Lessons in working with what you have and building what you don’t
by Kevin Guite
The past several years have been a tricky time for hiring, developing and retaining good people. With less money to spend, less leeway to hire and yet urgent needs for specific knowledge, Army acquisition program managers have had to think creatively to train their workforces, leverage existing expertise across organizations and compete for the brightest young minds. It is those bright minds, after all, who keep the programs running effectively and on schedule to deliver products on time and within budget to the Soldiers who need them as fast as possible. The Army Acquisition Lessons Learned Portal (ALLP) offers some clues to overcoming these challenges in talent management, with a variety of real-world lessons and best practices. Some of the following lessons from the ALLP are about training proactively, for example, plus capitalizing on resources available from aligned organizations. On the downside, other lessons illustrate how programs can suffer when they lack personnel with the necessary expertise.
TRAIN FOR THE FUTURE
LL_642: The execution of an internal program to train and develop interns will significantly enhance the overall effectiveness of the command, as well as build future workforce expertise.
Background
For five years starting in 2008, the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training and Instrumentation (PEO STRI) operated an Acquisition Academy to grow its own talent as a solution to the paucity of available contracting personnel. The 11-week, multidisciplinary, immersive program interns’ knowledge and skills in preparation to join the workforce with a better understanding of the Army, the PEO’s mission and what the systems it produces mean to the Soldier. The academy, supported in part by the Defense Acquisition Workforce Development Fund (Section 852), was the first stage of each intern’s two- or three-year development program. A single academy class was conducted each year from 2008 through 2013, with two sessions offered in 2009. An average of 17 interns were enrolled per class over the years, with the initial session in 2008 having the highest attendance at 21 interns. With more than , the academy of 93 percent, providing the PEO with newly hired journeymen employees. The academy was popular with participants, and that reputation led to academy graduates representing 14 percent of the PEO’s workforce following their transition as journeymen employees.
The first academy class consisted solely of contract specialists, with a curriculum focused heavily on those skills. Subsequent classes had a broader focus, mirroring the workings of an integrated product team (IPT), which allowed the interns to work together in their functional training and gain insight into all acquisition disciplines. Thus they could appreciate the complexity of each discipline and become critical thinkers and effective communicators and problem-solvers in an IPT.
The benefits of such a program are not just the intensive intern training. The PEO’s senior engineers, contracting officers, project directors, financial analysts and logisticians delivered much of the training, requiring them to brush up on the latest policies and to develop briefings for the interns. This knowledge refresher further enhanced their skill sets and those of their team members.
PEO STRI postponed additional academy classes in 2014, but it has recently kicked off discussions to reinstitute the program in FY18 to fill functional shortages and gaps in the workforce. The next class will be conducted on a smaller scale, with eight interns, and will once again leverage Section 852 funds to cover salaries for the new employees in its critical functional areas.
Recommendation
The acquisition academy all about growing the acquisition workforce, developing leaders and providing the best products and tools to the warfighter. Any PEO could use such a program to help ensure an adequately staffed, high-quality, educated and motivated workforce.
KEEPING THE SIGNAL STRONG
Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division use the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Joint Network Node (JNN), left, and Satellite Transportable Terminal (STT), right, during an expeditionary network demonstration in March 2016 at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Despite staffing shortages, the rapid acquisition JNN-N delivered greatly enhanced beyond-line-of-sight communications capabilities to the warfighter in less than a year. (U.S. Army photo by Amy Walker, PEO C3T Public Affairs)
LEVERAGE OTHER ORGANIZATIONS’ SKILLS
LL_772: To overcome the challenges of staffing a program office for rapid acquisition, outsource activities to related organizations when additional help is needed. (SOURCE: Army-contracted RAND Corp. study, “Rapid Acquisition of Army Command and Control Systems,” June 2014)
Background
The Joint Network Node – Network (JNN-N), which provided a communications transport capability based on commercial off-the-shelf equipment and commercial satellites, has earned a reputation as a successful rapid acquisition. Less than a year after the submission of an operational needs statement in 2004, the JNN-N delivered greatly enhanced beyond-line-of-sight communications capabilities to the warfighter. Furthermore, the capability was fielded to almost the entire Army within five years.
The rapid acquisition of JNN-N occurred despite a number of challenges, including staffing. Initially the JNN-N program office had a team of only five or six people, which could not generate the many layers of required documentation and perform other critical duties, such as securing releases, which a traditional acquisition program demands. So the staff outsourced some of these activities to other organizations, such as the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, when necessary.
This initial supplementation of staff allowed the program office to grow over time as JNN-N increased in scale and moved toward becoming a program of record, Warfighter Information Network – Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 1. By late 2009, the WIN-T Increment 1 product office employed over 200 staff members directly and about 125 contractors and “fielders” supporting the product office’s work.
Recommendation
Program managers (PMs) planning for a rapid acquisition can and should anticipate possible staffing challenges. To prepare for likely staff shortages in particular areas of expertise, the PMs can identify affiliated organizations that could fill the gaps and explore ways to “borrow” staff for the rapid acquisition. By outsourcing, the PM can prevent problems that otherwise would halt a program schedule.
KEEPING THE SIGNAL STRONG
Lt. Col. Mark Henderson, product manager for WIN-T Increment 1, thanks Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division in March 2016 for their support with the operational proof-of-concept expeditionary signal modernization capability demonstration at Fort Bragg. PMs can “borrow” staff to fill likely staff shortages in particular areas of expertise. (U.S. Army photo by Amy Walker, PEO C3T Public Affairs)
LL_415: International acquisition teams should be trained and equipped with the cultural skills relevant to their program. DOD resources are available to help develop cross-cultural acumen. (Source: “Are You Ready for an International Program?” Defense AT&L, Jul-Aug 2013)
Background
Cross-cultural acumen— the ability to understand and effectively engage with people from cultures different than our own— is vital to most international programs. Without accounting for cultural differences, it is difficult to establish the trust and credibility to build international relationships.
International partners might not understand U.S. Army processes, regulations, policies and laws and how they often constrain acquisition professionals’ choices. Likewise, Americans often don’t understand some of the national constraints our overseas partners have. The different lens through which each of the partners views the acquisition program has significant implications for the content of acquisition products.
A good example is the design of an operator training program for a Middle Eastern country’s air force. The American model for training U.S. Air Force operators typically would involve a highly structured course with a linear sequence of instruction that allots little or no time to building personal relationships. On the other hand, a Middle Eastern country’s preferred might focus more on how its culture interacts and learns in a group setting. In fact, relationship building should come before conducting any serious business. In one case, cultural ignorance of the importance of these relationships caused such an erosion of trust that it essentially halted a pretty large program for a few years. Regaining this trust and credibility is not easy.
The U.S. Air Force Special Operations School at Hurlburt Field, Florida, teaches cross-cultural communications courses and has proved to be a valuable tool in helping prepare for international interactions. Training like this would be a useful part of the orientation for new hires.
Recommendation
Like the operational community, international acquisition teams should be trained and equipped to appreciate and respect cultural differences that they might encounter in their programs. Many resources are available within the DOD that teams can use, including courses, research papers, briefings and subject matter experts, among other tools. Air University devotes a website (http://www.au.af.mil/culture/usgov.htm) to cross-cultural understanding that includes links to sociocultural and language resources maintained by other services, DOD and other federal agencies such as the U.S. Department of State and the Peace Corps.
Another helpful tool, at the beginning of an international acquisition program, is a formal stakeholder analysis to provide insights into what interests the key partners in the program and what drives them. The tool can capture the future plans and priorities of each participating nation and highlight areas where there is potential alignment to pursue a cooperative or collaborative effort. Don’t assume that newcomers to the international partners program will have the same interests and motivations as their predecessors. The country desk officer at DOD’s in-country Security Cooperation Office, which typically works closely with host nation officials and their staffs, can help acquisition professionals get to know the foreign partner and understand its processes, needs and priorities. Another valuable resource is each service’s international program office.
PUT THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN PLACE
LL_879: PMs who need more Level III-certified personnel with practical experience working the entire acquisition process would benefit from a structured development program.
Background
A constant challenge for Army acquisition PMs is having sufficient personnel who are Level III certified in the acquisition career fields. It is critical that the PM’s staff have applied, not just scholastic, . A former hiring and development process within one program executive office brought people into the PM at an entry-level pay grade (GS-3) and promoted them (typically through GS-11) as they demonstrated ability and gained practical experience in varying roles. The PMs would assign new hires first to acquisition category (ACAT) III projects and later permit them to work on ACAT I programs as they developed in experience and expertise. The PM placed great value on logistics experience and knowledge because many issues in the acquisition process continued from cradle to grave. Developing people using this approach nurtured awareness of what “logistics” really entails.
Recommendation
If you can’t find people with Level III certification and applied knowledge, begin to develop them yourselves. Program offices should welcome the addition of less experienced members of the workforce and nurture their development through assignments on different aspects of Army acquisition programs. Allow these new team members to advance as they add to their expertise through work on a variety of tasks throughout the program management office. Starting a pipeline of home-grown talent will ultimately serve many programs within the Army.
DEVELOPING LEADERS
Top-performing military leaders from 18 organizations across the Pacific Theater gather in January 2016 aboard the USS Missouri at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, for graduation from the Young Alaka’i leader development program. Appreciating and respecting cultural differences that they might encounter in their programs is crucial for international acquisition teams. (U.S. Army photo by Master Sgt. Mary E. Ferguson)
LL_1078: Having the appropriate personnel in the program management office (PMO), functional proponency office and contract support is key for program success.
Background
Personnel challenges affecting management at multiple levels within an Army PMO and its functional proponent caused poor coordination across the program, making it hard to create a collaborative and productive work environment. Some leaders lacked appropriate skills, such as expertise in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems, ACAT I programs and information technology (IT) systems, while others had poor management skills. Management was seen as micromanaging, unable to organize the workforce needed to accomplish the tasks, and unwilling to take risks. The perception was that it did not plan well for the future of the program and that it sent representatives to meetings without delegating the appropriate authority to them.
When the program began, the personnel on board did not have experience with ERP programs and did not look to other ERP programs for guidance. There was no plan for acquiring the necessary personnel for the PMO, and only 14 of 33 Table of Distribution and Allowances spots were filled as DOD hiring and grade freezes and sequestration prevented the PM from hiring, moving or promoting personnel for several years. Program challenges during that time frame included development and testing of initial system increments, source selection for a follow-on increment and the compilation of 20 acquisition documents to support the upcoming milestone B decision. Most of the PMO staff were supporting all three of these actions in parallel.
Once hiring could take place, the PMO hired several research and development personnel contracted earlier using federal funds, and transitioned systems engineering and technical assistance contractors to government civilian employees. Hiring practices, such as veterans’ preference, caused delays as the PMO had to go through the difficult process of denying veterans who applied for the jobs but were not necessarily qualified.
The PMO also had trouble getting appropriately experienced personnel from the functional proponent. The PMO needed technical subject matter experts from the legacy systems who understood how to generate, manage and store the data. However, the functional proponent provided end users who could interface with the source systems and had an operational perspective on their use but did not understand the underlying structure and processes. As a result, the program needed the reach-back capabilities of legacy contractors, who usually have no incentive to support the new program. Fortunately, some legacy system personnel relocated to the PMO and were able to reach back to the legacy contractor to acquire required information.
Recommendation
Acquisition programs need to have the right people in the right places, including leaders with the appropriate personality traits and management skills (collaborative, communicative, willing to delegate authority). Programs need a plan for acquiring qualified personnel with the appropriate expertise. Since it can be challenging to induce qualified personnel to relocate to join new programs, it may be necessary to allow personnel to work remotely. In addition, the PMO needs to tackle cultural issues among program personnel at the beginning of the program’s life cycle.
After more than three years as a regular feature in Army AL&T magazine, this “Ground Truth” column of Army acquisition lessons learned concludes the series. “Ground Truth” first appeared in April – June 2014 to offer our readers lessons learned that the Army had collected via its Acquisition Lessons Learned Portal (ALLP). Since then, it has proved a popular feature. Based on readers’ nominations, “Ground Truth” was the runner-up for the magazine’s 2015 ALTies Award for best article. (See “Ground Truth: Harnessing lessons learned through Better Buying Power initiatives,” April – June 2015.) The Center for Army Acquisition Lessons Learned in the Acquisition Support Branch of the U.S. Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity, which launched the ALLP in October 2012, is relinquishing the mission of analyzing acquisition lesson submissions as the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology re-evaluates its processes for gathering and applying lessons learned. Possible capabilities to replace the ALLP are currently under discussion.
KEVIN GUITE is a lead operations research analyst with the U.S. Army Materiel Systems Analysis Activity, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. He holds an M.S. in computer science from the University of Maryland Graduate School, Baltimore, and a B.S. in computer science from the University of Maryland Baltimore County. He is Level I certified in program management and Level III certified in engineering. He has been a member of the Army Acquisition Corps since 2008.
This article is scheduled to be published in the July-September 2017 issue of Army AL&T Magazine.
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ONLINE EXTRAS
Synopsis of “Rapid Acquisition of Army Command and Control Systems,” RAND Corp., June 2014
“Are You Ready for an International Program?” Defense AT&L, Jul-Aug 2013:
