DONE THAT BEEN THERE,
Do you trust that the multimillion-dollar program you just took over is ready for you to sign off on the APB? Or should you first take the time to do a ‘deep dive’ into the work of your government -contractor team? It’s the kind of decision that represents the price of ownership for a program manager.
by Col. Raymond D. Jones (USA, Ret.)
Most of the time when people say, “Been there, done that,” they probably haven’t. To say that the former program managers who will be writing this new series of insightful columns have been there and done that is not a boast but an understatement. We at Army AL&T magazine marveled at our good fortune when the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS)—specifically Senior Lecturer John T. Dillard, a retired Army colonel, academic area chairman for systems acquisition management and himself a former program manager at multiple levels—approached us with the idea of a series of lessons- learned articles by former O-6 project managers who teach at NPS.
Te depth and breadth of experience among the NPS acquisi- tion and business school professors provide practical insights into managing programs at all levels in the Army as well as the joint environment. Additionally, their insights into the commercial busi- ness sector support critical analysis and interpretation of the processes and challenges of executing Army programs. Teir understanding of the business of DOD acquisition provides students with a strong foundation from which to better lead Army programs to success and meet the needs of Soldiers on point.
We intend this series not to be quarterly statements of fact, but quar- terly conversation starters. Yes, these folks have been there and done that—but maybe you have, too. We hope you will feel free to raise your hand and jump right into the conversation. Please send us your feedback to continue the discussion.
Second in a series of quarterly commentaries by former program managers from the Naval Postgraduate School.
C
ongratulations, you have just been selected as a project manager (PM) by the most recent Centrally Selected List annual board for command and proj- ect manager assignments. Your assignment is to
take over a program critical to the network infrastructure for the Army Battle Command System, a digital command, control, communications, computers and intelligence (C4I) program. Your program includes a mix of fixed, semifixed and mobile networks. It also is designed for interoperability with U.S. and coalition C4I systems.
Te project has just passed its Milestone B (MS B) review, fol- lowed by a contract award to the most capable contractor in the competition. Inherent in this approval is that the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) certified to Congress that the pro- gram met the requirements of 10 U.S. Code 2366(a), which mandates that:
1.Te program fulfills an approved Initial Capabilities Document.
2.Tere is a plan to reduce the risk. 3.Te program addresses planning for sustainment. 4.Te program officials have submitted a cost estimate to Con- gress reflecting a fully funded program through its retirement.
ASC.ARMY.MIL 135
COMMENTARY
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