DoDD 5000.01 Policy 1
It is necessary to translate system operational requirements into the sustainment strategy that will deliver those requirements. The objective of Product Support is to develop, enable, and execute a sustainment strategy that will deliver optimum operational readiness to the Warfighter, consistent with Warfighter requirements, at an affordable, best value cost. Warfighter requirements are expressed in operational terms. Those requirements must be interpreted and translated as needed into sustainment objectives that will drive the achievement of those outcomes.
Each major weapon system is supported by a Product Support Manager (PSM). The PSM is an integral member of a program office, directly supporting the Program Manager in planning and executing their Life Cycle Management (LCM) responsibilities outlined in DoD Directive 5000.01 and DoD Instruction 5000.02. The day-to-day oversight and management of the product support functions are delegated to a product support manager who leads the development and implementation of the performance-based product support strategy and ensures achievement of desired support outcomes. The PSM is responsible for accomplishing the overall integration of product support either directly through government activities or via a contract when commercial organizations are involved.
Integration of warfighter requirements and support begins early, and effective outcome based strategy implementation is led by the PSM and begins in the JCIDS process by focusing capabilities, overall performance and linking supportability to performance and affordability.
Understanding Warfighter requirements in terms of performance and affordability is an essential initial step in developing a meaningful product support strategy. The Product Support Management IPT consults with the operational commands and organizations that support the war fighting combatant commanders. The operational commands are generally the PM’s primary customers. Their Warfighter capability needs are translated into requirements. The metrics are derived from the requirements to drive outcomes that will: (a) be documented in Product Support Arrangements (PSAs); and (b) serve as the primary measures of support provider performance. Supportability requirements should also be a Key Performance Parameter (KPP) consideration or a testable performance metric.
Understanding Warfighter requirements is not a one-time event. As scenarios change and the operational environment or funding profiles evolve, performance requirements may also evolve, leading to changes in the suitability requirements which in turn drive supportability strategy and outcome based sustainment methodology. Thus, meeting Warfighter needs and remaining in close alignment with Warfighter requirements and logistics personnel are essential and continuous processes for the PSM.
To achieve this needed flexibility, product support plans should be implemented via Product Support Arrangements that specify the roles, responsibilities, duration of support, resource commitments, and any specified support or performance outcomes and the corresponding metrics sufficient to achieve the operational requirements. Ideally, the product support strategy will be aligned across various tiers of support and operations tempos.
The concept of integrated requirements and product support is used to explain the dependency and interplay among system performance (reliability, availability, maintainability, and supportability), process efficiency (system operations, maintenance, and logistics support), and system life cycle cost. This overarching perspective provides a context for the resource and design tradeoffs available to a PM along with the articulation of the overall objective of maximizing the operational effectiveness of weapon systems. Ensuring system supportability requires the proactive, coordinated involvement of organizations and individuals from the requirements, acquisition, logistics and user communities, along with industry partners. This applies equally to new weapon systems as well as to major modifications and opportunistic upgrading of existing, fielded systems. Product support activity must relate the documentation of program capability requirements that balance operational capability, life cycle cost, and supportability.
DoDD 5000.01 Policy 1
PMs shall consider supportability, life cycle costs, performance, and schedule comparable in making program decisions. Planning for Operation and Support and the estimation of total ownership costs shall begin as early as possible. Supportability, a key component of performance, shall be considered throughout the system life cycle.
The initial acquisition strategy, including the high-level product support strategy, must also be defined. The pre-acquisition timeframe offers the most leverage for positive impact on system supportability and sustainment.
During the entire acquisition life cycle the supportability emphasis is on not only designing the system to facilitate effective sustainment, but on implementing the product support strategy required to meet established warfighting capabilities. PBL, which emphasizes ensuring product support through incentivized arrangements with specific metrics that achieve objective outcomes, is optimized when the early acquisition phases include a strong emphasis on all factors that relate to operational effectiveness, including product support considerations across the life cycle. In all cases, full stakeholder participation is required in activities related to "designing for support," "designing the support," and "supporting the design."
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