ACQUISITION LIFE CYCLE The Plan For Transition
A C Q U I S I T I O NL I F EC Y C L EThe Plan for TransitionFrom System Development and Demonstration toProduction and DeploymentMaj. Jonathan B. Slater, USAAprogram manager is responsible for not onlyensuring that his or her office delivers a product in an efficient manner, but also that theproduct meets the receiving unit needs andthat the users of the product are comprehensively trained on how to use it. The program office coordinates the flow of equipment, training resources, and theuser’s new equipment training schedule. These responsibilities arise during the production and developmentphase of a product.What follow are some thoughts on developing a plan totake an acquisition program from the system develop-ment and demonstration phase to the production anddeployment phase. The concepts, thoughts, and processes described stem from experience with the StrykerMobile Gun System (MGS) fielding process and planningfor transition of the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS). Althoughthe examples provided are Army-specific programs, thelessons learned can be applied across the Departmentof Defense.Critical Planning for a Critical TimeAn acquisition program enters the production and deployment phase when the program reaches Milestone C, andSlater served as the assistant program manager for the Army’s Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System. He is currentlyan assistant product manager for the Army’s Non-Line of Sight-Launch System for the Precision Attack Missile at Redstone Arsenal, Ala. He holds aMaster of Business Administration from Long Island University.33Defense AT&L: September-October 2008
that is the point at which the transition plan is formallyimplemented. There are significant processes and concepts that must be planned, resourced, and executed toensure the user receives the product or system efficientlyand receives adequate training, and that the process isproperly resourced during the production and deployment phase. The planning assumptions of transitioninga program are verified and validated during the low-rateinitial production fielding and training, which is the firsttime the system or product will be fielded to users and is,therefore, a critical period for the program.It is important to understand that the planning must becompleted early in the system development and demonstration phase and will be refined as the program getscloser to production. A proactive program manager willtailor approaches to the program as it transitions into thesystem development and demonstration phase, thus mitigating negative impacts.Pre-Transition Plan ItemsAlthough the transition plan focuses on the period afterMilestone C, there are several items that need to be addressed prior to the milestone. Several items will be specified in the low-rate initial production/full-rate productioncontract, and those areas include production line verification plans, the product/system acceptance process, andmemorandums of agreement or letters of instruction/intent (MOAs/LOIs). A good PM wants to be proactive inhaving a plan in place, and to be ready to execute the planas soon as the milestone decision authority gives approvalof the milestone.For large acquisition programs, the manufacturing process for the product or system requires validation. Theprocedures for conducting the validation should be developed by the transition planning team to ensure all partiesunderstand the requirements. The procedures also needto address the program office’s approved definition ofproduction representative for the product/system. Thedefinition spells out what characteristics identify thesystem and will be used in test analysis. The roles andresponsibilities of all the parties involved are outlined inthe MOAs/LOIs. To ensure program office readiness forthe transition, most MOAs/LOIs should be made effectiveprior to Milestone C.The acceptance process will address how the programoffice desires to purchase new equipment. A product/system may be bought at a system level; as individualcomponents; or at another level, such as subsystem. It isimportant for the program office to address how parts ofa product/system will be purchased following initial fielding. For example, repair parts may be bought at a component level, unit level or, because of the complexity anduniqueness of a program, it may be more cost effective topurchase parts at a system level. Because the acceptanceDefense AT&L: September-October 2008process discusses purchasing, organizations such as theDefense Contract Management Agency must be involvedto specify the purchasing criteria and responsibilities. Theprogram office also needs to address maintenance support to cover non-warranty items that may not work during any follow-on testing.Developing the Transition PlanTransition planning is most effective when conducted bya multifunctional group from across the system/productintegrated product teams, with representation from thecontractor, the user community, and the product office.This team should also have representation from production, logistics, test, quality, finance, and integration teams,and from the Defense Contract Management Agency. Although the program may not be under contract to moveforward beyond the system development and demonstration phase, the input from the current contractor is thebest industry experience that can be used in the planningprocess.Transition planning is not directly intended to impactthe system development and demonstration phase of aprogram. However, several of the decisions made during the development of the transition plan will assistthe system development and demonstration processin accomplishing the demonstration system objectives.For example, the development of a product acceptanceprocess for the low-rate initial production/full-rate production products of the JLENS system has clarified acceptance criteria for several subsystem items, such asthe mobile mooring station, will be used during systemacceptance/buy-off for the system development anddemonstration systems.Characteristics of a PlanA transition plan should be as comprehensive and detailed as possible and should also provide a financialestimate to be used in program budgeting. The planshould be presented in both a presentation format (suchas in Microsoft PowerPoint) and as a white paper. Thepresentation is used to communicate your plan to seniorleadership. Also, when giving a new materiel introduction briefing, the presentation you develop can also betailored and presented to the leaders of the unit whorequested the product.There are several overarching ideas that must be addressed by senior leadership before or during the transition planning period. Much of the transition plan will bebased on the following decisions: Where the system/product will be fielded What the plan for sustainment training is, if required What resources are critical to meet the system operator new equipment training exit criteria What deployment timelines must be met The concept of operation for the system.34
integrated into the contractor equipment (such as trucksand generators), and the contractor-furnished equipment.Options for the equipment flow will include transportingit all to one location and issuing it to the unit all at once,or splitting the delivery and having some items that arenoncritical to training sent directly to the unit home station.Those critical decisions, explained in further depth in thefollowing paragraphs, will direct and may constrain theoptions available to the program manager in transitioninghis or her program. The users of the product should beincluded in the initial guidance. Additionally, senior-levelDepartment of Defense agencies, such the Office of theSecretary of Defense, may also need to be involved indeveloping input to the critical decisions. It is importantto realize that the implementation of the transition planfor the active duty units may require revision if they are tobe used for the National Guard and Reserve units, whichhave specific needs.Developing a TimelineThe first step in creating the plan is the development ofan overarching transition concept, which will address howthe plan envisions the new equipment training for theoperator throughout the operation and support phase ofthe system/product’s life cycle. The transition plan on thefollowing page illustrates how personnel and equipmentare brought together. The lower section of the chart depicts areas that are ongoing and that the program musthave plans to address.FieldingBased on the type of program, fielding can be an extremely complex process. Fielding must address how allcomponents of the system—weapon systems, associatedsupport items of equipment, and basic-issue items—willbe fielded to the unit, either before or after it is fielded tothe operator for new equipment training. Fielding will bebased on the program office’s plan for equipment flow, toincluding all system government-furnished equipment notFielding may be conducted at a single location, multiplelocations, or a combination of both. Both the Stryker MGSfielding and the current fielding plan for JLENS are verycomplex. The systems have multiple components, andboth require the integration of government-furnishedequipment and contractor-furnished equipment. Bothmust complete a final system-level check prior to government acceptance. In the Stryker MGS Program, a deprocessing yard was established, as had been the process forall the other Stryker variants. The purposes of the deprocessing yard are to combine all remaining components,address any factory shipment shortage, and complete afinal system integration and test. All of this work is conducted at a single location, where a product office fielding officer, support team, contractor fielding team, andmaintenance team are collocated to manage the process.At the completion of the deprocessing, the system is issued to the user.A transition plan must address if and how this fieldingprocess will be conducted, what facilities are required forboth the government and the contractor, what the logisticssupport plan is, (including support equipment, test equipment, spares, etc), as well as equipment storage/stagingarea requirements (motor pools/secure lots).TrainingAll newly fielded systems require users to be trained onoperation, maintenance, and employment. This trainingwill most likely be broken into two areas: the operatornew equipment training and the field-level maintainernew equipment training. The PM must provide the unitwith trainers, who are typically from the prime contractor,and equipment. The equipment used for training may beeither a training set or the actual equipment issued to theunit, based on equipment availability and direction fromthe user community.New equipment training is closely coordinated with theuser community, which will develop entrance and exitcriteria for the operator’s and the field-level maintainer’straining event. Entrance criteria are items that the unitmust complete and prove its proficiency at prior to conducting the training. For example, JLENS will require thatthe user is able to operate and pass information on an FMradio network. Exit criteria are the requirements of training proficiency of the user at the end of new equipmenttraining. An example is the Stryker MGS gunnery trainingat the MGS crew intermediate qualification level.35Defense AT&L: September-October 2008
What’s Fast,Up-to-the-Minute, Electronic,and Comes to Your DesktopEvery Month?D e f e n s e AT & LAdditionally, the project office’s plan for fielding and training of training aids, devices, simulators, and electronictraining media needs to be identified. The overall sustainment training concept from the user community needs tomatch up with the training aids and equipment providedby the program. When looking at training, the transitionteam needs to understand how the unit will train the system in the field and what they will need to conduct itstraining. Most defense units train with their equipmentin the local training area. However, in the case of JLENS,which is an extremely complex and large system andrequires a specially prepared operational site, speciallydesigned tactical training sites must be developed.Lastly, training resources, such as ranges, must be identified early to begin coordination with the garrisons todetermine if requirements can be addressed on existingranges or to facilitate development of new infrastructure.For example, several new ranges were developed to support MGS gunnery at multiple fielding locations. This wasa major undertaking by the product office, the user community, and the installation support groups.Bringing you the latest AT&L newsin a convenient format—updateson acquisition policy and legislation, certification information, newsof acquisition excellence, job support tools, special messages from theunder secretary of defense (AT&L).You’ll find all that and more, eachitem summarized to save you time,with a link to the complete article orinformation online.And you don’t have to do a thing toget it because it’s e-mailed directlyto you on the second Thursday ofevery month.Contact atl.eletter(at)dau.mil formore information.Defense AT&L eLetter.Acquisition Todayfor Tomorrow’sTransformationDefense AT&L eLetter is not connected withDefense AT&L magazine.Defense AT&L: September-October 2008PersonnelPersonnel-related issues can impact a program significantly. Training and fielding requirements of the systemmay require certain skill sets and specific types of personnel to be available for training sooner than the entire unit.As a result, prioritization of unit fills and tight management of critical positions must be planned by the productoffice and the training capabilities personnel. JLENS, forexample, requires a broad range of military occupationalskills, some of which are high demand or limited availability. A flight director, for example, is a unique and newposition that will require extensive training at a dedicatedflight training facility. The trained flight director must beavailable early enough to complete the training and support the unit’s collective training in JLENS.FinancialBecause of the depth and breadth addressed by a transition plan, the plan will have significant financial implications. It is critical to develop the plan as early in theprogram as possible in order to influence financial requirements and the budgeting process. Requirementsthat generate facilities development may be subject tothe military construction budget cycle and may causeprogram decisions to be adjusted, such as fielding location priorities based on availability of those facilities. Onlya plan that is appropriately financed will be executable.Requirements that have financial implications should beidentified by a team of both contractor and governmentpersonnel. Many of the decisions made in the transitionplan will translate into requirements that the contractorwill provide as a capability during the production anddeployment phase and, therefore, are incorporated intothe request for proposal.36
Transition ConceptTransition ainers,Operators,Leaders)Official School TrainingIssue SystemDriver TrainingPre-FieldingTrainingField-Level MaintenanceNew Equipment TrainingOperationalNewEquipmentTrainingdent maintenance support operation forwardto support a deployment. If the transitionplan addresses maintenance concepts forsuch contingencies,the program is morelikely be successful.CollectiveTrainingAcceptance TestPlanGovernmentFurnishedEquipmentFieldingDuring low-rate initialproduction and theDeprocessinitial fielding in theContractor-Furnisheddeployment phase,Equipment Productionthe program office willMock-UpGovernmentTraining AidsAcceptance Testbe required to supportFurnishedOperationtesting. Primarily, thereEquipmentProductionis the initial operationalPrescribed Loadtest with active dutyListservicemembers conMaintenanceducting a set of operaSecurity Plantional tasks to validateNote: The time required for each step will be based on the program requirement.the system. Additionally, there will mostOngoing Conceptslikely be some form of follow-on test, as well as testingProgrammatic operations, such as improvements, must of product improvements. During these test processes,be addressed throughout the production and deployment the program office may be required to provide logisticphase. Several of these are depicted across the lower sec- support, to test the equipment, and potentially providetion of the transition concept figure. In addition to pro- the training for testers and servicemembers participatinggrammatic subjects, transition planning must also address in the test. Product/system assets to support these testsall the ongoing tactical operations that occur throughout must be planned for and funded. In programs such asthe fielding period. During this period, the system will be the Stryker MGS, several system development and dememployed in tactical operations. In the process of fielding, onstration systems were dedicated solely for test assetsitems that are expended will need to be replaced, as will throughout the life of the program. Some test assets maythose that are updated through improvements. The plan require refurbishment depending on the level of damagemust address all these items as they concurrently occur. sustained during previous testing and must therefore beCritical concepts, such as configuration management and budgeted for in the financial plan of the program.product improvements, will develop a life of their own.The product office will need to determine how and when it The transition plan will be a living document that is revisedwill touch the fielded equipment again. It will need a plan as a program evolves and as decisions, such as budget andto address how upgrades will be conducted, including as- fielding locations, are confirmed. The value in developsociated cost estimates. In addition to preplanned product ing the transition plan early enough in the developmentimprovements and upgrades, the product manager must process is that the effects of major acquisition and deaddress sustainment concepts. Operational equipment velopment decisions are thought through, documented,will generate maintenance and usage data that will impact and budgeted. If used as a tool by the program manager,the management of repair parts, parts obsolescence, and the transition plan will become a roadmap to a successfulintroduction of product upgrades/improvements.production/fielding effort. Because not all acquisition personnel have the opportunity of working many programsMaintenance planning will need to be addressed continu- at different stages of the acquisition life cycle, this articleously, and the intensity of the planning will vary based has attempted to shed some light on this critical periodon how many units are being fielded, where the fielding in a program and will give the readers tools to help themis being conducted, and other operations that impact the develop their own program transition plan.program. Program offices may need to set up contractorlogistic support routine maintenance support facilities atThe author welcomes comments and questionsthe fielding locations, or they may need to establish aand can be contacted at jonathan.b.slater@reset/refurbishment yard at another location to supportus.army.mil.a unit returning from an operation or provide indepenEquipment Delivery FlowMOAs &LOIs37Defense AT&L: September-October 2008
The first step in creating the plan is the development of an overarching transition concept, which will address how the plan envisions the new equipment training for the operator throughout the operation and support phase of the system/product’s life cycle. The transition plan on t
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