Definition General Info Policies Guides Communities Training Related
DEFINITION
Program Management encompasses all of the activities available to and required of the Program Manager to ensure the development and fielding of an effective, affordable, and supportable system.
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GENERAL INFORMATION/NARRATIVE
Under the concept of Total Life-Cycle Systems Management (TLCSM), there is no longer a transition of management from the program manager (PM) to a sustainment command after production and fielding. The PM is the life-cycle manager (LCM) for assigned program(s) and retains the responsibility for managing, sustaining, upgrading, and disposing of system(s) throughout the service life. The PM will ensure supportability is equally considered with cost, schedule, and performance throughout the life cycle of the assigned system(s). The PM has responsibility for ensuring most of activities displayed on the Integrated Defense, Acquisition, and Logistics Life Cycle Management Framework are performed or addressed. Program Management provides the oversight and control for the Systems Engineering, Supportability Analysis, and Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) processes.
Per DoD Directive 5000.01, the Program Manager (PM) is accountable for accomplishing program objectives over the life cycle, including during sustainment. Consequently the PM is responsible for the implementation, management, and/or oversight of activities associated with the system's development, production, fielding, sustainment and disposal. Life-cycle management emphasizes early and continuing emphasis on translating performance objectives into an operationally available and affordable capability over the program life cycle. Key PM responsibilities include:
- Developing and implementing a life-cycle sustainment strategy acquiring an integrated product support package based on achieving key sustainment performance metrics (e.g., materiel availability, materiel reliability, mean down time, ownership costs, footprint, etc.)
- Providing continuous, reliable, affordable support in accordance with performance agreements with force providers.
- Ensuring the system is supported at optimum levels in accordance with performance agreements among government and industry support providers throughout the life cycle.
- Maintaining visibility into cost/capability/risk decisions across the life cycle.
Performance-based life-cycle product support (also known as performance-based logistics or PBL) is the strategy program managers will use in implementing life-cycle management. It is neither contractor logistics support nor a contracting strategy. It is a performance-oriented strategy arrived at by analyzing alternatives which defines desired logistics support outcomes. Sources of support may be organic, commercial, or a combination thereof. The primary focus is to optimize customer support and system availability at the lowest ownership cost in accordance with statutory requirements. The life-cycle product support strategy provides the framework for acquiring, fielding and supporting a sustainable system throughout the life cycle to deliver the required readiness. It integrates sustainment considerations using outcome based metrics to drive management, design, and logistics decisions and actions. This includes:
- Establishing a balanced set of sustainment metrics centered around materiel availability
- Impacting the system's design to achieve the sustainment metrics
- Fielding the capability to achieve the sustainment metrics
- Tracking performance against sustainment metrics and accountability for achieving them
- Taking actions (including anticipating performance) to correct performance short comings
Earned Value Management (EVM) is the key integrating process in the management and oversight of acquisition programs, to include information technology projects. It is a management approach that has evolved from combining both government management requirements and industry best practices to ensure the total integration of cost, schedule, and work scope aspects of the program. The program manager's approach to satisfying the EVM requirement for applicable contracts should be documented in the program acquisition strategy. Unless waived by the Milestone Decision Authority, EVM applies to contracts described below.
- $20 million but less than $50 million – EVM implementation compliant with the guidelines in ANSI/EIA-748 is required. No formal Earned Value Management System (EVMS) validation is required.
- $50 million or greater – EVM implementation compliant with the guidelines in ANSI/EIA-748 is required. An EVMS that has been formally validated and accepted by the cognizant contracting officer is required.
POLICIES, DIRECTIVES, REGULATIONS, LAWS
DoDD 5000.01, The Defense Acquisition System
DoDI 5000.02, Operation of the Defense Acquisition System
EIA-748-B, Earned Value Management Systems
Required for:
All Acquisition Programs
Responsible Activity:
Program Manager
BEST PRACTICES, LESSONS LEARNED, STORIES, GUIDES, HANDBOOKS, TEMPLATES, EXAMPLES, TOOLS
Defense Acquisition Guidebook Chapter 11: Program Management Activities
The Systems Planning and Requirements Software (SYSPARS) can be used to accomplish tasks discussed in this article. SYSPARS assists users with the creation of acquisition documents throughout the life cycle of a program. SYSPARS can be used to create required plans beginning as early as the System Engineering Plan and Acquisition Strategy, and continue to assist with various required plans through the end of the program's life up to and including a Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Materiel Shortages (DMSMS) Plan. SYSPARS is free, and may be obtained by visiting the following hyperlink: https://www.logsa.army.mil/lec/syspars/.
PowerLOG is a logistics data management system developed to support the development, integration, and review of logistic product information throughout the acquisition life cycle. PowerLOG implements the Logistics Support Analysis Record (LSAR) requirements defined in MIL-STD-1388-2B as well as Logistics Product Data (LPD) standards defined by GEIA-STD-0007. PowerLOG also supports legacy data standards such as MIL-STD-1552 (PMR). PowerLOG is available free to all Government agencies and their contractors and can be obtained by visiting: https://www.logsa.army.mil/lec/powerlog/.
The Computerized Optimization Model for Predicting and Analyzing Support Structures (COMPASS) is a system Level of Repair Analysis (LORA) modeling tool. LORA is the analytical methodology used to determine the maintenance repair levels where items should be removed and replaced; and ultimately repaired or discarded. COMPASS estimates the cost to repair or discard items at various maintenance levels, with contractor facilities included as a separate level. COMPASS optimizes both the maintenance and support to achieve your target operational availability (Ao). COMPASS can consider up to four levels of organic maintenance (supports Two-Level Maintenance studies), supply support, and contractor support. You can also use COMPASS output data as a source for developing the MAC and SMR codes. COMPASS is a free tool available to both DoD and contractors at: https://www.logsa.army.mil/lec/compass/.
The Cost Analysis Strategy Assessment (CASA) Life-Cycle Cost Estimating Software uses an engineering cost model to estimate total cost of ownership based on RDT&E, Acquisition/Procurement, O&S, and Disposal activities. In addition to life-cycle cost estimation, CASA can perform trade-offs, production rate, warranty effectiveness, and other economic analyses. CASA is distributed freely to all US personnel. Request from foreign nations for CASA and associated training and technical support are handled through a Foreign Military Sales Case (FMS). CASA can be obtained here: https://www.logsa.army.mil/lec/casa/.
Post Fielding Support Analysis (PFSA) can be useful in accomplishing the tasks discussed in this article. PFSA uses data captured in field performance databases such as the Logistics Information Warehouse, acquisition databases, and other user-owned data sources. PFSA assists users by using statistical methods for tracking logistics throughout the life cycle. This data is used to create an analysis capability for Army PEO/PMs, LCMCs and field organizations to better manage and solve logistics based readiness problems. PFSA is a free tool offered to the Army, it can be obtained by visiting: https://www.logsa.army.mil/lec/pfsa.
COMMUNITIES OF PRACTICE
TRAINING RESOURCES
ACQ 101 Fundamentals of Systems Acquisition Management
ACQ 201A Intermediate Systems Acquisition, Part A
PMT 250 Program Management Tools
RELATED ARTICLES
Earned Value Management System (EVMS) Surveillance
Program Manager
Definition General Info Policies Guides Communities Training Related