[This article was first published in Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin, which was then called Army Logistician, volume 3, number 1 (January–February 1971), page 35. The text, including any biographical note, is reproduced as faithfully as possible to enable searchability. To view any images and charts in the article, refer to the issue itself, available on DVIDS and the bulletin’s archives at asu.army.mil/alog/.]
THE U.S. ARMY MATERIEL COMMAND’S (USAMC) Program for the Refinement of the Materiel Acquisition Process for the 1970’s (PROMAP-70) has made significant progress in achieving its goal of improving the ways that the Army develops, buys, and fields its materiel.
An in-depth program, PROMAP-70 contains more than 50 separate tasks. Within each task are from five to 15 specific actions that provide detailed guidance and goals to be accomplished. Forty-five project managers, over 250 subordinate command task directors, and headquarters, USAMC, task directors are involved in accomplishing the goals of the program. PROMAP-70 ultimately will have an impact on about 50,000 employees, one-third of the USAMC work force.
Project Manager
One or the improvements accomplished by PROMAP-70 has been upgrading the quality of the project manager (PM), the single individual who has full responsibility and full line authority for accomplishing the objectives of a particular program. Through PROMAP-70, the criteria for selection of the PM’s have been strengthened and their tours of duty have been stabilized.
Improvement is being made in cost analysis and cost estimating capabilities. A comprehensive study of USAMC capability in this area indicated a need for additional personnel. Accordingly, 250 personnel spaces were reallocated to USAMC headquarters, project managers’ offices, or commodity offices for this purpose. Training courses were developed to meet the need for additional training in these skills.
Life Cycle Cost Teams
Application of these skills to actual systems and equipment now being acquired is proceeding on a phased basis. In phase I, five life cycle cost teams, headed by USAMC headquarters personnel, were used in the acquisition process for five major materiel systems. Initial team efforts produced a “draft” model for life cycle cost estimating for use in the subsequent phases. During phase II, the team applied the “draft” model to seven additional major systems. Leadership of the teams in this phase was decentralized to the commodity commands. Phase III is still in progress with project managers assuming full responsibility for the application of the model to five more systems.
Letter Contracts
USAMC is also making a major effort through PROMAP-70 to reduce undesirable outstanding and overage letter contracts that contribute to the cost growth of system acquisition. USAMC will use letter contracts only when it is believed that no other type of contract will be suitable. Each decision to use a letter contract will be justified and include a realistic time-phased plan for definitization.
The “should cost” PROMAP task is another area that has shown positive results. The objective of a “should cost” study is to determine the reasonable cost of a contractor’s effort independent of contractor management. Two such studies have been made and in both cases the negotiated price was below what past history had led the task force directors to expect.
New Courses
Formal training is an important item in improving the Army’s acquisition performance. There are 34 existing courses applicable to the acquisition process now being conducted in Army schools. In addition, 13 new courses on subjects vital to improved acquisition performance have been introduced under PROMAP-70.
Numerous case studies and documentation of lessons learned thus far through PROMAP-70 are now available at Headquarters, USAMC (ATTN: DCGMA), for use as ready reference and guides for acquisition managers.
PROMAP-70 recognizes the need for improvements across the total materiel spectrum. This need, coupled with cutbacks in personnel and funds, presents an unusual challenge for USAMC managers as they continue their program to “do more with less.”
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