U.S. Army Acquisition Support Center : upcoming SPRDE-SE certification changes

Defense AT&L, March-April, 2007

Much has been recently discussed and written about the challenges facing the DoD Systems Planning, Research, Development, and Engineering-Systems Engineering (SPRDE-SE) community (see article entitled: "Systems Engineering Revitalization" in the July-August 2006 issue of Defense AT & L magazine at <www.dau.mil/pubs/damtoc.asp>. The DoD SPRDE-SE Functional Advisor, with support from the SPRDE-SE Functional Integrated Product Team, has instituted certification changes affecting both SPRDE-SE experience and training requirements. As with all acquisition certification changes, these changes are officially announced and maintained in the online Defense Acquisition University catalog at <www.dau.mil/catalog/default.aspx>.

Effective Oct. 1, 2006, the SPRDE-SE experience requirements were revised to recognize technical experience from other acquisition career fields (i.e., SPRDE-SE; SPRDE-Science and Technology Manager; Information Technology; Test and Evaluation; Production, Quality, and Manufacturing; Facilities Engineering; Program Management; and Life Cycle Logistics). Previously, only acquisition experience in science or technology was recognized for certification purposes in this acquisition career field. Please check the DAU catalog for specific language as it might apply to your situation.

From an acquisition training perspective, required courses have been added at each SPRDE-SE certification level. SPRDE-SE Level I certification now requires completion of SYS-101, Fundamentals of SPRDE (in addition to ACQ 101); Level II now requires the completion of the continuous learning module CLE 003, Technical Reviews, and completion of one of the following: SYS 201 (Parts A & B), or SYS 201 (Part A) and SYS 203; or both SYS 202 and SYS 203 (each in addition to ACQ 201 (A & B)). A new Continuous Learning Module, CLL 008, Designing for Supportability, has also been added to Level III certification training requirements (in addition to SYS 301).

Upcoming Changes

In addition to the above certification changes already in effect, the SPRDE-SE acquisition community should expect further changes in this acquisition career field. Although these changes have not been finalized, nor an effective timeframe determined, a brief summary of the expected changes follows. Please note that at this writing these changes are not final and subject to change.

In the future, the SPRDE-SE acquisition career field is expected to diverge into two separate acquisition career paths: SPRDE-SE and SPRDE-General. Each of these paths will have its own certification requirements and associated Position Category Description. The expectation is that Army acquisition positions currently coded as SPRDE-SE ("S") will transition to the new SPRDE-General Path. This transition should be seamless to the affected employees and will not disturb acquisition SPRDE-SE certifications already achieved by employees. Employees who seek a new certification level shall be held to the certification standard in effect at the time certification is sought.