RAF JPA Rollout
Join Date: Jan 2006
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Still waiting . . .
Have just got off the phone to JPAC - they are saying the server is down and there is nothing they can do at present.
IS IT ME??????
Maybe we should write the following letters . . .
Dear PSF,
Come back, all is forgiven!
Dear Air Force Board,
What were you thinking of?
IS IT ME??????
Maybe we should write the following letters . . .
Dear PSF,
Come back, all is forgiven!
Dear Air Force Board,
What were you thinking of?
Red On, Green On
Join Date: May 2004
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You must be ****ing joking, surely?
Have just got off the phone to JPAC - they are saying the server is down and there is nothing they can do at present.
Someone should get a grip, and fast. No civilian business would survive for long with this approach to IT.
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Well I just found this little jewel sitting in my inbox when i arrived at work today. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence
Difficulties with JPA system performance have been ongoing for some time and are well documented. Strenuous efforts have been made to overcome these problems and considerable progress has been made however, system performance is not at a position where we can be confident it will not have an impact on key activities such as running the payroll process.
In order to ensure that the RAF payroll can be run, system access will be limited to AFPAA from 1700hrs, 18 Apr 06 . From this time all other users will be excluded from the system, including access to the Enquiry Centre (EC). This restriction will apply for 24 – 48 hours until payroll has been completed, when notification will be sent out lifting this restriction.
In order to ensure that the RAF payroll can be run, system access will be limited to AFPAA from 1700hrs, 18 Apr 06 . From this time all other users will be excluded from the system, including access to the Enquiry Centre (EC). This restriction will apply for 24 – 48 hours until payroll has been completed, when notification will be sent out lifting this restriction.
Hellbound
Join Date: Mar 2006
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lol - was just trying to post this and the pprune server was too busy!
Have you heard the one about users only being allowed to access JPA in the afternoon while they sort it out...?
Have you heard the one about users only being allowed to access JPA in the afternoon while they sort it out...?
Join Date: Jan 2004
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Ironic, really, but whilst attempting to Log On to PPRuNe to add my anger to this thread (3 hours wasted this afternoon trying to claim expenses
) when I receive this message from PPRuNe:
The server is too busy at the moment. Please try again later.
5 attempts and I'm here but now I'm going home!
FW
) when I receive this message from PPRuNe:The server is too busy at the moment. Please try again later.
5 attempts and I'm here but now I'm going home!
FW
Red On, Green On
Join Date: May 2004
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Just as well the Noo Labour Rental Air Farce is getting smaller by the minute. By the time they've fixed JPA to cope with the current number, the RAF will be so small that one person will be able to run the entire payroll on a Sincalir Spectrum 
Join Date: Jun 2005
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Website Overwhelmed
This is all a bit too familiar.....
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3270377.stm
"Details of the way a website carrying the 1901 census was "overwhelmed" by demand have emerged in a report from the National Audit Office.
The site had to be withdrawn five days after its launch in 2002 after visits from around 1.2 million users an hour.
The site was reopened seven months later and now caters for between 8,000 and 10,000 internet users every day."
Question. Who was the contractor that setup that website?
Answer. QinetiQ
I hope we've got our expected usage levels for JPA correct!
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3270377.stm
"Details of the way a website carrying the 1901 census was "overwhelmed" by demand have emerged in a report from the National Audit Office.
The site had to be withdrawn five days after its launch in 2002 after visits from around 1.2 million users an hour.
The site was reopened seven months later and now caters for between 8,000 and 10,000 internet users every day."
Question. Who was the contractor that setup that website?
Answer. QinetiQ
I hope we've got our expected usage levels for JPA correct!
Join Date: Aug 2000
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Re: #120. Well, SPG, sounds like a good excuse to pop a letter in the post to any old unit, advising them that you intend to bu**er orf on gardening leave and to contact you when someone figures out where you are, where you are supposed to be and when!
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I hope we've got our expected usage levels for JPA correct!
Although...
considerable progress has been made
Join Date: May 2004
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I am glad I got out before this debacle!
Why not temporarily return to the tried-and-tested method of paper and ink? Scribble on a memo pad "Boss, can I have some leave?" and keep the response. Lo and behold, "authorised absence" in 5 minutes or so.
Why not temporarily return to the tried-and-tested method of paper and ink? Scribble on a memo pad "Boss, can I have some leave?" and keep the response. Lo and behold, "authorised absence" in 5 minutes or so.
Originally Posted by Farrier
JPA:
Drive to implement - Air Force Board.
[NB Air Force Board are all aircrew]
Blue touch paper lit, now retiring to safe distance . . .
IIRC AFB actually comprises 12 members, 5 politicians, 1 civil servant and 6 RAF personnel.
Mind you I have had my password for over a week now and still have not made it TO, let alone past the login screen!!
Registered User **
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Sorry Jess, not possible. Called allowances today to ask if I can submit claim on good old paper 1771 as I have no JPA logon/passsword yet. No, was the answer, they have been told paper is dead, long live JPA. They also told me I am amongst the many hundreds in a rapidly sinking boat.
Later read that JPA is closing from 1700 tonight to all but the HR people (shineys) for 24 to 48 hours so that they can sort the payroll as they think the system won't be able to cope otherwise.
I would like to have a small wager that those responsible for this mess, not the ones managing it now, but the ones who have already moved on, will already have been commended/promoted for their sterling work. W@nkers !
S_H
Later read that JPA is closing from 1700 tonight to all but the HR people (shineys) for 24 to 48 hours so that they can sort the payroll as they think the system won't be able to cope otherwise.
I would like to have a small wager that those responsible for this mess, not the ones managing it now, but the ones who have already moved on, will already have been commended/promoted for their sterling work. W@nkers !
S_H
Safety....
Not strictly true as paper forms do still exist. For expenses , I believe it is JPA Form 016 that you submit to your HR Admin, then they will consolidate all the Unit claims onto a JPA Form 016A and send it to the JPAC EC for entry onto JPA and subsequent payment.
All JPA Paper forms are available on the AFPAA Info Centre, under documentation. You can print them off and have your own secret cache!!
Not strictly true as paper forms do still exist. For expenses , I believe it is JPA Form 016 that you submit to your HR Admin, then they will consolidate all the Unit claims onto a JPA Form 016A and send it to the JPAC EC for entry onto JPA and subsequent payment.
All JPA Paper forms are available on the AFPAA Info Centre, under documentation. You can print them off and have your own secret cache!!
Join Date: Dec 2002
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No civilian business would survive for long with this approach to IT
This should have been live trialled for at least 2 months, which is a pain in the butt running 2 systems side-by-side but at least proves that it works properly instead of just doing a flashy demonstration to an IPT which probably hasn't got a clue what it's looking at anyway. Personally I had no doubt it would be a farce when I was doing the training - one of the bits of the emergency contact form (most of you won't have got that far yet!!!) asks "Is this contact your NOK?". A yes or no answer indicated by a tick or check box or something you would have thought? Nope - you have to click the little torch icon, type a * in the search box and then select the answer from the presented lsit which is either a ......... YES OR NO! Some bl**dy poorly trained techno geek showing off by using all the HCI tools at his disposal whether its appropriate or not. I had a vain hope that this was just a developmental software glitch which would be picked up by a moderately skilled tester, but no, silly me I thought they'd actually user test the software - how naive. And if you think that's a tiny little issue - wait until you get to try to fill in your posting preferences - it will take you all day just to trawl through the multiple screens full of options. I gave up after going through 5 screens and I hadn't even hit a RAF posting yet (Army comes before RAF in the alphabet - geddit?).
The HCI on this project is pants. Poorly designed, user unfriendly and, as usual, we haven't invested in sufficient network bandwidth to cope with the demand.
Think yourselves lucky if you have never managed to log on yet - your nightmares have not yet started.
Join Date: Jun 2000
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Flight Safety Implications
Has anybody sat and considered the flight safety implications of such a poor system.
In days gone by the whole idea of Admin Wing and Sqn Execs was to deflect the S*!t and make the whole process of flying an aircraft, whether that be training peacetime or in delivering a weapon in war time a lot simpler without the burden of taking frustrations airborne.
I would take my hat off to the first person who refuses to get airborne due to the stresses of either:
God help those who are trying to get onto JPA from overseas and are actually still doing a job out in Iraq or Afghanistan. Mind you JPA probably doesn't even know where they are anyway!
You never know maybe our lords and masters will give us all extra time away from duties just to cover the time wasted trying to logon etc. The productivity level of the RAF (to use bull management speak), not that we produce any tangible product, must have gone down by at least 50%.
In days gone by the whole idea of Admin Wing and Sqn Execs was to deflect the S*!t and make the whole process of flying an aircraft, whether that be training peacetime or in delivering a weapon in war time a lot simpler without the burden of taking frustrations airborne.
I would take my hat off to the first person who refuses to get airborne due to the stresses of either:
- Trying to logon
- Changing Password
- Altering Next of Kin Details
- Checking Posting Preferences
- Submitting Travel Claim
- Requesting Annual Leave
God help those who are trying to get onto JPA from overseas and are actually still doing a job out in Iraq or Afghanistan. Mind you JPA probably doesn't even know where they are anyway!
You never know maybe our lords and masters will give us all extra time away from duties just to cover the time wasted trying to logon etc. The productivity level of the RAF (to use bull management speak), not that we produce any tangible product, must have gone down by at least 50%.
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Originally Posted by nav attacking
In days gone by the whole idea of Admin Wing and Sqn Execs was to deflect the S*!t and make the whole process of flying an aircraft, whether that be training peacetime or in delivering a weapon in war time a lot simpler without the burden of taking frustrations airborne.
As for 'tangible product' I would suggest that the number of troops moved to/from/within operational theatres, and number of bad guys coerced/attrited by the delivery of air power (kinetic or otherwise) within those same operational theatres is fairly tangible - and linked to tangible improvements in those theatres that the media choose to ignore because good news doesn't sell.
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Climebear
You are so right.
However, my point is how long will it be before the first Incident Report reflects the fact the pilot was so distracted by the lack of pay that he/she failed to see the light aircraft, or was so frustrated pre-flight that he/she missed the fact that the already stretched groundcrew (also frustrated by the fact that their pay had not gone into their bank account) missed something off the turn around checks causing failure of a critical component?
You are so right.
However, my point is how long will it be before the first Incident Report reflects the fact the pilot was so distracted by the lack of pay that he/she failed to see the light aircraft, or was so frustrated pre-flight that he/she missed the fact that the already stretched groundcrew (also frustrated by the fact that their pay had not gone into their bank account) missed something off the turn around checks causing failure of a critical component?