Automated Briefing System (ABS)

The Automated Briefing System (ABS) enables anyone with average computer skills to develop and deliver automated briefings or training. No programming skill is required. The briefing or training is created by entering into the ABS program links to material your personnel are asked to read, along with questions designed to test that the required reading has been done and the key points have been learned.

The ABS system was developed by the Department of Defense Personnel Security Research Center in response to requests and comments from users of the Customizable Security Guide. In order to meet their security awareness briefing requirements, these users needed to be able to confirm that their personnel had actually read and learned from designated sections of the Security Guide.

ABS can also be used to brief/train your personnel on any other topic about which information is available electronically. For example, it can be used for Ethics, Sexual Harassment, or Workplace Violence briefings, to familiarize personnel with your Employee Assistance Program, or to train personnel on new organization policies.

As compared with many other types of computer-based briefing or training programs, ABS has these advantages:

  • No Cost: The software is free to all elements of the U.S. Government and to U.S. Government contractors on condition that it be used only for a U.S. Government purpose.

  • Quick and Easy: A person who is familiar with ABS and knows the subject matter to be covered can create an automated briefing/training session in one day. Programming skills are not needed.

  • Flexible: Once a briefing/training session is prepared, it is very simple to update it occasionally or adapt it to different target audiences.

  • Records of Employee Performance: The software maintains a record of everyone who has taken the briefing/training and how they performed on the quiz, so employees can be held accountable for what they are supposed to have learned.

  • Customizable: Several elements of the program are customizable by the user. For example, the title Automated Briefing System could be changed to XYZ Corp. Briefing System and the Defense Security Service (DSS) seal can be replaced with the user's seal or logo.

The disadvantage of ABS as compared with other computer-based briefing or training programs is that the briefing developer has no control over the format of the content. The briefing developer only provides the links to other materials that form the briefing content. The material on these other sites cannot be imported into the ABS program and edited or otherwise modified.

For those who prefer to develop their own PowerPoint briefings, the benefit of ABS is to develop and present a quiz on the PowerPoint briefing, maintain automated records of those who pass the quiz, and print out certificates of completion.

ABS will be especially useful for two quite different types of organizations:

  • Small organizations that lack expertise or resources to develop their own briefings/lessons and lack the funds to pay someone else to perform this function. Using the Security Guide as source material, such organizations can prepare a security or threat awareness briefing quickly and at no cost.

  • Larger organizations that develop their own PowerPoint or video briefings/lessons but want to test their personnel to confirm they have learned from the briefing/lesson, and/or who want to maintain automated records of who has and has not taken the briefings/lessons, can do this with the ABS software.

ABS consists of two programs that are downloaded together -- the Developer Program for developing the briefing/training and the Presentation Program for delivering the briefing/training in either a web-based environment or a client-server environment. Installation of ABS on your computer creates two separate icons -- one for the Developer Program and the other for the Presentation Program.

Developer Program

You use the Developer Program to create the briefing/training session. A "Briefing Profile" defines procedures to be used in each session. Each session involves a series of questions. You formulate and input the questions, add links to materials that respondents should read before answering the questions, and add feedback to be given for correct or incorrect answers.

In creating a briefing/training session, you have the following capabilities:

  • Ask respondents to link to the reading material before answering any of the questions, before each question, before a set of questions, or after the wrong answer to a question.

  • Ask four types of questions -- true-false, multiple choice, fill-in-the-blanks, or short answer.

  • Ask questions in a fixed order or randomly select a specified number of questions from a larger list questions and present these in random order.

  • Provide feedback to the respondent after each answer or only after all questions have been answered.

  • Maintain records and print out reports on who has taken the briefing/training and whether they passed or failed the quiz. Also transfer these records to an Excel file that can be sorted, analyzed, and linked to other records such as personnel records.

  • Set the program so that the briefing/training developer can print out all certificates of completion, or each employee can print out his or her own certificate.

  • Export and import briefings so that they may be e-mailed and shared with persons in other offices or organizations who are also using ABS.

  • Maintain a library of briefings and briefing questions.

  • Maintain statistics on relative difficulty of each question.

Presentation Program

The briefing/training recipient logs on to the Presentation Program with name, User ID or employee number (if appropriate), and unit/office designator (if appropriate). The Presentation Program then delivers the briefing/training, and, if the recipient completes it successfully and the program is set to do so, it prints a certificate of completion.

The Presentation Program is designed to work in either a client-server environment (i.e., delivery will not be via the Internet or an intranet) or in a web environment (i.e., the briefing/training will be delivered via the Internet or an intranet).  Either way, you will need assistance from your system administrator or webmaster to put the briefing/training on your organization's server in order to make it available to those whom the briefing/training is intended to reach.

ABS comes with a First-Time User Tutorial and a Help menu that can be printed out in its entirety as a User Manual.

Obtaining the ABS

The ABS is available at no cost to all units of the Department of Defense, all other U.S. Government agencies, and all contractors working for the Department of Defense or other government agencies. It may be downloaded at www.rjhresearch.com.

The ABS software meets all requirements of the Defense Information Systems Agency's Application Security Checklist, Version 2, Release 1.7. It has been reviewed and found to be virus-free and contains no “trojan horse” code, no “spyware,” or any other similar harmful programming code. It has no “mobile code” (such as JAVA applets) and no Active X controls.

ABS users are asked to register with the project manager in order to be advised of future updates. Questions may be directed to the project manager, Richards J. Heuer, Jr., at the Defense Personnel Security Research Center (PERSEREC), e-mail Richards.Heuer.ctr@osd.pentagon.mil or phone (831) 657-3008.

 

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