Air Force Print News (Nov. 20, 2006): ASC leaders tackle requirements, acquisition processes.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio -- Starting new programs correctly, ensuring customers have realistic expectations, and ending the "shoot-the-messenger" mentality were among the initiatives Aeronautical Systems Center leaders considered at a November off-site meeting.

Lt. Gen. Jack Hudson, the ASC commander, along with senior leaders and staff members, discussed acquisition challenges at the Air Force Smart Operations for the 21st Century off-site.

Lt. Col. Ron Jobo, ASC's AFSO 21 office deputy director, said he was pleased with the results from the off-site.

"Just the fact that senior leaders would clear three days from their busy schedules points out the center's commitment to process improvement; in fact, this is ASC's second AFSO 21 off-site in four months," Jobo said.

"What's really significant about these initiatives is that we've focused on our core mission objectives that were identified through the (ASC) balanced scorecard," said Chuck Jackson, the 326th Aeronautical Systems Wing director. "The requirements that we accept, along with our strategic planning, are obviously interconnected, and they basically drive everything we do in acquisition. We'll also benefit from the synergy between these objectives, so the potential benefits are huge."

Beginning with a lengthy list of challenges generated from the major objectives of ASC's balanced scorecard, participants identified challenges in three major areas: transforming requirements into high-confidence programs, influencing future requirements, and institutionalizing realistic planning.

They came up with problem statements, goals and objectives, process owners, and initial action plans for each of the 14 initiatives. ASC's executive steering group will prioritize the 14 initiatives on the basis of the impact and cost of implementing each one and decide which processes are the best candidates for improving.

The November meeting focused on cause and effect analysis.

"It's a formalized way of identifying a problem, then looking into its causes," Jobo said. "It encourages people to not just start throwing out solutions, but look deeply into the root causes.

"At this off-site, participants did a great job of locating root causes and creating action plans to improve those processes," Jobo said. "Obviously, we can't just go charging out and take care of 14 deep-rooted problems all at once, so the executive steering group will work to prioritize the initiatives to see which ones we tackle first, as well as chart out the way ahead to address all the initiatives."

Jabour is with the Aeronautical Systems Center's AFSO 21 Office.

Col. Ginger Jabour, USAF