends in December 2024.
  • The software will Go Live in Jan 2025.​

Look Ahead

  • VisualVault will begin discovery efforts to finalize detailed requirements and ensure common understanding.
  • fpOnline experts will begin participating in the discovery process.
  • fpOnline Change Champion Forums will begin in June (Change Champions are leaders representing stakeholder groups who assist their colleagues with change).

June 2024

  • June 4, 2024 - DNR FP Staff Advisory Committee 9–10:30 a.m.
  • June 4, 2024 - Reviewers Advisory Committee, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.
  • June 5, 2024 - Landowner Advisory Committee 8–9:30 a.m. 
  • June 5, 2024 - *FP Program Coordinator Call, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
  • June 6, 2024 - *FP District Manager Meeting, 8:15 – 10:00 a.m.
  • June 18, 2024 - *FP Assistants Monthly Meeting, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
  • June 26, 2024 - *DNR Sponsor Coalition Meeting, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
  • June 27, 2024 - *fpOnline Steering Committee, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.

July 2024

  • July 2, 2024 - DNR FP Staff Advisory Committee 9–10:30 a.m.
  • July 2, 2024 - Reviewers Advisory Committee, 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.
  • July 3, 2024 - Landowner Advisory Committee 8–9:30 a.m. 
  • July 3, 2024 - *FP District Manager Meeting, 8:15 – 10:00 a.m.
  • July 3, 2024 - *FP Program Coordinator Call, 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.
  • July 16, 2024 - *FP Assistants Monthly Meeting, 1:00 – 2:00 p.m.
  • July 25, 2024 - *fpOnline Steering Committee, 3:00 - 4:30 p.m.
  • July 31, 2024 - *DNR Sponsor Coalition Meeting, 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.
*DNR Internal Forest Practices program meetings

Get Involved

  • Attend a VisualVault playback session 
    • These are live demonstrations showing a feature of fpOnline as it is being developed 
    • Playback sessions will be recorded 
  • Attend our next Town Hall event
  • Attend Timber, Fish, and Wildlife (TFW) or Upper Columbia Basin (UCB) meetings
  • Attend professional meetings, such as:
    • Washington Forest Protection Association (WFPA)
    • Northwest Indian Fish Commission (NWIFC)
    • Washington Farm Forestry Association (WFFA)
If you have questions regarding attending informational meetings, please email dnrrefponline@dnr.wa.gov.

Question of the Month

How can I formally make requests for things I’d like to see in fpOnline?

The fpOnline team takes stakeholder input very seriously and we welcome your requests. Although we have locked down content for the initial implementation, all new requests will be considered for future releases using the following process:
 
1. NEW IDEA
2. INITIAL REVIEW
  • With supervisor and manager
3. CATEGORIZE
  • Legal, Regulatory, or Compliance
  • Enhancement 
  • Improve Process
  • Save Costs
4. DETERMINE REQUIREMENTS
  • High-Level Sizing (S, M, L, XL)
5. fpOnline TEAM APPROVALS
  • IT Program Mgmt. Office
  • Finance
  • Product Owner
6. PRIORITIZE
  • Funding
  • Strategic Plan
  • Resource Availability
7. SCHEDULE
  • Immediate
  • Weekly
  • Monthly
  • Quarterly
8. IMPLEMENT
The fpOnline Team will balance new requests with the available funding, benefit, risk, category, project timeline, and project team staff time that we have committed to the fpOnline project. Stay tuned for answers to follow-on questions: 
  • Where can I find the form to make a request?
  • How soon can I submit a request?
  • Will I be notified of the priority and status?
  • How do I track my request?
  • What funding sources are available?

Accomplishments

fpOnline Electronic Payments
DNR has received approval from the Office of Financial Management (OFM) and the Office of the Washington State Treasurer to evaluate the use of debit cards, credit cards, and ACH bank transfers for electronic payments in fpOnline. This is a key first step towards OFM’s full approval.
Vendor Contract
Contract negotiations with Visual Vault are underway.

​Nerd Corner

What is DNR’s plan to migrate records from FPARS to fpOnline? 

DNR will migrate records into fpOnline from the FPARS, the Water Type Application (WTA) database, and the Forest Practices Enforcement Tracking System (FPETS). 
 
Before it can be migrated, the data must be cleansed. The data cleansing process will make sure each proponent’s current contact information is associated with all the relevant forest practices applications, water type modification forms, and informal conference notes. The contact information will include the current business physical address, representative’s name, email address, and phone numbers.
 
Next, the data will be converted to a format digestible by the fpOnline application. 
 
Once this step is complete, the software vendor will begin migrating a copy of the converted data into a test environment. There will be multiple iterations of this activity, each time perfecting the conversion and migration programs. 
 
The vendor will then conduct additional quality control reviews to ensure all applicable data is portrayed accurately in the test fpOnline environment. Think of these runs as dress rehearsals for the real event. The third-party quality assurance testers and the subject matter experts will also conduct reviews and testing to ensure the applicable data is accurately migrated into the fpOnline system.

Team Member Spotlight

Juan Nieves, fpOnline Project Coordinator

As the fpOnline Project Coordinator, Juan’s primary responsibility is to facilitate communication between the team members and the project manager to ensure the smooth running of the project. Before joining fpOnline in 2023, he spent the last two decades as an Aviation Officer and Black Hawk Pilot in the United States Army, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in October 2023. He has a comprehensive background in project management, organizational management, strategic planning, and risk management.
 
Juan holds a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering technology from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, a master’s degree in project management from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University of Florida, a Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification, and an Agile Certified Practitioner (ACP) Certification.
 
Juan also volunteers as the Military Liaison Director for the PMI Olympia Chapter to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses translate their skills into a career in project management and continue to grow as a leader in the project management community. He is a native of Puerto Rico and enjoys spending time with his family, exploring the outdoors, traveling, improving photography skills, and working around the house. 

Future User Spotlight

Stan Lubinus, Weyerhaeuser North Washington Region Engineer

Stan started with Weyerhaeuser in 2000 as a Forest Engineering Specialist and has also worked as Harvest Manager supervising company logging crews and contract logging, and a Roads Manager supervising road construction and road maintenance as well as helping with RMAP completion.
 
Currently Stan helps Forest Engineering Specialists that work on the Aberdeen, Pe El,l and Vail Weyerhaeuser tree farms. The company produces many FPAs throughout the year for harvest, road, and stream crossing work. We are looking forward to fpOnline and the ability to submit FPAs electronically. The ability to have electronic payment as well as electronic signature and the ability to submit a map from our GIS system are really exciting developments.  Filling out the FPA electronically and submitting will be a real time saver.

Keeping up with fpOnline

Future User Quotes

"fpOnline is nothing but a positive. I’m anxious to fill one out online. The current form is good, I see some areas that need for or fewer boxes, but it’s because I fill out permits for a company that is relatively small. Some of the larger companies might need that complexity. All in all, it is a good FPA. If fpOnline is not that much different and all we are doing is filling out, signing, and sending, then efficiency is number one."
- Medium-sized landowner
"Keep on engaging us and communicating with us with how things are going. Tell us what steps we need to take to make sure that we are ready to go. Like you have been doing."
- Tribal reviewer
"Make sure that the agency gets a functional product that is supported by the vendor under contract for long enough that users can use it trouble-free."
- Tribal reviewer 
"I’m excited to see it come to fruition. And help streamline our processes and DNR’s as well. We are in this together."
- Large forest landowner