Check out this article in yesterday's Washington Post regarding the DC area's housing market recovering its health:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2010/05/16/ST2010051603765.htlm?sid=ST2010051603765
Within the article, it reads, "In turn, restoring health to the housing market is crucial for returning vitality to the financial system and fostering growth across the broader U.S. economy." This is how we want to impact the housing mission.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Photo Office Tour
So much has changed this week, even since the video tour of the office was shown during our company meeting one week ago. (In case you missed it, you can view it at www.clearfocusproductions.com/Site/InScopeintl.html) Come join us for a photo office tour of the progress we have made this week!
This is a shot from the entrance to InScope International's new Reston Headquarters. To the right is the reception area, and to the left of the hallway out of view is the main conference room (yet to be named!).
Here is the main conference room, with a window view out to the road and parking garage.
This is the space where the Technology Innovation Team and the Public Initiatives Team will sit. Natural light will be accessible to all!
The group is looking into Steve Conner and Dave Blessing's new offices.
This is a shot of the Public Initiatives side of the office space, looking straight into the cafeteria.
Here is the Technology Innovation side of the space.
Now we've entered into the new cafeteria! It is a large space, full of windows and natural light, and will be equipped with a television, coffee maker, soda fountain, and snack machine.
This space is dubbed the "Galleria" - it is the walkway between the two sides of the office space.
On the other side of the Galleria, you will open a door and your eyes will first see the Demo Lab, which will occupy this open space here. The demo lab with showcase some of the current projects and products we are working on.
This room is being built as a lab for the mission systems team.
This is the corner that will house the Mission Systems team.
Here are the future offices of Gary Struzik (right), the executive conference room (middle), and Mike's office (left).
A shot of the cubicle space on the other side of the office!
This is the other suite we purchased, which we are building out to be the future home of Professional Staffing!
This is a shot from the entrance to InScope International's new Reston Headquarters. To the right is the reception area, and to the left of the hallway out of view is the main conference room (yet to be named!).
Here is the main conference room, with a window view out to the road and parking garage.
This is the space where the Technology Innovation Team and the Public Initiatives Team will sit. Natural light will be accessible to all!
The group is looking into Steve Conner and Dave Blessing's new offices.
This is a shot of the Public Initiatives side of the office space, looking straight into the cafeteria.
Here is the Technology Innovation side of the space. 
Now we've entered into the new cafeteria! It is a large space, full of windows and natural light, and will be equipped with a television, coffee maker, soda fountain, and snack machine.
This space is dubbed the "Galleria" - it is the walkway between the two sides of the office space.
On the other side of the Galleria, you will open a door and your eyes will first see the Demo Lab, which will occupy this open space here. The demo lab with showcase some of the current projects and products we are working on. 
This room is being built as a lab for the mission systems team. 
This is the corner that will house the Mission Systems team. 
Here are the future offices of Gary Struzik (right), the executive conference room (middle), and Mike's office (left).
A shot of the cubicle space on the other side of the office!
This is the other suite we purchased, which we are building out to be the future home of Professional Staffing! We are counting down the days until we get to move into our new home!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Exciting Project Updates!
Hello InScope team! 
Thanks for visiting our blog! We are working tirelessly to keep the ball rolling on three big projects that will have a company-wide impact. The first few months of each project has offered few tangible deliverables... until now! We are beginning to see each of these projects blossom and take shape in an exciting way, and would therefore like to share these updates with you!
Office Move: Our new office space is officially under construction! These pictures are just a few days old, but already inacurately portray the progress at the site. Since these photos, the electricians have wired our offices, and studs have gone up to show room separations. In just a few weeks, this office space will begin to really take shape!
Thanks for visiting our blog! We are working tirelessly to keep the ball rolling on three big projects that will have a company-wide impact. The first few months of each project has offered few tangible deliverables... until now! We are beginning to see each of these projects blossom and take shape in an exciting way, and would therefore like to share these updates with you!
Office Move: Our new office space is officially under construction! These pictures are just a few days old, but already inacurately portray the progress at the site. Since these photos, the electricians have wired our offices, and studs have gone up to show room separations. In just a few weeks, this office space will begin to really take shape!
Corporate Website: We are moving right along 
in our corporate website design and buildout. We have finalized our new name and logo ("Top Secret" for now- to be revealed at the May 6th company meeting), and are recieving design options like this one for our homepage. If the project stays on schedule, we are less than two months away from going live and proudly introducing our new website to clients, potential clients, families, and friends!
in our corporate website design and buildout. We have finalized our new name and logo ("Top Secret" for now- to be revealed at the May 6th company meeting), and are recieving design options like this one for our homepage. If the project stays on schedule, we are less than two months away from going live and proudly introducing our new website to clients, potential clients, families, and friends! Portal Project: After a grueling site taxonomy and requirements phase, InScope and i3 are ready to begin building our employee portal! In a few short months, this wireframe will be built out into what will become InScope InSync!! Here's a little sneak peak.
Again, thanks for visiting InScope InTeraction! Come back soon for more updates!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Portal Requirements Discussion
Thank you for visiting the InScope blog!
We are looking for your input on our initiative to build a new employee portal. It's goal is to enhance communication within the company, to provide easy access to papers and forms, and to connect employees with each other.
We have already begun the process of designing the portal, but we need to make sure that we have all of our bases covered. We submitted a list of key features to the portal company:
1. Search – The search should be as easy to use as Google and help employees find the right information 98% of the time.
2. Employee Directory – Should include a robust search and should include pictures and a current company resume. A reporting structure (org chart) feature should also be included.
3. Integration to Online Time System – InScope currently has an online time system. It is paramount that users go to the employee portal to fill out their timesheet.
4. Forms Automation – The portal should provide for “easy to modify” online forms that include workflow to facilitate multiple work tasks and an approval process with the ability to do an electronic signature.
5. Single Sign On – An employee’s Active Directory log in ID and password should be all that is required to reach all features and content on the employee portal.
6. Content Management System – The content management system should be easy to use and have the necessary workflow and security to authorize content owners to update content and to provide for a review and approval step(s).
7. Access to Employee Information – Employees should be able to log on to find out personal information which may include vacations days left, payroll information and their current contact information on file.
8. Employee Community Features – The portal should allow for employees to create blogs, respond to news stories and surveys, and set up chat sessions. This should also include employee home pages so employees can share information with other employees. Video conferencing would be a plus.
9. Integration to Corporate Application Resources – The portal should be able to integrate with InScope’s SQL Server Reporting Services and the company’s issue management system which is currently in a system called JIRA built by Atlassan. Additionally, the portal should integrate to InScope’s Microsoft CRM System.
10. Wiki Capabilities – The portal should have a Wiki feature to allow for documentation of corporate information. The Wiki should have a robust search feature and provide an easy way to add content (including attachments) to expand on existing documentation. All content from the Wiki should have a printable view that can be distributed as documentation.
11. News Feeds – The portal should be able to integrate news feeds (e.g. CNN) and local weather.
12. Policy / Forms Library – The portal should be able to store all company policies and forms, and provide for a robust search to find certain policies and forms.
13. Calendar Feature – There should be a robust calendar feature which includes a company calendar of events and reminders of an employee’s personal calendar appointments for the day.
14. Outlook / Exchange Integration – Integrating with MS Outlook and Exchange would be a plus, but not a requirement.
15. Corporate Dashboard – Ability to develop a corporate dashboard with key performance indicators and other important corporate metrics.
Now is the time to voice your opinion- What have we missed? What are the top priorities out of these features? What will be helpful? What will be useless? What is vital for you? This is our team huddle place, it's yours to customize!
Comment freely- we appreciate your feedback!
We are looking for your input on our initiative to build a new employee portal. It's goal is to enhance communication within the company, to provide easy access to papers and forms, and to connect employees with each other.
We have already begun the process of designing the portal, but we need to make sure that we have all of our bases covered. We submitted a list of key features to the portal company:
1. Search – The search should be as easy to use as Google and help employees find the right information 98% of the time.
2. Employee Directory – Should include a robust search and should include pictures and a current company resume. A reporting structure (org chart) feature should also be included.
3. Integration to Online Time System – InScope currently has an online time system. It is paramount that users go to the employee portal to fill out their timesheet.
4. Forms Automation – The portal should provide for “easy to modify” online forms that include workflow to facilitate multiple work tasks and an approval process with the ability to do an electronic signature.
5. Single Sign On – An employee’s Active Directory log in ID and password should be all that is required to reach all features and content on the employee portal.
6. Content Management System – The content management system should be easy to use and have the necessary workflow and security to authorize content owners to update content and to provide for a review and approval step(s).
7. Access to Employee Information – Employees should be able to log on to find out personal information which may include vacations days left, payroll information and their current contact information on file.
8. Employee Community Features – The portal should allow for employees to create blogs, respond to news stories and surveys, and set up chat sessions. This should also include employee home pages so employees can share information with other employees. Video conferencing would be a plus.
9. Integration to Corporate Application Resources – The portal should be able to integrate with InScope’s SQL Server Reporting Services and the company’s issue management system which is currently in a system called JIRA built by Atlassan. Additionally, the portal should integrate to InScope’s Microsoft CRM System.
10. Wiki Capabilities – The portal should have a Wiki feature to allow for documentation of corporate information. The Wiki should have a robust search feature and provide an easy way to add content (including attachments) to expand on existing documentation. All content from the Wiki should have a printable view that can be distributed as documentation.
11. News Feeds – The portal should be able to integrate news feeds (e.g. CNN) and local weather.
12. Policy / Forms Library – The portal should be able to store all company policies and forms, and provide for a robust search to find certain policies and forms.
13. Calendar Feature – There should be a robust calendar feature which includes a company calendar of events and reminders of an employee’s personal calendar appointments for the day.
14. Outlook / Exchange Integration – Integrating with MS Outlook and Exchange would be a plus, but not a requirement.
15. Corporate Dashboard – Ability to develop a corporate dashboard with key performance indicators and other important corporate metrics.
Now is the time to voice your opinion- What have we missed? What are the top priorities out of these features? What will be helpful? What will be useless? What is vital for you? This is our team huddle place, it's yours to customize!
Comment freely- we appreciate your feedback!
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