Program Support at Discovery Logic

Discovery Logic provides program support services to the US Government to help support and implement Agency missions.

What is it like to work in program support at Discovery Logic? To find out, in April 2007 we interviewed employees Doris Ryba and Peggy Reed. Doris is Program Manager for Discovery Logic at the National Institutes of Health and Peggy is a Program Manager for Discovery Logic at the National Health Service Corps.

Is Discovery Logic a good place to work?

Doris: It's an excellent place to work. We're a small company with very intelligent, hard working employees who want to help our clients do business better, whether it's the government or clients in the private sector.

Peggy: This is definitely one of the better places I've worked. A lot of us like Discovery Logic for its people. And I respect their professionalism. For example, our IT group is very good at taking a concept and coming up with a product without having it all spelled out for them in exacting detail. I also like the stability of our company, which not every small company has. You can consider staying here long term.

How is Discovery Logic different from other places where you've worked?

Doris: For me what's different is its small company environment, which is something that I was familiar with from earlier in my career and wanted to return to. My last company was a very large government contractor. There I didn't get the same feeling of being able to contribute and make a difference that I do here. The size of a company makes a tremendous difference. To justify my ideas where I used to work I had to go through four layers of management. In trying to get a decision made, everybody had to be involved. Talk about too many cooks in the kitchen. Here management is approachable and available and decisions don't take nearly as long. If I need help with a problem, I know where I can go and that a decision will be final.

Peggy: I feel the same way. What Discovery Logic offers is variety, a chance to do a lot of different things. The appeal is that you don't get stuck in one mold. You have more flexibility and are not bound by too many rules, regulations and procedures. Here I also receive great support to get things done.

Tell us about the programs you manage.

Doris: I manage all of Discovery Logic's activities that support an important program for the National Institutes of Health. The mission we are supporting is very important - we are helping to improve health care for the United States for many years to come. This is a very good program and a key reason I chose to work for Discovery Logic: research can help our society deal better with health issues, and that's important to me.

The heart of the program is an online system created by Discovery Logic. The system has many different components and a bit more than ten DL employees, several of them software developers, maintain the system, assure quality, and constantly develop new system capabilities.

Peggy: I am Discovery Logic's Program Manager for an important mission area of the National Health Services Corp. Discovery Logic supports the agency by disseminating information about the program, mailing application packets, receiving and processing applications, verifying eligibility, obtaining supporting information, preparing applications for awards, and then sending completed files to the NHSC. We are also working on automation of this manual process. During peak periods we hire temporary help to augment our core team.

Any last words about working in Program Support at Discovery Logic?

Doris: You spend a lot of time with the people you work with, so it is important that they are nice and have your respect. Here people are genuinely nice and bright and always willing to help you make the project better and satisfy the customer's needs.

Peggy: We support great government programs and Discovery Logic focuses on client satisfaction - and we have two distinct clients. Sometimes, our client is a member of the public that is interacting with the agency we support; sometimes, out client is the government agency we are supporting.