Product Support Manager (PSM) Guidebook

This guide is a tool for Program Managers (PMs), Product Support Managers (PSMs), their support staffs, and others in acquisition and sustainment organizations as they develop and implement product support strategies for new programs, major modifications to legacy programs, or as they re-validate and re-engineer product support strategies for existing fielded systems.

It focuses on identifying, developing, implementing, incentivizing, and measuring quantifiable best value outcome-based product support solutions that optimize Life-Cycle Cost (LCC) and readiness. It delineates processes for outcome goals of systems, ensures that responsibilities are assigned, provides incentives for attaining these goals, and facilitates the overall lifecycle management of system reliability, availability, supportability, and LCC. It seeks to provide an integrated acquisition and sustainment framework for achieving Warfighter performance requirements throughout a program life-cycle.

This guidebook advocates the product support guiding principles and comprises the efforts and expertise of representatives from the Department of Defense (DoD), Components, Services, Agencies, the Joint Staff, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), industry, and academia.

What's New in the May 2022 Update:

• New Foreword by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Product Support)
• Incorporates principles from DoDI 5000.91 Product Support Management for the Adaptive Acquisition Framework (AAF)
• Includes new sections on the five non-Major Capability Acquisition pathways of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework (AAF)
• Includes new appendices for "Key Product Support Questions" and a Title 10 Renumbering Crosswalk
• Incorporates new content on emerging topics such as Digital Product Support, Supply Chain Resiliency, Data Analytics, and the Energy Key Performance Parameter (KPP)

Related Resources

• Product Support Manager (PSM) Reference Repository 
• 10 USC 4324 Life-Cycle Management and Product Support 
• DoDI 5000.91 Product Support Management for the Adaptive Acquisition Framework (AAF) 
• DoD Product Support Guidebook Suite 
• DoD Weapon System Acquisition Reform: Product Support Assessment (November 2009)  
   

This document is part of an Integrated Product Support Guidebook Suite and serves as an important resource for defense acquisition workforce members to use in crafting and successfully executing life cycle product support and sustainment strategies.