Approved competencies will be used as a basis to develop learning objectives for program management courses and other training materials.
On 6 Sep 2016, the Program Management Functional Leader, Mr. James MacStravic, formally approved an updated list of Program Management Career Field Competencies.
In developing these competencies, Program Management is considered the knowledge, capabilities and practices associated with formulating, planning, implementing, managing, tracking and evaluating projects/programs and their associated requirements and risks, ranging from small one-time projects to major system-of-system programs. This document attempts to specifically state the Program Management competencies required to deliver mission critical capabilities in terms of equipment and services to the user. Critical abilities are to define Component, customer and stakeholder needs and constraints; reduce ambiguity in objectives; develop and manage an efficient project organizational structure; and apply system architecture principles to develop and manage technical requirements in order to achieve the appropriate balance between resources, schedule, and technical requirements. This document also includes the knowledge associated with system architecture, finance, budgeting, risk assessment / management, schedule, configuration management, contract technical management, project controls, etc. All of these responsibilities are to be conducted by a manager, or under the supervision of a manager, and assigned staff members who have gained in-depth knowledge of their organization and the functions of their office.

PM's Compendium of Acquisition Management Roles, Actions and Activities from Chapter 1 of the Defense Acquisition Guidebook (DAG) August 2016.

PM's Compendium of Executive Leadersip Roles, Actions and Activities from Chapter 1 of the Defense Acquisition Guidebook (DAG) August 2016.

GAO Report - Defense Acquisition Workforce: Opportunities Exist to Improve Practices for Developing Program Managers. Dated February 2018

Why GAO Did This Study
The Department of Defense’s (DOD) major acquisition programs continue to experience cost and schedule overruns. GAO previously found that selecting skilled program managers is a key factor to achieving successful program outcomes. DOD relies on military and civilian program managers to deliver its most expensive new weapon systems, meaning its approach to training, mentoring, retaining, and selecting program managers is critical.

House Report 114-537 included a provision for GAO to review the career paths, development, and incentives for program managers. This report addresses how leading organizations train, mentor, retain, and ultimately select program managers; and the extent to which military service practices align with those leading practices. To conduct this work, GAO identified leading practices documented in prior work and by the Project Management Institute, and interviewed commercial companies identified by the Institute as leaders in this field. GAO also analyzed military service practices for developing program managers and compared those to leading practices.

What GAO Recommends
GAO is making eight recommendations, including that the military services improve practices that do not align extensively with leading practices and make greater use of existing financial rewards for good performance. DOD concurred with the recommendations.

SUBJECT:  Program Management Functional l Career Field Competencies
Reference:   DoDI 5000.66, Operation of the Defense Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics Workforce Education, Training, and Career Development Program December 21, 2005 
The Acquisi tion and Program Management Functional l Integrated Product Team has completed a review of the Depa11ment of Defense (DoD) Program Management Functional Competencies.  These competencies are contained in the attachment and are stated at the three employee levels described in the reference i nstruction and aligned with Bloom's level verbs.
The attached DoD Program Management Functional Competencies are forwarded for use and implementat ion as provided in the above reference.  They replace the competencies published on January 8, 2008.  The attached is a living document and will be continually updated.