Company: DRC
Company Description: Founded in 1955, DRC® provides innovative management consulting, science, engineering, and information technology solutions to government customers. We support our customers in the primary mission areas of Cyber Security, Information Assurance, Health, Homeland Security, Intelligence, Financial and Regulatory Reform, and Priority Defense Programs. DRC improves the health and welfare of
Nomination Category: Information Technology Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Technical Professional of the Year

Nomination Title: Christine Smith, Software Test Engineer

Tell the story about this nominee's achievements since January 1 2012 (up to 525 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Christine Smith is currently working on the Secure Payment System (SPS) project at Financial Management Service (FMS) as a software test engineer. The FMS of the U.S. Department of the Treasury is the primary disburser of Federal payments on behalf of the Federal Government. SPS enables individual Federal agencies to securely certify requests for the Treasury to issue payments on their behalf (e.g., tax returns). Designed and developed by DRC, this Internet-based system certifies trillions of dollars annually. With single payments potentially larger than $1 billion, SPS is one of the most highly secured systems in the U.S. Government. Ms. Smith’s efforts help to keep it that way.

On SPS she has been instrumental in the delivery of quality work products and identifying defects (over 99% of requirements were accepted by the customer during testing) in the application before deployment. SPS employs specific role-based capabilities, encryption, and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) credentialing. SPS also provides a Web-based interface via Java-based electronic form for entering and submitting payment schedules with quarterly releases. In addition to testing the software, Ms. Smith also works as a developer and analyst. She writes and executes test cases, designs validation tools, updates the credentials application and supplementary PKI installer, maintains the lab environment, and analyzes current policies and procedures.

Initially, the SPS project facilitated end-user credential management. This functionality was moved to a separate application, the Integrated Trusted Registration Application (ITRA), and subsequently enhanced by DRC to support higher levels of assurance.  In 2012, Christine managed the requirements, development, and configuration management processes for the ITRA application, working autonomously to deliver the needed support on time. She also supported the IRS Credit Card Initiative during the project launch.

Christine also volunteers. Christine speaks with potential college hires at career fairs, and she has served as a mentor to college students as part of their IT Consulting class. Christine also takes part in DRC community service, including volunteering at the DC Central Kitchen and 9/11 Day of Service.

Christine co-chairs the company’s volunteer group focused on improving people programs. She served as a focus group lead to help increase company morale and organized the company picnic. Christine has organized the company picnic for three consecutive years, planned a cultural outing, and worked on many other initiatives to make DRC a better place to work. Christine has also served as a liaison with executives by co-authoring a white paper on corporate pride at DRC. She did all of this while completing her Master’s degree in Information Technology in 2012.

Christine’s attention to detail, thoroughness, and organization are evident in her work as software test engineer on SPS.  Her time management skills and ability to prioritize tasks are evident in both her work on client site and her ability to balance work, school, and corporate citizenship responsibilities.  As a leader of the Employer of Choice growth team and a focus group lead for the Transformation Team, Her work on these efforts has demonstrated strong teamwork, planning, and coordination as well as self-direction and motivation.

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Provide a brief (up to 125 words) biography about the nominee:

Christine Smith Joined DRC in 2009 and has established herself as one of DRC’s top performers. She was named Employee of the Year in 2012. In that same year she completed her Master’s Degree and obtained the Certified Tester Foundation Level (CTFL) certification.