PMADS - Army AT&L Program Management and Business Transformation - Enabled

Everywhere you turn you see DoD/Army initiatives underway with long range objectives to bring about improvements in our acquisition management businesses? But are there some basic tried and true program acquisition management actions that can be implemented right away? Yes.

There are numerous AT&L documents that provide guidance for architecting program management frameworks. One of the most important documents is the DoD MIL 881-WBS Handbook. The WBS Handbook states; "The WBS provides a basis for effective communication throughout the acquisition process. It is a common link, which unifies planning, scheduling, cost estimating, budgeting, contracting, configuration management, and performance reporting disciplines. It permits the Government and industry managers to continually evaluate progress in terms of contract performance".

The WBS forms the basis of reporting structures used for contracts requiring compliance with ANSI/EIA 748 EVMS Guidelines and reports placed on contract such as Contractor Cost Data Reporting (CCDR), Software Resource Data Report (SRDR), Contract Performance Reports (CPR), and Contract Funds Status Reports (CFSR).

In PMADS, a properly constructed WBS forms the foundation for having a synchronization capability that permits doing cross-functional analysis across program requirements, plans, budgets, and execution. When we work to help a new customer organization implement PMADS, developing a mission focused WBS is one of the more important artifacts that must be taken into account when we assist them in Architecting a Program Management Framework.