Joint program working group.

On Nov. 18 and 19, 2003, the Joint C41SR Decision Support Center (DSC) held a Joint Program Working Group (JPWG). The JPWG was sponsored by Dr. Nancy Spruill, Director, Acquisition Resources and Analysis, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics), and John Landon, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Networks and Information Integration). Virginia Wiggins of the DSC led the JPWG, and Bill McGovern of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) acted as facilitator. The two-day event was hosted by DAU in the Management Deliberation Center at Fort Belvoir and was attended by 20 representatives from 15 separate joint programs.

The purpose of bringing the joint program managers together with the DAU was to identify common joint program management issues and provide recommendations to resolve those issues to DoD senior leadership. Through prior studies and analysis, the DSC and other DoD components have recognized that Service-centric acquisition and requirement processes do not work for joint programs and actually create impediments to success.

The DSC has identified specific critical characteristics of a successful program that include:

* Single program manager

* Authority matches responsibility

* Single acquisition executive

* Funding authority

* Well understood issue resolution process

Highlights of the JPWG included:

* Presentation on the updated Defense Acquisition Framework (DoD 5000 Series) and new Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS).

* Progress report on updating the 1996 DoD Joint Program Manager Handbook.

* Individual presentations from each joint program office in attendance on their mission, programs, and joint management issues.

* A brainstorming session with select focus groups that identified specific issues and formulated recommendations for resolving problems related to culture, oversight, personnel and training, policy and statute, as well as requirements.

Working Group findings were recorded and placed on the new Joint Program Working Group Web site that is part of the Acquisition Community Connection at <http://acc.dau.mil>. The Web site is currently set up for those who attended and will be expanded for those in other joint programs who wish to participate in the Joint Program Community of Practice.

Some specific issues identified were:

* Lack of and/or poor definition and control of joint requirements; acquisition approval process allows blockage of joint requirements by single military service (e.g., resource withdrawal, veto, etc.).

* Distrust between military services causing parochialism and competition and affecting decisions regarding requirements, funding, personnel and staffing, and management.

* Poorly defined, documented, and enforceable roles and responsibilities at the OSD, joint, Service, and agency levels result in inefficient and sub-optimal program execution. Problems are created by conflicting direction, inconsistent communication, and inter-organizational disputes.

JPWG-03 was conducted in a non-attribution environment. The program offices were allowed to make comments openly on where improvements could be made to improve the process, which will ultimately benefit the end-user, the joint warfighter.

The lessons learned will be incorporated into an update of the 1996 DoD Joint Program Management Handbook.

It is anticipated that the Joint Program Working Group and DAU will continue their efforts to develop ways to improve joint acquisition processes. The plan is to expand the forum and meet periodically with ongoing joint programs to provide an avenue for evolving the joint processes that will deliver joint capabilities faster and better.