DAU's performance support: enhancing acquisition outcomes.

The Defense Acquisition University provides on-demand, leading-edge program, technical, and business professional expertise to the acquisition, technology, and logistics community and other customers. DAU faculty and staff engage with our customers and provide just-in-time assistance, advice, and solutions primarily in the areas of performance consulting and targeted/tailored training. Both areas offer learning assets vital to the development and transformation of individual, team, or organizational outcomes.

Performance Consulting

Performance Consulting consists of either content consulting with subject matter experts from functional areas helping a customer accomplish a given job or task (such as developing an acquisition strategy or applying Earned Value Management); or process consulting, where the focus is on improving business or technical processes and learning more effective ways of doing things. The DAU consultant becomes the catalyst for change in learning new ways of looking at and solving familiar problems.

DAU has entered into performance consulting partnerships with all AT&L acquisition centers across all the Services, other DoD agencies, governance organizations, and all federal agencies. The university has also provided leadership training and expert guidance in all program planning, execution, and reporting; and systems engineering, logistics, and manufacturing management of acquisition programs. DAU consultants have enhanced performance outcomes in all phases of the acquisition lifecycle framework.

DAU also offers facilitated collaboration to help groups or teams accomplish their goals. The DAU facilitator, unlike a trainer, does not have a preselected course design but offers automated tools and techniques to lead the group/team in virtual brainstorming, planning, and consensus building to achieve process or organizational change. Assisting groups or teams with strategic planning, problem solving, plan development, and alternative analysis are examples of this efficient intervention tool. Learn more about DAU's facilitated collaboration, by visiting <www.dau.mil/performance_support/facilitated_decision-making.asp>.

Targeted Training

DAU currently offers 50 already packaged, off-the-shelf targeted training (TT) courses. The length and breadth of the courses vary depending on what has already been developed for a particular TT course. The course descriptions can be found in the DAU Catalogue of Targeted Training Courses and Workshops at <www.dau.mil/performance_support/targeted_training.asp>. We recently added "Crucial Conversations," which is a practical, high-leverage communication skills course for all levels of management. Among the most in-demand TT courses are Performance-based Service Acquisition, Contracting Officer's Representative, and Economic Analysis for Decision Making. Each course has an assigned TT course manager who will contact the customer personally and discuss course content and scheduling.

In addition to off-the-shelf courses, DAU can develop any assignment-specific, just-in-time training to meet any customer's "targeted" need. The New Program Startup Workshop is an example of this targeted approach that has produced successful results. The first workshop was initially designed for Raytheon and the program management office to facilitate better government and industry teaming after contract award. A team of DAU faculty developed learning assets to address the specific needs of the program's startup actions--team arrangements, risk management and systems engineering approach planned, and contractor performance measurement system. The workshop facilitated an early environment of trust, collaboration, teamwork, and communication between key government and industry program stakeholders. Recent New Program Startup Workshops included the Army's AH-64 Apache Block III and the Navy's CH-53K Heavy Lift Helicopter programs.

Tailored Training

Tailored training takes already developed, existing core learning assets such as Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) core courses and modifies or tailors the course or workshop to meet the learner needs. The faculty member may also tailor other existing learning assets to provide customers what they need when they need it. An example of tailored training was the Information Technology Lifecycle Management (ITLM) workshop. DAU subject matter experts worked with the Tank-automotive and Armaments Command Chief Information Officer (TACOM CIO) and tailored a workshop to address compliance with the Clinger-Cohen Act, with emphasis on ITLM. Core information technology course modules and other already existing learning assets were tailored, resulting in participant materials on conducting business process improvements before investing; Best Practices vs. outdated approaches of acquiring IT systems; ineffective implementation of automated information systems resulting in fraud, waste, and abuse; as well as coverage of associated legislation and DoD regulations.

These tailored events may result in a targeted training course found on our Web site based on the demand for course content by the AT&L community and other customers.

If a performance support effort requires reimbursement to DAU for personnel travel and other expenses, both parties will sign a DD 1144, Support Agreement.

To learn more about these best value DAU performance support resources and how they can benefit your organization, contact your DAU Region or visit the performance support Web site: <www.dau.mil/performance_support>.

Greenlee is director of performance support and rapid deployment training at DAU.