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Defense AT&L - March-April 2017

DEFENSE ACQUISITION MAGAZINE

 

March - April 2017

Defense AT&L is a bimonthly magazine published by DAU Press for senior military personnel, civilians, defense contractors, and defense industry professionals in program management and the acquisition, technology and logistics workforce.

View as PDF  10 Articles in This Magazine

The Evolution of Earned Value Management

Written by: Wayne F. Abba

The EVM concept grew from a need to better manage increasingly complex defense programs, such as ballistic missiles. The genius of EVM, and a primary reason for its longevity, is its lack of prescriptive requirements. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

PARCA—Acquisition Reform That Works

Daniel L. Lynch

The Performance Assessment and Root Cause Analyses (PARCA) Directorate in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition has displayed a longed-for collaborative, innovative, and pioneering acumen. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

Proactively Tailored Acquisition Models

Su Chang and Pete Modigliani

The “Google Maps” for Acquisition 
Tailoring encourages a program to modify the acquisition process, program documentation, acquisition phases, and decision levels to most effectively address program needs. Tailoring is intended to give the acquisition workforce flexibility and autonomy. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

Supply Chain Risk—What Is It?

James Davis and John Sullivan

A balance is needed between inventory on hand and resupply through the DoD supply chain. It is critical in locating the greatest threats to the supply chain and then developing the best way to mitigate or manage that risk. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

A Better Way to Write Contracts

LT Stephen C. Hall, USN

Industry’s share of administrative burden can be increased if the DoD requires the contractor to use its own resources to write the physical contract. Having the DoD write the contract does not add value to the contracting process; industry may institute a more efficient process. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

An Argument for Process-Based Audits

Christopher Kluse, Ph.D. and Mark S. Phillips, Ph.D.

The cornerstone of Government Contract Quality Assurance is the ability to verify that a product or service conforms to the terms of a contract. Verifying that historically has been a challenging task. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

Management Consulting: Great Stuff—But Beware of Pitfalls

Brian Schultz

DoD acquisition program offices often rely on specialized management consulting services. There are pitfalls as well as benefits in doing so. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

Tail Spend Management: Shaping the Future of Acquisition Reform

Jamaya S. “Rocky” Smith

Defense experts worry about increased spending on contracted services. One approach could focus on items below the $10 million “core spending” threshold. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

Special Ops Forces AT&L Gets FITT

Susan Griffin

The Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Training and Leader Development Team—known as the Pathfinders—uses a closed-loop process to assess proficiency, plan training, prepare trainers, execute classes and gather feedback to restart the loop. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

Sustaining Afghan Air Power: Make, Buy or Both?

Lt Col Matthew A. Douglas, USAF, Ph.D. and Lt Col William C. Kossick, USAF

The Afghan Air Force has no previous sustainment experience on aircraft received from the United States. Therefore, Afghan maintenance and logistics capabilities on these platforms require a high level of contractor logistics support. (To print a PDF copy of this article, click here.)

Defense Acquisition Magazine

March - April 2017

All publications appearing on the DAU Web site are works of the U.S. government (prepared by an officer or employee, including contractors, of the U.S. government as part of official duties or contract) unless otherwise noted. Works of the U.S. government are not subject to U.S. copyright laws and, therefore, can be reproduced in whole or in part. Credit must be given to DAU and to the author(s) of all reproduced publications.
Wayne F. Abba

The EVM concept grew from a need to better manage increasingly complex defense programs, such as ballistic missiles. The genius of EVM, and a primary reason for its longevity, is its lack of prescriptive requirements.

Daniel L. Lynch

The Performance Assessment and Root Cause Analyses (PARCA) Directorate in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition has displayed a longed-for collaborative, innovative, and pioneering acumen.

Su Chang and Pete Modigliani

Tailoring encourages a program to modify the acquisition process, program documentation, acquisition phases, and decision levels to most effectively address program needs. Tailoring is intended to give the acquisition workforce flexibility and autonomy.

James Davis and John Sullivan

A balance is needed between inventory on hand and resupply through the DoD supply chain. It is critical in locating the greatest threats to the supply chain and then developing the best way to mitigate or manage that risk.

LT Stephen C. Hall, USN

Industry’s share of administrative burden can be increased if the DoD requires the contractor to use its own resources to write the physical contract. Having the DoD write the contract does not add value to the contracting process; industry may institute a more efficient process.

Christopher Kluse, Ph.D. and Mark S. Phillips, Ph.D.

The cornerstone of Government Contract Quality Assurance is the ability to verify that a product or service conforms to the terms of a contract. Verifying that historically has been a challenging task.

Brian Schultz

DoD acquisition program offices often rely on specialized management consulting services. There are pitfalls as well as benefits in doing so.

Jamaya S. “Rocky” Smith

Defense experts worry about increased spending on contracted services. One approach could focus on items below the $10 million “core spending” threshold.

Susan Griffin

The Special Operations Forces Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Training and Leader Development Team—known as the Pathfinders—uses a closed-loop process to assess proficiency, plan training, prepare trainers, execute classes and gather feedback to restart the loop.

Lt Col Matthew A. Douglas, USAF, Ph.D. and Lt Col William C. Kossick, USAF

The Afghan Air Force has no previous sustainment experience on aircraft received from the United States. Therefore, Afghan maintenance and logistics capabilities on these platforms require a high level of contractor logistics support.