Overview
MDA required enterprise-grade workflow orchestration capable of supporting mission-critical operations at scale, while meeting strict security requirements. The agency needed to move faster, reduce costs, and improve accuracy — without undertaking a multi-year system replacement.
The challenge
MDA’s operational environment created compounding inefficiencies — and the cost was measured in mission time. A typical workflow began with a staff member submitting a request by email. That email landed in someone’s inbox, where it waited. The recipient manually checked the request against their own system, re-entered relevant data into a second system, and forwarded approval along a chain of sequential handoffs — each one adding another day. If any step had an error, the request looped back to the beginning. By the time it cleared, 5 days had passed and downstream teams were already behind.
- Fragmented workflows across multiple systems. Mission-critical processes required coordination across disconnected systems with no shared workflow layer
- Manual coordination slowing operations. Staff spent hours each week on administrative tasks — routing requests, chasing approvals, re-entering data between systems
- Traditional BPM tools lacked flexibility. Prior attempts at process automation were rigid, requiring significant engineering effort for every change
- High exception and rework rates. Manual processes generated errors. Exceptions that should have been caught early cascaded into downstream corrections
- Long process cycles. Routing and approval workflows took up to 5 business days due to sequential manual handoffs
Across 9,000+ daily users, these inefficiencies consumed substantial budget and slowed mission-critical operations.
The solution
Kinetic deployed a unified workflow orchestration layer that sat on top of MDA’s existing systems:
- Automated routing and approvals. Multi-step approval chains that previously required manual coordination now execute automatically based on defined business rules
- Integrated across systems of record. Kinetic connected MDA’s existing tools via APIs, enabling data to flow between systems without manual re-entry
- Applied dynamic business rules. Conditional logic handles routing decisions, exception escalation, and approval paths — adapting to context instead of following rigid scripts
- Enabled rapid adaptation without backend changes. New workflows and process modifications deploy in days, not months, without requiring changes to underlying systems
Results
- Process completion improved by 50–65%. Workflows that previously took 5 days now complete in approximately 2 days
- Routing cycles reduced from 5 days to 2 days. Automated routing eliminated the sequential handoffs that caused the majority of delays
- Analysts saved 6–8 hours per week. Time previously spent on administrative coordination was redirected to analysis and mission-critical work
- 40% fewer exceptions. Automated validation and routing rules caught errors before they cascaded through the process
- 45% reduction in downstream corrections. Fewer exceptions upstream meant significantly less rework downstream
- $1.1M–$1.6M annual cost savings. Reduced manual labor, fewer redundant systems, and lower exception-handling costs produced measurable budget impact
Because Kinetic meets IL5 security requirements and sits above existing systems of record, MDA unified mission-critical workflows for 9,000+ users without compromising security posture — reducing process time 50–65% and saving $1.1–1.6M annually.
Why Kinetic
MDA operates in a classified environment with strict security requirements and deeply embedded systems of record. Replacing those systems was not a viable path — not because of technical preference, but because of compliance constraints, investment protection, and the unacceptable risk of disrupting active mission operations. What the agency needed was a way to orchestrate work across those systems from a layer that could meet IL5 requirements and adapt to changing processes without touching the underlying infrastructure. A rip-and-replace approach would have taken years and introduced transition risk that the mission timeline could not absorb. Kinetic gave MDA the automation and coordination it needed without requiring it to sacrifice the security posture it was legally obligated to maintain.
Before and after
| Before | After | |
|---|---|---|
| Systems | Fragmented, disconnected | Unified workflow orchestration |
| Coordination | Manual, email-driven | Automated decision logic |
| Routing cycles | Up to 5 days | ~2 days |
| Exception rate | High — frequent rework | 40% fewer exceptions |
| Analyst admin time | 6–8 hours/week | Minutes/week |
| Annual cost | Baseline | $1.1M–$1.6M reduction |
| Workflow changes | Months of engineering | Days, no backend changes |
Strategic impact
- Accelerated mission execution timelines
- Reduced operational costs by over $1M annually
- Improved accuracy and reliability across workflows
- Enabled scalable, adaptive workflows without vendor dependency