Auen Analytics
Colorado School of Mines
Embracing Entrepreneurship as a New Form of National Service
The Team
John Pugh
• Former Lab Manager at Microsoft
• U.S. Army Veteran
• MS in Geological/Geophysical Engineering Candidate at Colorado School of Mines
• BSc in Geological/Geophysical Engineering from Colorado School of Mines
Morgan Cox
• Computer Science on Tour Program Coordinator
• BSc in Computer Science Candidate at Colorado School of Mines
Problem Sponsor
Air Force Inspection Agency
Original Problem Statement
The Analysis Division of the Air Force Inspection Agency needs a way to leverage relevant data collection and analysis for Air Force missions in order to recommend specific topics or trends for inspection.
Beneficiary Discovery Interviews
95
The Innovation
The Air Force Inspection Agency (AFIA) takes in a large amount of data each year that is used to inform inspection areas. While the organization is able to quickly find key topics, processing this information in order to identify larger trends is a very time consuming process. This process can lead to a lag between reporting and investigation which means lost time, money and resources for the organization. Auen Analytics was tasked with improving the organization’s ability to identify trends during the Spring 2020 semester of Hacking for Defense.
Auen Analytics worked with AFIA to identify specific challenges with data analytics. Through 95 beneficiary discovery interviews, the team began to better understand the issues with inspection topic identification. The team soon realized the best way to improve the organization’s ability to identify key trends was through natural language processing and specifically topic modeling. This technology will provide AFIA with the ability to quickly identify the key topics, so they can direct inspections in the right places, preventing major issues from arising. This technology uses up-to-date, open source data to ensure the information they are working with is timely and actionable.
Their problem sponsor at AFIA was very positive about their work and even began including other members from his organization to support Auen Analytics. He was highly engaged throughout the entire process and helped the team understand the problem thoroughly.
Given this positive feedback from beneficiaries and potential end-users, Auen Analytics is excited to continue their work beyond the semester. The team has formed an LLC and is currently working on pursuing funding opportunities and has applied for several military funding sources.
Presentation
Auen Analytics’
Hacking for Defense Experience
Mission Driven Entrepreneurship
At the Common Mission Project, we believe that entrepreneurship is a new form of national service. Auen Analytics embraced this ideal through their work with AFIA. John Pugh, a U.S. Army Veteran, became very focused on supporting the organization. He said: “I saw this problem and had an idea of how to help. I really want to help ease their pain, so that other people are helped down the line.” Understanding the value that this work would bring to members of the organization, the group worked diligently to find a solution.
The group was committed to serving their organization and was excited to do so using Lean LaunchPad tools. John stated “This was my first time doing anything like this (using Lean LaunchPad methodology). The visualization tools were very helpful and allowed us to quickly identify where the problem was.” By combining both a dedication for national service and entrepreneurship, Hacking for Defense students are able to effectively create innovative solutions for their sponsoring organization and ultimately support the end users.