DTS -> Next Generation Travel System - Ideas?

[Finance_Guy]

All, looking for serious input here. We've all heard the gripes about DTS and how it don't do this or that and is so hard to use. GSA/DoD is looking for input on what users would like to see in the "Next Generation Travel System".

RE: http://www.federalnewsradio.com/445/2889993/GSA-to-launch-14B-next-generation-travel-management-system

Slated for sometime in 2017, but who knows? So here's your chance and I'll collect these inputs and send them forward. I'm looking for issues with the actual system and not external processes. A few questions to ponder for your input:

1. What is the worst thing you hate about DTS? One I hate is when you update one itinerary stop of the dates, DTS will reset your entire per diem entitlements back to the defaults--even after you may have spent hours updating lodging and meal options>

2. What are some enhancements you would recommend? Better Wizard to capture the travel itinerary.

3. What are any features you like about DTS? I like the trip template -- try it out if you never have.

I've been using the system since 2004 and it has got better over the years but it can be better. Already a half billion pumped into the current system and it still has some issues.

Looking forward to some good inputs. Thanks.

FG

[HoHum]

I think you need to grab a brand-new airman and watch him try to self-navigate through it in order to get this right. Whenever you have to say something, you need to write it down, because that's where DTS failed to be intuitive.

Starters:

1. Something plainly labeled "scanned receipts and documents". all by itself...at the end. And it should accept JPG, TIF, PDF, DOC, XPS etc.

2. A clear, graphical representation of the steps for a voucher. Auth, vouch, money - and how it "reserves" and releases money. We still have about a third of our folks modifying their authorization instead of creating a voucher....because it's on the front page.

3. Mother of god - a logical flow - created by a real graphic web designer?

4. Can we call rental cars....rental cars, instead of commercial auto, TDY?

5. WTF happened to group authorizations? That was a huge time-saver.

6. I want to use my phone to take pictures of my reciepts and have an email/phone number to email/text them in....ala USAA check deposits.

[magnetfreezer]

1, More of a technical issue but getting rid of the Java program (gradkell?) that takes 6-9 minutes to load when you start up and, along with the 6-9 redirects and popups, is the most frequent reason for DTS not working on government computers.

2. +1 on the logical flow/explanation. For fund cites, include a way to look them up or otherwise reference what they actually apply to (unit funded vs contingency vs TDY-to-school, etc). to reduce the last minute phone calls to RAs.

3. Ability to pull data from the GTC system - Quicken, etc can pull transaction/investment data from any brokerage or bank. Then DTS can immediately verify you paid $690.00 for airfare on this date vs waiting for receipts to be scanned, interpreted, etc. Won't always work for transactions not processed yet, cases where the GTC wasn't used, etc but would cut out a lot of the virtual paper. Those that still need to be sent in can use the phone scan feature.

[ThreeHoler]

3. Ability to pull data from the GTC system - Quicken, etc can pull transaction/investment data from any brokerage or bank. Then DTS can immediately verify you paid $690.00 for airfare on this date vs waiting for receipts to be scanned, interpreted, etc. Won't always work for transactions not processed yet, cases where the GTC wasn't used, etc but would cut out a lot of the virtual paper. Those that still need to be sent in can use the phone scan feature.

DTS already does this. Go to Expenses and click Create Expense from GTC Statement or something like that.

Thoughts (not GO safe...sanitize!) --

From an AMC standpoint, the most frustrating thing about DTS is the amount of information that has to be put in prior to going TDY and then all that information has to be edited once we have returned. When I am TDY 6-9 times a month and I have to enter (6-9)*2 things into DTS (Auth + Voucher), I get annoyed. Especially when we put "Variations Authorized" in the Auth and then DTS throws a shitfit when we change the itinerary for the Voucher upon our return. Also, the -$16 glitch is super annoying when trying to select OINC for $3.50 a day when directed. Finally, the AF infatuation with 6-9 popups per web application is super fucking annoying.

Lose the finance jargon in every step of the process. Most of us don't speak it.

My favorite feature is the page that lets me adjust the split disbursement. However, everything good comes with a price, and if I use the feature, I then have to justify 6-9 flags for changing the split disbursement.

[HU&W]

3. Ability to pull data from the GTC system - Quicken, etc can pull transaction/investment data from any brokerage or bank. Then DTS can immediately verify you paid $690.00 for airfare on this date vs waiting for receipts to be scanned, interpreted, etc. Won't always work for transactions not processed yet, cases where the GTC wasn't used, etc but would cut out a lot of the virtual paper. Those that still need to be sent in can use the phone scan feature.

Yes please!

Also get rid of as many of those tabs as possible. Utilize a graphical representation of a calendar with clicking/dragging/etc to make inputs intuitive. Major pet peeve is when a tab doesn't save the right data or stuff you were working on in a future tab gets jacked when you realize you have to fix something on an earlier tab.

[guineapigfury]

Whatever you do, make sure eFinance is dead and buried with a stake through its heart before we bring in a possible third system.

[BQZip01]

Already a half billion pumped into the current system and it still has some issues. Looking forward to some good inputs. Thanks. FG

Half a BILLION since 2004 and this is the best we got?!?! UFB! Christ, we could by two NEW MC-130's for that money and go back to filing paper! Thank God we had that RIF...

Ok, so seriously, the problems with DTS:

1. Training for the administrators using it. It shouldn't take 3-4 MONTHS to get a travel voucher through the system because each layer of bureaucracy doesn't seem to be aware that you don't need receipts for a $8 cab ride

2. GET RID OF ALL THE MOTHERF***ING POP-UPS. There's no reason you can't do this in a simple, logical flow from the main page.

3. Create menu options that make sense. Don't

4. Bring back group authorizations: it made things a LOT easier for groups

5. You want a hint? Go to travelocity or any other site and set it up like theirs. The last page should be all of the funding site/approval work, the site loads up quickly because there isn't a BUNCH of overhead code to show simple graphics and text (seriously, I can download a movie faster), and a simple page that shows all your uploaded files and allow you to name them for easy reference

Edited June 8, 2012 by BQZip01

[WABoom]

I always wondered why we couldn't just keep the old travel order form/voucher and hyperlink each block and have that list what needs to be filled out. Don't know about most, but I like simple.

[Ram]

Go back to paper vouchers.

BOOM - $500 mil saved. Somebody write me an OPR.

[guineapigfury]

Go back to paper vouchers.

BOOM - $500 mil saved. Somebody write me an OPR.

Make the paper voucher into one of those type-able lotus viewer forms, BOOM-even more money saved on paper and data re-entry costs.

[Champ Kind]

Divert the funds to make this undoubtedly POS system and use them to retrain the finance troops so that they actually know how to properly process a voucher.

[HeyWatchThis]

Divert the funds to make this undoubtedly POS system and use them to retrain the finance troops so that they actually know how to properly process a voucher.

Nailed it.....

[Chida]

Would it be possible to just get rid of the authorization(s) for trips on air force aircraft/flight orders? I remember when it was paper vouchers, we would just fly the mission using orders from the squadron aviation resource managers and then file the paper voucher once the mission is done.

When I was RA for my squadron, I would not accept anything except group authorizations for TDYs using air force aircraft. This saved me tons on time and it saved everyone else in the squadron tons of time, but the next best thing would be no authorization required. If this were to happen, a group travel voucher would be a good idea. The lead traveler would make the "shell" and then it would spawn to the individuals involved. The individuals would then only upload receipts and add additional nickel and dime items such as laundry, taxi, etc, if need be.

[SocialD]

1. What is the worst thing you hate about DTS?

It's existence!

2. What are some enhancements you would recommend?

Ctrl-Alt-Del

3. What are any features you like about DTS

N/A

Already a half billion pumped into the current system and it still has some issues.

We've pumped half billion into this POS!?!?!

Go back to paper vouchers.

THIS!

Just get rid of that fucking system! It takes me 2-5 minutes max to fill out a paper voucher! Prior to DTS, I never had a problem, getting airline tickets/hotels/rental cars. Since switching to DTS, I have yet to go on a TDY where something wasn't totally fucked with DTS. We still have the same number of finance folks as before we switch to DTS. Now they spend most of their time fielding calls on how to un-fuck a DTS problem. Also please train your folks to screen the whole voucher before rejecting, rather than just sending it back at the first thing they find.

My favorite is having to put a statement in there as to why I can't accomplish my business via secure video teleconferencing (SVTC)...on EVERY voucher! Finance, apparently doesn't think my justifications are as funny as I do. But seriously...I'm flying a fucking jet to DEPOT! Is this statement really needed?

[Catbox]

Looking forward to some good inputs. Thanks.

FG

Things that should be simple, but huge improvements:

1. A clock, hourglass, progress bar, etc... to show that DTS is "thinking." As slow as it can be, and as often as it freezes there is no way to tell the difference.

2. Get rid of the pop-ups. Utterly ridiculous that it runs like that.

3. Have some sort of pdf, form-flow, etc... that auto-fills your inputs an old fashioned 1351 as you go along so you can see in black and white how DTS is building the voucher on one form.

[RescueRandy]

So... I'm a Captain with 5 years. I've finally (after 5 years) figured out how to use DTS just barely well enough to get an authorization/voucher through without f'ing it up. That's foul #1. If an iPhone took 5 years to learn, it would have never existed.

I used PIPS for the first time the other day to create the voucher for my PCS. While it wasn't perfect, it was a hell of a lot more user-friendly than DTS. eFinance and Virtual Finance need to disappear or be more like PIPS. They suck.

One of the previous posts mentioned that the systems need to use a logical, chronological flow of zero-finance-jargon questions so that somebody who hasn't been to finance tech school can understand the first time around. (i.e. Where are you going? From where are you leaving? When will you leave? How do you plan to get there? etc.)

Another vote for... bring back group authorizations!!! When the entire squadron is picking up to go TDY somewhere, it makes no sense for every single person in the squadron to spend their day creating 60-90 different authorizations, that the RA now has to go un-###### one at a time.

Another vote for... get rid of the pop-ups & re-directs.

Don't spend time/money on creating ridiculous graphics that just take the already limited computing power on our five-year-old desktop PCs. The Google home-page works so well because it's simple and loads quickly.

I know saying "bring back paper vouchers" makes you take this input less seriously, because it'll probably never happen... but seriously, $500M could go a long way to training bean-counters how to count beans better.

The secure-VTC statement is seriously ridiculous. Why don't we trust out folks to know when they can or cannot accomplish something via SVTC? Do the bean-counters really think that when I'm already TDY 200+ days per year for training and deployment that I REALLY want to go TDY to yet another meeting? When I say I need to go TDY (by turning in a travel auth) then that means I need to go TDY!!! I shouldn't have to copy/paste in a ridiculous statement saying "No kidding, I really do need to go TDY..."

Um... I know there's more but I'm out of time to tell finance how to do their job better.

[pbar]

The secure-VTC statement is seriously ridiculous. Why don't we trust out folks to know when they can or cannot accomplish something via SVTC? Do the bean-counters really think that when I'm already TDY 200+ days per year for training and deployment that I REALLY want to go TDY to yet another meeting? When I say I need to go TDY (by turning in a travel auth) then that means I need to go TDY!!! I shouldn't have to copy/paste in a ridiculous statement saying "No kidding, I really do need to go TDY..."

Can't believe I'm defending Finance but from what I understand this requirement came from on high, SecDef's office (OSD) or some such. We have to put it in our DTS here in a joint command too.

Edited June 8, 2012 by pbar

[guineapigfury]

Honestly, maybe what we need is a container that you can check that reads something like "Skip the review, I'm an officer and I'm signing this under penalty of perjury so give me my fucking money or call the JAG instead."

[Big Bear]

I know DTS is supposed to pull data from GTC accounts, but I have rarely seen it work correctly. Fix it and make it so that when you scan a receipt, DTS reads it and automatically processes the expenses and you can apply the items from the receipts to the correct places in the vouchers. For example: hotel receipt - $69.00. Scan it and then all you have to do is click on a button or dropdown to assign that amount to the correct night.

Also, actually do currency conversions IN DTS!!!! Can't it at least use historical data to get the conversions close? That way I can put in 95euro, or 20,000BAT and I don't have to do the conversion myself!

There should be more than 1 finance person involved in the entire DTS system for the entire base. Pilots should not be running an additional finance office so that DTS can actually work.

Make authorizations more simple, or get rid of them.

The interface between DTS and CTO's system is unreliable. Can't there be only1 system? Perhaps allow normal people can do CTO's job for them, because they're relatively unhelpful and charge a service fee to do something Expedia already does for everyone else.

Please take the Foreign Travel Office completely out of the loop. They serve absolutely no purpose.

I also like the ideas of others from above that mention making it more intuitive, no pop-ups!!!!!!, and some kind of logical flow.

BTW, what's your role in designing this new system? Just curious

[raimius]

Not having the system randomly reboot to the main page and erase the data I just entered would be nice.

Kill the pop-ups.

Have a more logical flow. I hate trying to remember which sub-menu something is in, because they aren't labeled in a fashion that makes sense to someone who doesn't spend all their time using DTS.

I like WABoom's idea to link it to an actual form, so you can tell if stuff makes sense.

[Champ Kind]

When I say I need to go TDY (by turning in a travel auth) then that means I need to go TDY!!! I shouldn't have to copy/paste in a ridiculous statement saying "No kidding, I really do need to go TDY..."

Make authorizations more simple, or get rid of them.

Not so much a "DTS" issue as much as it is a "this is how off-the-rails our organization has become" issue:

So get this shit -- at my base, when one is going TDY, BEFORE you submit at Authorization in DTS, one must complete a paper-copy "DTS Authorization Form" to be submitted to your DTS person (routed through your chain of command) before they will approve your authorization. WTF!!!! Why would I be bashing my face into a Dell desktop monitor for God knows how long creating an Authorization in DTS if I wasn't authorized (i.e, getting sent on a TDY!!!) to be traveling in the first place?!?

Has this been going on AF-wide while I was OCONUS for the last several years, or are the people who implemented this at my base ruh-tards?

[Fuzz]

Find a way to get rid of the page reloading every time a drop-down menu is selected. It takes long enough to load each page in the first place.

2 on the progress bar or hour glass.

[Toro]

Honestly, maybe what we need is a container that you can check that reads something like "Skip the review, I'm an officer and I'm signing this under penalty of perjury so give me my fucking money or call the JAG instead."

Of course, because officers never commit fraud.

[guineapigfury]

Of course, because officers never commit fraud.

That's why I put in that part about "or call the JAG instead." Currently you sign it electronically, logged in with your ID card, with money going to your bank account. Pretty open and shut case if you're doing something wrong. Am I missing something?

[aspec]

I think you need to grab a brand-new airman and watch him try to self-navigate through it in order to get this right. Whenever you have to say something, you need to write it down, because that's where DTS failed to be intuitive.

Spot on. Trying to figure out how to use DTS is an absolute nightmare. It is mind blowing we have dumped $500 million into this program and it's still terrible. In fact, every DOD program we have does a horrible job at being intuitive (GTIMS, ePex, JMPS, etc). Give me $1 million and I bet I could find a couple college graduates in the web development/programming field that could create a program that is significantly easier to use, and that's with me pocketing $900,000 of that. It has most of the functionality to get the job done, but the delivery is terrible. Most of the previous posts have already mentioned it but it needs a logical flow and when there are fields or options that might be confusing, maybe put a ? button next to the option/field that explains what it's for and some examples of how it's used.

In all seriousness, what does finance do on a daily basis? I went into finance recently to in-process and they tell me, "oh sir, we can't in-process you here, you must do it on ePIPS". So I ask, "alright, well, what do you guys do here then?" and they reply, "well, if you have problems with ePIPS you can come in and we can help you." Fortunately, ePIPS is a little easier to use and I was almost able to complete the entire process without help.

Edited June 8, 2012 by aspec