An intelligence community Internet service provider (ISP) faced the unique challenge of stabilizing network operations during a period of unprecedented demand. “Firefighting” was clearly no longer a sustainable management practice, but alternative measures had failed.

Fuel worked with the program manager and the client to illuminate the problem: classic stovepiping. With the ultimate goal of transforming the organization into a process-centric operation, the best course of action was energizing the ISP by preparing its processes for an ISO 9000 Quality Management System (QMS) registration, the completion of which would help ensure that it meets the needs of customers and other stakeholders while meeting ISP statutory and regulatory requirements.

Working closely with leadership and other stakeholders, Fuel ensured that ISO 9000’s QMS requirements were met, that process performance was quantified using appropriate metrics, that corrective and preventive actions were documented and traceable, and that regular management review would uncover nonconformities. Fuel’s efforts resulted in the ISP becoming the first Intelligence Community office ever to receive ISO 9000 registration. Additionally, network availability increased from less than 97% to more than 99%.