Case Study

Operations & Maintenance (O&M)

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Risk Management Agency (RMA) administers the Federal Crop Insurance Program, which provides critical financial support to farmers and ranchers in the U.S. by mitigating risks associated with natural disasters, crop diseases, and market fluctuations. The USDA crop insurance system processes tens of billions of dollars in premiums and claims each year. The crop insurance system is vital for maintaining agricultural stability, providing farmers with the ability to recover after adverse conditions, and ensuring food security.

After a significant modernization effort in the mid-2010s, which introduced cloud computing, agile practices, and a more user-friendly interface, the system evolved into a highly scalable and flexible platform. However, ensuring that this system remains effective, up-to-date, and responsive to the needs of farmers and insurance providers requires ongoing Operations and Maintenance (O&M) support. As a subcontractor on the O&M phase of the crop insurance system, Wilco Group helped to ensure that the system operates smoothly, remains secure, and is continuously improved. This case study discusses the challenges, strategies, and successes in supporting the O&M of USDA RMA’s crop insurance system after its modernization.

Key Challenges

System Performance and Scalability
Security and Compliance
User Support and Experience
System Updates and Enhancements
Collaboration Across Stakeholders

Our Approach

Provide Proactive System Monitoring and Performance Optimization. We employed regular monitoring of system performance to ensure the system could handle peak loads during critical times, such as planting and harvest seasons. We also used real-time monitoring tools, like Splunk and Datadog, to detect system performance issues or bottlenecks before they impacted users.
Provide Enhanced Security and Monitor Compliance. Our team used several key practices to ensure that the system met federal regulations for protecting sensitive data and ensuring trust among stakeholders.: encryption and data protection, regular audits and compliance checks (e.g., FISMA), role-based access control and multi-factor authentication.
Provide Ongoing User Support and Experience Improvements. To support users, including farmers, insurance agents, and internal stakeholders, we implemented a comprehensive support framework to include a help desk, self-service knowledge base, user training, user support materials, and user feedback loops.
Provide Continuous System Updates and Feature Enhancements. As agricultural practices and risk factors evolve, our team recognized that the system needed to stay flexible and adaptable. Based on annual needs, farm bill reforms, and other changes, our team used agile methodologies to ensure that the system aligned with the latest policies, insurance products, and regulatory requirements. We collaborate with crop insurance stakeholders and used regular scrum-based sprints to ensure that enhancements, bug fixes, and new features were rolled out incrementally, allowing the system to stay responsive to changing needs.

Results

Increased System Reliability: The proactive monitoring and performance optimization techniques have resulted in a highly reliable system that can handle large-scale operations, particularly during peak periods like planting and harvest seasons.
Improved Security and Compliance: By ensuring the system meets the highest security standards and complies with federal regulations, the RMA has strengthened trust with farmers, insurance providers, and other stakeholders.
Better User Satisfaction: Enhanced user support, including a robust help desk, knowledge base, and regular training, has resulted in higher satisfaction among farmers and insurance agents. The improved interface and self-service capabilities have also made it easier for users to interact with the system.
Agility in Responding to Change: The adoption of Agile practices has allowed the RMA to quickly adapt the system to changing agricultural risks, new policies, and user needs. This has ensured that the crop insurance program remains flexible and responsive in an ever-evolving agricultural landscape.
Efficient Collaboration Across Stakeholders: The integration of stakeholder feedback into the system’s continuous improvement process has ensured that the crop insurance system meets the needs of all parties involved and allows for better decision-making.

Conclusion

By focusing on system performance, security, user support, and continuous improvement, our team helped the USDA to ensure that the crop insurance system remains responsive, reliable, and adaptable to the needs of farmers, insurance agents, and government stakeholders. These efforts have not only improved the operational efficiency of the system but also increased satisfaction and trust among all parties involved, contributing to the stability and sustainability of the U.S. agricultural industry.