Background

All program managers (PMs) are required to select, develop and document an acquisition strategy to serve as the guide for program execution from program initiation through post-production support. A primary goal in selecting an acquisition strategy is to minimize the time and cost of satisfying an identified, validated need, consistent with common sense and sound business practices.

In today’s environment of rapid change, many DoN PMs are having difficulty integrating all of the various acquisition and business aspects of their programs. This includes all of the elements of program management, acquisition and contract management, business/financial management and the multiple process changes evolving from the many DoD/DoN acquisition reform initiatives and practices. The PM has the task with an unprecedented freedom of choice, as mandatory rules and directives are reduced to a minimum in favor of “guiding principles”. Options and alternatives abound; perhaps more than can be readily identified or digested. Developing and maintaining the currency of an Acquisition Strategy in this fast-shifting environment of  technology, funding and process change has proven enormously challenging.

Accordingly, this Acquisition Strategy Decision Guide has been developed as a tool to assist the DoN PM and his/her Integrated Product Team (IPT) through the process of identifying, analyzing and choosing among the various combinations of available alternatives. It is applicable to all PMs, including both ongoing and new start programs. Similarly, it is applicable across all types and phases of acquisition, with separate sections providing information of particular interest to those engaged in initial strategy selection, or review/validation/update of existing strategies. Underlying each of these uses is a set of “Core Strategy Dimensions” which may help PMs to identify the most typical combinations of “key drivers” or “discriminators” which distinguish one strategy from another. It must be emphasized that this guide doesn’t address details of how to write/prepare an acquisition strategy. Such information is already covered in the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Defense System Management College (DSMC) Acquisition Strategy Guide and the DOD Acquisition Deskbook.

The PM first selects and develops the acquisition strategy at program initiation, and keeps it current by updating it whenever the system acquisition approach and program elements require further definition, correction or modification. As a minimum, the strategy is updated for each program milestone review. However, since change has become endemic to DoD acquisition, in terms of threat assessment, business processes, product advances, and funding stability, a continuing review of acquisition strategy must become our normal practice as a "change management" tool and risk mitigator. The acquisition strategy must be maintained as a dynamic document. It is the formal record of all strategic choices and changes made in response to an evolving threat, technology, business process and other environmental factors. As such, it is also our best summary document for educating new program managers and new program office personnel regarding program intent, objectives, considered alternatives, how/why strategic decisions were made, and current status. It should be the baseline for computing on-going strategy effectiveness, and determining the need for changes thereto.

This guide was developed primarily with Acquisition Category (ACAT) I and II programs in mind, however, managers of all acquisition programs and projects are encouraged to use the guide as a general source of acquisition strategy information.