17th Annual DSMCAA Symposium - Defense Systems Management College Alumni Association

Program Manager, Sept, 2000 by Lynn Freudenthal

Commerciality -- Opportunities for DoD Acquisition

With the emphasis on greater use of commercial business practices and greater use of commercial entities to do the work that the DoD acquisition, technology and logistics workforce manages, commerciality is the cornerstone of acquisition reform. Principles, policies, and practices of DoD acquisition increasingly have been modeled after the best of the commercial world.

In this spirit, the Defense Systems Management College Alumni Association (DSMCAA) brought DoD and industry representatives together for the 17th Annual DSMCAA Symposium: "Commerciality: Opportunities in DoD Acquisition," held June 20-22 at the DSMC main campus, Fort Belvoir, Va.

The Symposium dedicated three days to education on all aspects of commerciality as DoD and industry representatives focused on a variety of panels and workshops. Setting the tone for the Symposium were keynote speakers Dr. Jacques Gansler, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics; and William Kovacic, Professor of Law The George Washington University.

Continuing Commercial Acquisition Reform

Gansler discussed the goals and successes of the acquisition reform effort. "Better, faster, and less expensive" now prevails throughout DoD, including an increase in Total Asset Visibility from 56 to 94 percent, a reduction in inventories from $60 billion to $48 billion, and pilot programs that achieved lower costs and better results. Citing the Joint Defense Attack Munitions program with its 50 percent reduction in cost and proven performance in Kosovo, Gansler said, "You can do things faster and cheaper and still be a lot better."

Gansler noted DoD's upcoming challenges. The Department must maintain the Revolution in Military Affairs and the Revolution in Business Affairs while transforming the acquisition, technology and logistics workforce. However, he sees these challenges as opportunities to implement more reforms.

Kovacic addressed maintaining reform through the interruptions of congressional budget cycles and the wait between measuring success and the next round of reforms. He says there are three ways to maintain that momentum:

* Adjust rules and procedures as you go for maximum flexibility and performance, rather than focus on maintaining rules.

* Give managers the latitude to succeed and fail. "Don't shoot good people when they fail," said Kovacic. "In the high tech industry, there will be three or four failures for each success story"

* Stay close to your users, and listen to what they say.

The Workforce is Key

A key tenet in commerciality for DoD acquisition is that government managers become administrators of commercially outsourced work. From where will the workers and managers come? With DoD drawdowns, an aging workforce, and a tight labor market in information technology, most panels emphasized that the workforce will be key to acquisition reform and warfighter readiness.

"DoD is driven by workforce realities in terms of obtaining technology," said Stan Soloway, Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition Reform). "People aren't planning for 15- to 25-year careers anymore. HR [Human Resources] representatives report that the average worker tenure is three to five years." That, he acknowledged, has a direct impact on DoD planning for major acquisitions, which will span many of those shorter worker tenures.

Both DoD and commercial defense industries will be under pressure to provide the best technical people possible.

But, they also face increased competition for the best technical personnel with the "dot.coms" and other industries. This could have a negative impact on supplying warfighters with the latest technologies.

"A lack of current technical expertise in PMs [Program Managers] is one factor that inhibits CMI [Civil-Military Integration]," said panelist Marilyn Andrulis, President and CEO, Andrulis Corporation. "That training must be made available."

Air Force Brig. Gen. Frank Anderson, Commandant, DSMC, also addressed this issue. Training cannot be a matter of choosing courses, he said. Training must focus on building particular skill sets.

Gansler also touched on the subject of training, stating that DoD training and education also can be used as leverage in an increasingly competitive labor market. "The thing that lures people into the government world," according to Gansler, "is that it might not be the highest-paying job but it is the most technologically challenging job."

Customer Focus

The symposium luncheon and banquet speakers emphasized customer focus, advising participants to begin the acquisition process with the end in mind.

In his remarks, Soloway said that acquisition reform and commerciality come down to performance, flexibility, and communication All acquisition processes must begin with the customer in mind, rather than with a subject matter or job area perspective.

"We are not particularly good at defining our customer and taking a global view," he said, "Industry is much better at that than DoD." The DoD 5000 Rewrite, he explained, is directed to provide the flexibility needed to establish and maintain customer focus because requirements and acquisition will be more closely aligned.