Dod program objective memorandum process

E-mail Address. Work Phone. Enter comments or questions below. Submitting feedback Thank you for your feedback! Cancel Submit Feedback. For this reason, a number of the DoD SBIR program offices have developed a variety of methods to assist small businesses make appropriate connections within the Department of Defense and with large Defense prime contractors.

The next phase is the Engineering and Manufacturing Development phase. At this point one must also demonstrate interoperability and supportability so that the initiative can move on to Milestone C. The fourth phase is Production and Deployment. Here the primary task is to start production. If all goes well then you are ready to begin Full Rate Production which may take years to complete. While all this is happening, support for the systems that have been fielded must occur — which is why there is an apparent overlap between these phase.

Initial Operational Capability refers to the deployment of a units worth of equipment; while Full Operational Capability is achieved when all of that equipment has been fielded. Operations and support is the final and longest phase.

It is also the most expensive. Major activities are supporting operational units for full system life and dispose of the system at the end of life. Well why do you, a small business working with the Department of Defense need to be concerned with the DoD acquisition process? DoD is a mission agency — meaning the Department of Defense is a customer for technology that will benefit the warfighter.

The acquisition process that we have reviewed describes how DoD makes decisions about the development and purchase of major defense platforms. Your research is in all likelihood associated with one or more of these platforms — but how do you gain visibility. How will DoD know if you have something that is of value — as you are not part of that structure. Where does your technology fit into this process? Does it fit in at the Materiel Solution Analysis phase or can it be inserted later in the acquisition process?

Where does funding come from and with which large defense prime contractors do you need to develop a relationship? Although these are not items that you are expected to consider at the outset.

To be successful in Phase III, this becomes important. In reviewing the component overviews, pay attention to the programs that the components have to assist with this. The following is an excellent series of brief YouTube videos that will help you understand the Defense acquisition process in more details.

Skip to main content. You are here Home. At any given time:. Stakeholders need to communicate solid analysis and logic for their positions to have confidence in their chances for success at each new phase. Failure to understand and communicate effectively can frequently lead to misunderstandings or disappointment in working relationships between stakeholders. Stakeholders must have routine, ongoing communication and interactions with other stakeholders within their chain of command, across their organization, with key external stakeholders, and at multiple levels of the organization.

To have timely influence on an issue or decision often requires deliberate participation in stakeholder processes. Taking care of these relationships should significantly influence leadership prioritization of how they spend their day, what work is important, and what work not to do.

Protecting stakeholder relationships should be highest priority for work-plan development and workforce management decisions.

The POM process was designed to create tension among stakeholders and help changing in current and future military capability and capacity be incremental rather than revolutionary. Set realistic goals that are somewhere between inconsequential and revolutionary to help set priorities and scale POM activities appropriately. You must align with leadership objectives rather than focusing on protecting your own equities.

There is a time and place to influence corporate positions, and it is early in the process. Treat everything that your chief of operations says or publishes as guidance to follow.

Sometimes guidance is ambiguous or inconsistent, and sometimes parts of the chain of command may follow a different path. However, a stakeholder should follow the guidance given, and have a plan if top leadership has made clear what he or she wants, but the chain of command takes a different route. Stakeholders who fail to follow organizational guidance should expect changes to their POM submissions.

In some cases, there may be reasons to not follow guidance or to choose one source over another. However, you should always coordinate with leadership. When you deviate from guidance, you may have to prepare two versions of the POM database.

One would be aligned with the advocated guidance and the other would need to be ready to use if the submission is rejected and compliance is directed.

When sponsors fail to have this hedge position prepared, they are handing their voice to integrators who in a short time frame must make the affected programs match with guidance and balance the programs as directed by leadership. Senior leaders must make trade-offs between or across programs and cannot signal decisions before the right time.

Do not expect to learn the outcome during an executive briefing, and do not try to infer what the outcome will be based on how well your presentation was received. You should also understand who the decision-makers are and how they operate, including what kinds of presentations they like, the content they expect, and the other stakeholders from whom they typically ask advice.

Usually when there is a disconnect between the presentation and the outcome is when guidance is not followed. Leadership must know the consequences of what has been presented and may not be aware until they see the numbers. It is important to establish and maintain transparency throughout the POM process.

However, surprises can still happen when two stakeholders interpret decisions or guidance differently. Here are some best practices in avoiding surprises:. Avoiding surprises requires communication, coordination, and collaboration within a chain of command to make sure everyone knows who is responsible for a program or phase. Decision Lens has been working with Federal customers on challenges for over 15 years.

We provide a unique capability that enables large organizations to create a clear organizing construct for their decision-making processes. We help leaders and subject matter experts offer their judgements on the fundamental elements of the decision. Our software has capabilities that help organizations balance their resources when they must make difficult investment decisions.

Decision Lens helps organizations free up more time and resources through automation and smart analytics that suggest probable solutions and scenarios. Decision lens helps to communicate how well alternatives match strategic goals and shows how to gain the most value in funding allocation. Decision Lens helps give POM decision-making rigor and credibility across large swaths of programs, offices, and funding pools so that trade-offs can be identified.

It can be difficult to collaborate through mediums like spreadsheets. They are difficult to reuse, aggregate, or even update, making them incredibly inefficient. Decision Lens helps define the process, and includes elements that enhance collaboration and communication, as well as analytics to justify decision making. Decision Lens helps you weight your priorities to show which alternatives best align with what priorities.

It is easy to show the reasoning behind the decisioning, so that choices are easy to understand and justify. The transparency and collaborative nature of this data-driven process reduces risk and increases confidence and clarity. POM Budget Planning 2. July 5, by Amber Larkins. The history of POM From to former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara worked strenuously to establish greater control over the DoD budget and to help the department work more efficiently and economically.

Understanding the POM execution phase Execution, or execution review, evaluates program results and occurs concurrently with the program review in which programs that best meet strategic goals are prioritized , and the budget review in which spending amounts are determined.