Program management in defense and high tech environments

286 Pages·2016·10.203 MB·English

by  McCarthy, Charles Christopher

Program
Management
in Defense
and High Tech
Environments
Best Practices and Advances
in Program Management Series
Series Editor
Ginger Levin
RECENTLY PUBLISHED TITLES
Program Management in Defense and High Tech Environments
Charles Christopher McCarthy
The Self-Made Program Leader: Taking Charge in Matrix Organizations
Steve Tkalcevich
Transforming Business with Program Management: Integrating Strategy,
People, Process, Technology, Structure, and Measurement
Satish P. Subramanian
Stakeholder Engagement: The Game Changer for Program Management
Amy Baugh
Making Projects Work: Effective Stakeholder and Communication Management
Lynda Bourne
Agile for Project Managers
Denise Canty
Project Planning and Project Success: The 25% Solution
Pedro Serrador
Project Health Assessment
Paul S. Royer, PMP
Portfolio Management: A Strategic Approach
Ginger Levin and John Wyzalek
Program Governance
Muhammad Ehsan Khan
Project Management for Research and Development:
Guiding Innovation for Positive R&D Outcomes
Lory Mitchell Wingate
The Influential Project Manager:
Winning Over Team Members and Stakeholders
Alfonso Bucero
PfMP® Exam Practice Tests and Study Guide
Ginger Levin
Best Practices and Advances
Program
in Program Management Series
Series Editor
Ginger Levin Management
RECENTLY PUBLISHED TITLES
Program Management in Defense and High Tech Environments
in Defense
Charles Christopher McCarthy
The Self-Made Program Leader: Taking Charge in Matrix Organizations
Steve Tkalcevich
and High Tech
Transforming Business with Program Management: Integrating Strategy,
People, Process, Technology, Structure, and Measurement
Satish P. Subramanian
Stakeholder Engagement: The Game Changer for Program Management
Environments
Amy Baugh
Making Projects Work: Effective Stakeholder and Communication Management
Lynda Bourne
Agile for Project Managers
Denise Canty
Project Planning and Project Success: The 25% Solution
Pedro Serrador
Project Health Assessment
Charles Christopher McCarthy
Paul S. Royer, PMP
Portfolio Management: A Strategic Approach
Ginger Levin and John Wyzalek
Program Governance
Muhammad Ehsan Khan
Project Management for Research and Development:
Guiding Innovation for Positive R&D Outcomes
Lory Mitchell Wingate
The Influential Project Manager:
Winning Over Team Members and Stakeholders
Alfonso Bucero
PfMP® Exam Practice Tests and Study Guide
Ginger Levin
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Contents
Preface .................................................................................................xiii
List of Acronyms. ..................................................................................xv
About the Author. ...............................................................................xvii
Chapter 1 Overview: Program Management in the
Department of Defense (DoD)/High Technology
Environment .......................................................................1
Role of the Program Manager ...................................................3
Qualifications, Experience, Talents, and Skills .......................8
Qualifications ........................................................................11
Experience .............................................................................12
Talents ....................................................................................13
Skills .......................................................................................14
Types of Programs .....................................................................15
Research .................................................................................15
Design .....................................................................................16
Production .............................................................................17
Types of Contracts .....................................................................18
Organizational Overview—Departmental Interfaces ..........23
Summary ....................................................................................24
End of Chapter Questions ........................................................25
For Discussion .......................................................................25
Written Assignments ...........................................................26
Chapter 2 Learning the Ropes: Understanding the Culture,
the Customer, and the Program Capabilities .................27
The Program in the Company Culture ..................................27
The Program and the Customer (and His or 
Her Culture) ...............................................................................31
Cost .........................................................................................31
Schedule .................................................................................33
Quality....................................................................................33
The Program and the Team ....................................................34
vii
viii • Contents
End of Chapter Questions ........................................................38
For Discussion .......................................................................38
Written Assignments ...........................................................38
Chapter 3 Identifying Opportunities ...............................................39
The Program Manager’s Knowledge Is Key ...........................39
Program Manager Opportunities ..........................................43
End of Chapter Questions ........................................................45
For Discussion .......................................................................45
Written Assignments ..........................................................46
Chapter 4 Pre-Proposal Work ...........................................................47
Using Pre-Proposal Efforts to Develop a Winning
Proposal ......................................................................................51
Other Considerations................................................................53
Summary ...................................................................................54
End of Chapter Questions ........................................................55
For Discussion .......................................................................55
Written Assignments ...........................................................55
Chapter 5 The Proposal Process for a “Typical Program” ..............57
The Important Pre-Proposal Period .......................................57
To Bid or Not To Bid .................................................................58
Developing the Strategy—Getting Started ...........................60
“Price to Win” ............................................................................62
Leading the Proposal Team .....................................................63

Building the Team ....................................................................64
Proposal Preparation—Storyboarding and
Team Dynamics ........................................................................66
Pricing .........................................................................................67
Pricing Strategies and Risk Management .............................68
Reviews .......................................................................................69
Business Reviews—The Sign-Off Process ..............................72
Noncompetitive Proposals .......................................................73
Winning and Almost Winning the Contract—Final
Negotiations ...............................................................................74
Contract Refinement .................................................................75
Contents • ix
But What If You Lose? ..............................................................77
What If You Lost for the “Wrong Reason?” ...........................78
End of Chapter Questions ........................................................79
For Discussion .......................................................................79
Written Assignments ...........................................................79
Mini Project for a Team ......................................................80
Chapter 6 Planning the Program and Starting Work .....................81
The Management Part ..............................................................84
The Leadership Part ..................................................................87
Sourcing ......................................................................................92
Engineering Labor ................................................................92
People Brought in from Other Divisions .......................92
Contract Engineers ...........................................................93
Waiting for the Right Engineers .....................................94
Overtime (OT) ...................................................................94
But What about Compensated OT? ...............................95
Outsourcing Work Packages ....................................................97
In Summary ...............................................................................97
Outsourcing Product ................................................................98
Building the Program Culture .............................................100
End of Chapter Questions ......................................................102
For Discussion .....................................................................102
Written Assignments .........................................................102
Chapter 7 Running the Program ....................................................103
Leadership Styles .....................................................................104

Making Progress and Monitoring Progress ........................108
Monitoring Progress—Metrics ..............................................111
Focusing on Quality ................................................................114
Managing the Customer .........................................................117
Identifying and Avoiding Performance Traps ....................119
Getting “Stuck” and Getting “Unstuck” ..............................121
Customers as Motivators .......................................................123
Keeping Senior Management Engaged .................................125
Program Reviews ...............................................................126
Detecting Trouble and Determining
What to Do about It ...............................................................128
x • Contents
When Problems Get Really Bad ............................................131
Countervailing Forces and Priorities ...................................133
Detecting and Avoiding “Scope Creep”—Internal ............134
Detecting and Avoiding “Scope Creep”—External ............138
Scope Creep—In Summary ...................................................140
Monitoring versus Controlling ..............................................141
Cost Control in the Trenches .................................................143
Monitoring Schedules—Program Reviews ..........................146
Leadership and Caring ...........................................................151
Program Changes and Continuity ........................................152
Managing External Changes .................................................156
Celebrating Victories—Confronting Defeats ......................157
Dealing with Individual Performance Problems ................160
Diagnosing and Resolving Problems ....................................164
Celebrating the Success at the End of the
Program ....................................................................................166
Summary ..................................................................................167
End of Chapter Questions ......................................................169
For Discussion .....................................................................169
Written Assignments .........................................................170
Chapter 8 Claim Identification, Claim Management, and
Claim Avoidance ............................................................173
Late GFE ...................................................................................175
Defective GFE ..........................................................................176
Delayed Approvals or Contract Actions ..............................179
Inappropriate Disapprovals or Comments ..........................181

Noncontractual Direction ......................................................183
Flawed Technical Specifications ............................................185
Defective Information .............................................................187
Claims Against You ................................................................190
Other Considerations in Claim Management .....................191
Improper Use of Claims.....................................................192
Summary ..................................................................................193
End of Chapter Questions ......................................................193
For Discussion .....................................................................193
Written Assignments .........................................................193