Achieving Success and Setting our Rhythm
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DISA COMPONENT ACQUISITION EXECUTIVE PROVIDES LEADERSHIP FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NET-CENTRIC VISION.
DISA is in its fourth year of completing a multi-phased approach to achieve agency recognition as a joint acquisition agent for enterprise net-centric solutions, information technology capabilities and services. Leading this effort is Diann McCoy, the DISA component acquisition executive (CAE). Her goal for 2007 is “Achieving Success,” and the theme for the year is “Setting Our Rhythm.” Her mission and task are to provide acquisition leadership at all organizational levels for the implementation of the net-centric vision.
SPEED OF DELIVERY
“Speed of Delivery” drives the agency acquisition vision to adopt innovative ideas and models to deliver world-class net-centric services and capabilities. Guided by the philosophy of DISA director Lieutenant General Charles E. Croom, the CAE is implementing the director’s “ABC principles” of adoptbefore- we-buy and buy-before-we-create, based on a best value assessment.
The bottom line is this: If another organization has developed or acquired a capability or service that either fits or is close to fitting a need we have, we adopt it. Where adopt-before-we-buy opportunities are not available, we will acquire a capability or service, hopefully commercially, that either fits or is close to fitting the need. Our final choice is to create or build.
DISA is pursuing the adopt-before-webuy and buy-before-we create approach as a way of getting the 80 percent quality solution in the near term rather than a 100 percent solution three to five years later. For example, ABC principles are being used in the Net-Centric Enterprise Services, Net- Enabled Command Capability and COMSATCOM programs.
PROGRAM EXECUTIVE OFFICES AND SENIOR PROGRAM DIRECTORS
To achieve excellence in acquisition life cycle management, the CAE established a goal for 2006 of “Transforming IT Acquisition Oversight.” To this end, four Program Executive Offices (PEOs) were established: Command and Control Capabilities; SATCOM, Teleport and Services; Information Assurance/Network Operations; and Global Information Grid (GIG) Enterprise Services. Each PEO manages a designated portfolio, which may involve programs, projects and/or services. Each office is supported by a lead engineer who evaluates the portfolio for consistency in technical approach and content.
The CAE also established senior program directors (SPDs) to delegate oversight responsibility for non-designated project oversight. Each SPD oversees a portfolio of programs, projects and/or services. The portfolio areas are DISA internal programs, projects and services; GIG enterprise services; engineering directorate pilots and prototypes; advanced capability technology demonstrations; GIG Enterprise Services Engineering Directorate programs, projects and services; and GIG Combat Support Directorate programs, projects and services.
TAILORED ACQUISITIONS
DISA’s CAE continues to tailor acquisition guidance, adopt innovative ideas, and improve processes and procedures to deliver capabilities and services to close the gap between the availability of technologies and their use by warfighters. We continue to foster the employment of best business practices to develop innovative relationships with industry partners for strong performance-based solutions that improve speed of delivery, balance risk and improve mission assurance.
We are evaluating pilots and experiments to address prioritized end-to-end issues that are critical for the successful acquisitions of major GIG programs. With the chief technology officer as chair and the CAE as vice chair, DISA’s Cross-Program Synchronization Board works to ensure a strong and enduring process that contributes to convergence of services on the GIG and netcentricity. The following examples address the use of tailored acquisition approaches.
The NCES program capabilities are packaged into four product lines. The “Service- Oriented Architecture Foundation” (SOAF) provides DoD’s software foundation for interoperable computing, or the behindthe- glass services that enable information sharing. Core services included in the SOAF are security/information assurance, service discovery, enterprise service management, machine-to-machine messaging, people and device discovery, mediation and metadata registry services.
“Collaboration” enables synchronous communication and file sharing among users. “content discovery and delivery” provides common specifications to expose, search, retrieve and deliver information across the enterprise. “Portal” provides personalized, user-defined, Web-based presentation and offers secure access to enterprise services. The NCES Program Office is employing acquisition streamlining and speed of delivery concepts that include managed services provided by government and industry. We are executing accountability and service delivery through performance agreements such as memoranda of agreement, service level agreements and performance work statements.
We use broad statements of objectives supplemented with NCES specifications to communicate requirements. The service provider is responsible for life cycle management. Early user testing combined with developmental testing, demonstrations and operational assessments are used to identify gaps and provide information to support Limited Operational Availability (LOA) decisions. LOA decisions afford a declaration of user confidence to determine the ability to support a specified user base. An LOA also provides useful capability during System Development and Demonstration Phase and assessment criteria based on service/capability type and associated risk.
The Net-Enabled Command Capability (NECC) program will be DoD’s principal command and control foundation. NECC will enable decision superiority via advanced collaborative information-sharing achieved through vertical and horizontal interoperability. The NECC Joint Program Office is using a tailored acquisition approach designed to rapidly deliver a series of smaller, tightly coupled command-and-control capabilities using an approach tied to implementing capability as it becomes available. A new approach is envisioned for development, test and certification.
The Joint Combat Capability Developer will define the “what”; a Federated Development and Certification Environment will provide the “means”; Capability Provisioning Activities will provide “evaluations”; and the Combined Test Force will “ensure capabilities and services.” We will employ the ABC principle of adopt-before-we-buy, buy-before-we-create to leverage existing and emerging capabilities. We are working to tailor milestone artifacts and timelines in negotiated agreements with stakeholders. Additionally, Web-based information exchange and review will be used with the stakeholder community instead of “paper drills.”
The SATCOM Program Office is proactively improving the way SATCOM services are delivered to the warfighter. We are modifying the current contract to incorporate Joint Staff validated capabilities, with an expected award scheduled in May 2007. In addition to the contract action, the program office has reduced provisioning timelines from a Government Accountability Office-reported 79-day average to the current median of 21 days. Contracting and engineering fees have been reduced from 8 percent to 3.41 percent. Additionally, on a scale of one to five, customer satisfaction ratings have increased from 3.9 in fiscal year 2005 to 4.5 in fiscal year 2006. The Program Office is also conducting a business process reengineering effort using Lean Six Sigma.
The emphasis within Information Assurance (IA) has been focused on taking the truly innovative technological developments and establishing them as deployed operationally viable capabilities. As a result of this focus, the Public Key Infrastructure program was able to scale to support the mandate requiring Common Access Card authentication for all users of the unclassified networks, the establishment of a DMZ that enabled certain foreign allies access to specific data sources on SIPRNet, and finally the establishment of the first enterprise cross domain solution. The upcoming year promises to be productive, with the deployment of a network based e-mail screener for those incapable of deploying their own, mapping tools for SIPRNet, and the initial deployment of a new and enhanced sensor grid.
TAILORED ACQUISITION POLICIES, PROCESSES AND PROCEDURES
DISA will continue to revise, update and tailor internal acquisition policy, processes and procedures to support a three-tiered acquisition management structure that includes the CAE, PEO-like organizations and SPDs. The CAE has also implemented a categorization policy and process to assign the appropriate level of oversight for acquisition efforts. The categorization list provides an agencywide view of all acquisition efforts by category of program, product or service.
LIFE CYCLE OVERSIGHT
DISA is revising oversight guidelines and procedures for the conduct of a threetiered DISA Acquisition Management and Decision Review Process. Based upon complexity and degree of risk, tier one consists of Quarterly Reviews, Acquisition Strategy Review Boards (ASRB), Overarching Integrated Product Team Reviews, and Decision Reviews. The focus is on cost, schedule, performance, risk and input from technical and cross program integration reviews. An initial ASRB is intended to be performed at the front end of a new acquisition initiative. Subsequent ASRBs provide a forum for the agency acquisition leadership to give guidance, direction, coordination and/or approval on selected major acquisitions/procurements.
Tier two consists of Budget Execution Reviews and Health Assessment Review Teams that are co-chaired by the chief financial executive and the CAE. Annual reviews are performed with quarterly updates that focus on execution, resource prioritization and alignment.
Tier three consists of senior management updates to the director, vice director and DISA senior staff. These updates are scheduled on an as-needed basis. The intent is to tailor, minimize and focus reviews.
QUALIFIED WORKFORCE
SPDs are appointed at the Senior Executive Service Level. SPDs attend Acquisition 404 at the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), with additional specialized one-onone training. The CAE selects program managers (PMs) and deputy program managers (DPMs) for acquisition category (ACAT) programs and designated special interest items and approves selection of all critical acquisition positions. ACAT I and III level PMs and DPMs must have the ability to become certified at Level III in program management in accordance with the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) within 24 months. Project leaders must have acquisition skills and experience consistent with the size, complexity, risk, impact and scope of the project.
DISA has made significant strides in professionalizing its acquisition workforce. Over the last three years, it has increased employee DAU graduations on average by more than 50 percent each year. In May 2006, DISA signed a memorandum of agreement with DAU to affirm a collaborative relationship which provides cutting-edge training to the acquisition workforce. The CAE hosts monthly forums where demonstrated subject matter experts in relevant acquisition disciplines discuss their experiences and lessons learned. The CAE also chairs an Acquisition Career Council (ACC) that promotes multi-disciplined training for the acquisition workforce and encourages DAWIA certification in secondary career fields. The ACC allows for the development of a progressive approach to address issues involving professionalization, human capital strategic planning and actions required to achieve acquisition excellence in DISA.
OTHER INITIATIVES
The entire DISA leadership and acquisition staff are fully engaged. In conjunction with the assistant secretary of defense for networks and information integration, we continue to tailor acquisition processes and support the efforts of the undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics to improve on timely decision making in the Lean Six Sigma approach for acquisition oversight.
We will also continue to develop strategic relationships with our industry partners. One example addressed earlier was the managed services concept employed by the NCES program. In addition, the Defense Enterprise Computing Centers are employing a Capacity Services Concept to acquire services provided by vendor partners and we pay only for the capacity that is needed. The benefits of this approach include reduced time to add capacity and overhead, simplified cost drivers, streamlined operating system management, and facilitated technological currency. It is our intent to expand the concepts as appropriate to other capability requirements.From an acquisition perspective, we believe our major challenge is clear. Specifically, we need to continue to build a professional acquisition workforce to provide quality services with speed of delivery, embrace risk-based testing, rightsize the IA certification, support streamlining the requirements process, and support making timely decisions. All these actions are required to reduce cycle time for the accelerated delivery of decision superiority capabilities to the warfighter. ♦
