Common examples are: “Everyone contributes and we consider alter - nate views”; “We are open to new and innovative ideas”; “We strive to go faster to meet Warfighter needs”; “We share important information”; and “We ensure we meet our team commitments.” Governance. The program office must exercise governance and en - sure that various activities flow in a manner that provides adequate in - sight, oversight, and control without undue bureaucracy. This is typically addressed in operating instructions and process flows. Failure to clearly identify governance can create confu - sion in expectations, reducing speed and wasting money. Expertise: Skills, Experience, Qualifications Skills. The IPT members, com - prised of acquisition professionals who have acquired significant ac - quisition certification and expertise, must possess the right skill mix for the assigned program. All the functional areas should be staffed with the ap - propriate skill level for the position. Some programs may require special - ized expertise that must also be in place (e.g., nuclear physics). Beyond functional area skills, members also possess critical thinking and business acumen skills. Acquisition profes - sionals can develop critical thinking and business acumen skills through a combination of training and expe - rience. The Warfighting Acquisition University (WarU) and other academia may offer this type of training; for the federal civilian workforce, it should be part of individual development plans. Experience. We often hear “There is no real substitute for experience.” This is especially true in acquisition programs that are complex, multifac - eted, and of high value. While a mix of some junior and midlevel staff is good practice, the IPT should have senior acquisition professionals with several years’ experience serving as the program manager (PM) and key functional leads.
Failure to clearly identify governance can create confusion in expectations, reducing speed and wasting money.
Qualifications. Attaining/retain - ing acquisition professionals with the appropriate college degree and functional area certification is criti - cal. In some special cases, additional qualifications and credentials may be necessary. Key IPT staff must pos - sess these qualifications, like a doc - tor completing a college education, medical school, and then a residency program. Resources and Tools Needed This factor covers adequate fund - ing, manpower, and other resources/ tools needed for the team. To be as - sessed as green (Overall Assessment, bottom right, Figure 3), all the follow - ing should be in place. Some vacan - cies in personnel and funding short - falls are acceptable, but all functional leads and any critical subject matter experts should be in place. Adequate funding to keep the program execut - able is required. Funding. Key IPT staff should en - sure adequate funding for both the program office operations and the acquisition program is in place. This may include contractor support ser - vices, if necessary, as the program staff ramps up. Manpower. Program office and IPT staffing needs should be based on a validated manpower model. Staff needs should include a break - out of military, civilian, and support contractors. Recruitment should be underway and appropriate actions taken to fill key functional and sub - ject matter expertise positions as well as other needed vacancies. Other resources/tools. The pro - gram may require specialized re - sources such as software licenses, models, digital infrastructure, and
other unique items necessary to man - age the program. This element also includes adequate facilities and office space for program office staff. Finally, use of predictive analytics must be available and used by the team (sup - ports data-driven decisions). Stakeholder Support This factor includes both internal and external stakeholders and their support in managing the program. To reach the green level (Overall As - sessment, bottom right, Figures 2–3), stakeholder support must be strong among the following: The resource sponsor is the Ser - vice Headquarters office that moni - tors and justifies the program fund - ing to the Service, Joint Staff, Office of the Secretary of War, and Congress. The program office must be respon - sive to this office and ensure the Re - source Sponsor staff is equipped with complete and current information in support of various Pentagon and con - gressional interactions. User representative input is criti - cal as it will assist in development of program plans and strategies. The user representative will be involved in cost-performance trade-offs and pro - viding input on human interface de - sign. A Concept of Operations/Opera - tional Mode Summary/Mission Profile that describes the operational tasks, events, durations, frequency, and en- vironment for the system is a key in - put that should be provided to the program office at Milestone A and updated at subsequent milestones. For the software pathway, user en - gagement is documented in the User Agreement. The acquisition system chain of command with oversight of the
8 DEFENSE ACQUISITION MAGAZINE | MAY – JUNE 2026
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