I've documented my years (Nov 2003 - Feb 2005) at AFPC in photos on this page:  <http://www.icodap.org/031103/index.html>

ICODAP mission is still to inform and disseminate information about the personnel research techniques and methods developed by AFHRL. I just recently launched a quarterly newsletter about Occupational Analysis. It provides updates on our progress outside of the Air Force -- like securing THE ONLY CD-ROM copy of the 1960-1996 Proceedings of the International Military Testing Association.  The newsletter is posted on the website and is always available for quick access. If you wish to "subscribe" it simply means that you will receive a 1 or 2 line email with a link to the newly released page. Check it out:
<http://www.icodap.org/quarterly/index.html>

Our biggest achievement of 2004 in the Military Testing Section is that we have gotten Air Staff to step up and claim ownership of the Human Resources Research Databank (HRRD) for personnel research (with AFPC acting as custodian, not owner).  Topics under this umbrella include scanning over 1,000 AFHRL Tech Reports and putting them online for free access! If you read no other link on this page, do READ THIS LINK and checkout the HRRD page there...
<http://www.icodap.org/HRRD/index.htm>

Our newest achievement, earlier this week (1 March 2005), was to reclaim a set of 107 CD-ROMS of Project LAMP. This weekend they were indexed and the directories loaded to the web site. The physical CD-ROMs are going to the Human Resource Research Databank (HRRD) along with all the other CD-ROM data brought together, indexed, and stored in the secure scanner room (for WAPS promotion tests & AFOQTs).
<http://www.icodap.org/050301/index.htm>

This should bring you up to date. -- Johnny

Johnny J. Weissmuller
10218 Lorene Lane
San Antonio, TX 78216-4409

Wireless: (210) 379-6570 Home Phone: (210) 349-9001
Professional Web Page: <http://www.codap.com/jjw>
Prefered Email Address: <mailto:johnnyw@codap.com>
My Outlook: <http://www.icodap.org/ZenWorkAndPlay.htm>
 

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=== The 30 Years of Background You don't need to read ===

Maudlin Historical Musings

    When you find your calling in life, it gives you the distal purpose that provides the rest of your life meaning and context.  On the day I was assigned there as an Airman First Class on 10 August 1971, I found "personnel research" (and occupational analysis in particular) at the Air Force Human Resources Laboratory (AFHRL) .  I began by collecting and reading everything I could get my hands on be it computer or personnel research related.  I read current materials and reports going back into the early days of predecessor organizations.

    In the next 10 years I went from enlisted ranks to civil service (GS-9 to GS-12).  In 1982 I left civil service to set up Sensible Systems, Inc to pursue my "transfer of technology" mission to spread the methodology outside the military.  At first we developed software products to support the Comprehensive Occupational Data Analysis Programs (CODAP) system by expanding the envelope.  We developed products to expedite job inventory creation and simplify transition from survey definition to the final aggregated data base  --all outside the traditional CODAP focus.  When we created a PC version of CODAP in 1984, it was more powerful than the mainframe CODAP that serviced all  the Air Force occupational analysis needs from 1964 to 1974.

    I continued to get in trouble with my business partners because I kept underwriting the research of graduate students and running "demonstration" projects for potential clients.  I realized that the upfront cost of job inventory development made the process too slow and too expensive for most organizations.  I gave clients discounts on CODAP processing if they declared their job inventories as "public domain."  My goals was to establish a Task Inventory Exchange ("TIE" like the US Department of Education attempted at the Ohio State University  in 1975)

    In 1993, to get around my "non-profit" disposition, Jimmy Mitchell and I founded the Institute for Job and Occupational Analysis (IJOA).   By 1997 it was clear that AFHRL's mission was losing ground to more "hardware" oriented "research."  In early 1998 we wrote a white paper to help transition and store AFHRL data, reports, and software to a safe haven -- but that proposal was not adopted.   Attempts to save AFHRL failed.  Since 1998 I've been on a crusade to save the personnel research from the former Air Force Human Resources Laboratory.

    Jimmy Mitchell died unexpectedly of heart attack a month after hitting the high point of his career having given the keynote address at the International Military Testing Association (IMTA) conference in Edinburgh Scotland in November 2000.

    While the current IJOA site simply says "IJOA is closed", parts of the old web site as still available (but reflects information only current as of  Jimmy's passing in  December 2000.)  By June 2001 IJOA had to close its doors as Dr Mitchell had been underwriting IJOA's operations.

    After the events of 9/11/2001 the nature of our personnel research contracts changed and only classified work came our way.   My wife was laid off from her job in January 2002.  I was effectively laid off from my full-time job in February 2002 because I couldn't get a Top Secret clearance fast enough.  After the dust settled from the IJOA bankruptcy, I founded the Innovation Center for Occupational Data Applications and Practices (ICODAP) in April 2002.  I started by scanning old AFHRL Technical Reports into PDF and posting them on an open web site with free access by graduate students.  I amassed a Tech Report Library of over 1,000 reports.  In 2004 the Air Force scanned and loaded 1050 of my reports and I've found about 50 more I missed in my first pass.

    Except for a few short consulting jobs, I was unemployed nearly two years -- until 3 November 2003 when I returned to civil service as a GS-11, Personnel Research Psychologist.  Dr Bruce Gould (my supervisor in civil service 21 years before) recommended me for this position and much negotiation was conducted to "get me qualified" in the eyes of routine Air Force classifiers.  The story from this point forward is only good news... for both me and, I trust, for the Air Force too.

Page Maintained by the Innovation Center for Occupational Data Applications & Practices (ICODAP)
This page was last updated on: Thursday, 19 July 2007 12:02 -0500

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