This week we will explore the meaning and implications of answering the question: What is, in your opinion, one of the most important/effective perspectives or traits of a Program Manager? Before you can answer this question, you must understand what program management is. Your textbook takes a shot at defining this concept but providing the definition from the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) glossary. What is clear from this definition is that program management has a centralized leader (the program manager) who is ultimately responsible for an entire effort, down to the minute details. Think of anything that you are responsible for in your life and think about how every aspect of that responsibility is accomplished; it doesn’t have to be job-related. Now think about how that responsibility is taken care of or accomplished. There are numerous steps in a harmonious process, many of which rely on a previous step to complete. The accomplishing of that responsibility is likened to managing the “program.” When we look at the headlines in the newspapers about waste, fraud, and abuse in programs that still is happening, one has to wonder what is the program manager doing to stop such abuse? You have to remember that the program manager wears many hats and is in charge of a very complex project. Now, yes the project manager is also in charge of a very complex project. But while the project manager is responsible for the daily operations and headaches and risk and risk mitigation of everything from labor force issues, to unions, to construction delays due to weather, etc., the program manager is responsible for many project managers. The program manager of the World Trade Center comes to mind about this time in this course. While that was a government project, the one aspect of the program manager that resonated when you hear how he did his job, was that he had a meeting each Friday for 15 minutes. That meeting was every Friday morning. All the project managers would assemble for a 15-minute meeting on the various and complicated projects underway. The program manager would ask one question. He wanted to know what problems that each project manager was facing right now, this week. You can imagine what it must have been like in such a meeting. The project managers were not allowed time to deliver excuses for any delays or issues or problems. The program manager only wanted to know what was going wrong. Then the program manager would listen to how the risk was being attacked by the project manager. If the answer was not satisfactory, then the program manager could exercise his oversight to replace the project manager or allocate strategic reserves of funds or materials or negotiations to obtain materials or labor issues. So, as we go about our work and readings and discussions this week, do dive into the complex details of what is, in your opinion, one of the most important/effective perspectives or traits of a Program Manager? Yes, there are many. And you may start out listing a whole bunch. The readings you will find on the Internet and other places or from your own experience will be many; are many. But, the key to this week is for you to pick one. What is the most important, the one most important, perspective or trait of a program manager? The second learning objective this week asks you to understand Acquisition Categories, Milestone Decision Authority, the PPBE process and the Request for Proposal process. Figure 42 on page 19 and Figure 4-3 on page 21 of your textbook detail the various acquisition categories. Each category has specific criteria leading to the designation. The criteria are detailed in the Department of Defense Instruction (DoDI) 5000.02 (Enclosure 1, Acquisition Program Categories and Compliance Requirements). Now, have fun with this. And if you want to bring in program managers like Donald Trump to add a bit of spice to the discussion, well, do so. There are many legendary program managers and CEOs out there who helped build this great nation. Pick one. Who is your favorite? What traits do they have that you might like to have?
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