Introduction

This book provides a unique, broad, and deep discussion of what it takes to successfully manage some of the most complex military major weapon system programs in the United States. The book discusses U.S. military program management lessons learned and best practices based on extensive research, case studies, and proven effective best practices. The book is divided into six functional areas, which comprise the key competencies of effective U.S. military program management. They are:

Requirements management

Program leadership and teamwork

Risk and financial management

Supply chain management and logistics

Contract management and procurement

Special topics

Further, the book discusses U.S. military program management from both the U.S. government and defense industry/contractor perspectives. An extensive research effort was required to gather, edit, and assemble this vast amount of valuable information from 15 contributing authors and package it into this book. This book contains a combination of high-level U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and defense industry analysis, recommendations for overall improvement, and specific case studies from the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, and U.S. Air Force that highlight lessons learned and best practices.

DoD and the related defense industry is arguably the largest and most powerful government and business entity in the world. Together, DoD and the related defense industry develop the most expensive and complex major systems ever created. This book provides a wealth of information from a multifunctional view of what it takes to manage major U.S. military programs. This book contains articles and symposia papers drawn from the literature of U.S. military program management. Some articles have been included with the approval of the authors and publications, including the Defense Acquisition Review Journal of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), the Journal of Contract Management, and Contract Management magazine, as well as books published by the National Contract Management Association (NCMA).

Additionally, this book contains academic papers, with the approval of the authors, from the proceedings of the Acquisition Research Symposia of the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (NPS).

In addition, the book provides several valuable appendices, including:

The U.S. Department of Defense Report on Defense Acquisition Performance Assessment—Executive Summary (December 2005)

Several executive summaries of GAO reports on defense acquisition

Glossary of key terms

References

Finally, the book provides a user-friendly index for easy referencing.

We hope you will find the book to be a valuable reference for many years to come!

Sincerely,

Gregory A. Garrett, CPCM, C.P.M., PMP
and
Dr. Rene G. Rendon, CPCM, C.P.M., PMP