There are differences in the initiating process for government acquisition programs vs commercial aviation programs. My career was entirely working on government acquisition programs so that is where I will focus my efforts. However, there will be observations and recommendations that could be applied to commercial aviation and other complex programs as well. 

 

During the initiating and planning processes, the foundation is laid for a program to be executed that meets performance requirements, on time and within budget constraints. That foundation can also lead to a program that struggles through execution with cost over-runs and schedule delays.   The current PM paradigm, including the PMBoK^®, provides a linear process for a “vanilla” project/program that does not address uncertainty, risk, complexity, integration and constant change required by A&D programs. Complying with Government acquisition and regulations also adds complexity to the PM processes not found in commercial programs. In this post, I will introduce the inherent uncertainty, risk and resulting change found in A&D programs. 

 

A&D programs are born into uncertainty and risk. I came across this “knowledge across the program life cycle” chart in the early 1990’s when I was developing a project management class based on the PMBoK^®. The chart was a real “eye-opener” because it illustrates the need for emphasis on managing risk and uncertainty throughout the program life cycle. Risk and uncertainty also leads to multiple development cycles, including spiral and incremental development, feedback loops, and rework. Consequently, the efficient management of change is very important to successful program execution. Every piece of documentation that is created during the development of the product, processes, or program is subject to change and is, in fact, changed multiple times throughout a program life cycle. And yet, practically all documents are created as stand-alone which makes change difficult. In addition, plans are created to feed-forward only--feedback loops are not allowed by most PM software.  I think that recognizing this fact by the industry is the first step in solving the problem. I have never seen this identified as a problem before.  Maybe a 12-step program is needed for this.  Do you agree or disagree?

 

My next post will introduce the differences of A&D PM due to complexity of the product and program. I plan to post a new blog each week whenever possible.