Acquisition Program Manager: Essential Skills, Job Description, and Career Path in Government Contracting

By Dr. David Morgan

Introduction

So what is an Acquisition Program Manager (APM)? What does that even mean? In this article, I hope to clarify some of this and provide a boundary for what the University of Dayton’s (U.D.) Government Contracting and Procurement Program instruction provides, including definitions from public law, regulation, and policy. But where it gets confusing is the various layers of government that each have a say! For purposes of this article, we will be staying within the Department of Defense (DoD), the Department of the Air Force (DAF), specifically, though most of the fundamentals apply across the DoD and federal government with nuances between different services and agencies.

Industry standards from the Project Management Institute (PMI) define Project, Program, and Portfolio Management separately, (A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition and The Standard for Project Management. Project Management Institute, 2021) and these expressions are also used in government acquisitions, in the DoD, at least. I will also attempt to highlight areas of commonality between government and industry terms and definitions, as the acquisitions enterprise certainly requires an understanding of both.

The University of Dayton School of Law’s Government Contracting and Procurement M.S.L. provides multiple learning channels for understanding project and program management, including Program and Project Management, PPM I, which is a requirement for the MSL degree. All the critical disciplines involved in an acquisition support the Program Manager throughout the acquisition life cycle, and from a business perspective, Program Managers rely heavily on both Contracts Management and Financial Management to ensure adherence to statutory requirements as well as ensuring that the end users get the tools they need to do their jobs at a cost that taxpayers can afford. So an understanding of the role of the Program Manager is just as important as the Program Manager’s understanding of all the other disciplines. 

Definition and Scope of Acquisition Program Management

Let’s start by breaking down Acquisition Program Management: an Acquisition here refers to the business transaction between government and industry to secure goods and services; an Acquisition Program is chartered by an executive leader, such as a Service Acquisition Executive, or SAE (10 U.S. Code § 101(a)(10)), to develop, build, test, field, and maintain a particular capability or provide a service to the military. This of course includes providing funding, personnel, and other resources with which to engage industry for the solution(s). Management, in its simplest definition, is simply oversight or control of a product, process, organization, etc., and the authority to take action as needed (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/management).

Let’s further define the difference between a Program and a Project. Per the Project Management Institute’s Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOKⓇ) a Project is “a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product, service or result.” (Project Management Institute. A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK® Guide) – Seventh Edition and The Standard for Project Management (p. 3). Project Management Institute.) Also per PMBOKⓇ, a Program is “Related projects, subsidiary programs, and program activities that are managed in a coordinated manner to obtain benefits not available from managing them individually.” (Ibid) So an Acquisition Program may consist of many individual projects; for purposes of the U.D. Government Contracting and Procurement degrees and certificates, we can think of individual contracts as projects that meet the definition in terms of being temporary in nature to create unique products, services, or results, within the context of a larger Program. 

For example, early in the life cycle of a new major weapon system, such as an aircraft, there would be competitive acquisitions among industry to provide prototypes to be evaluated as part of a phase called Technical Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR); multiple contracts, each its own project, might be awarded to multiple industry partners to develop these prototypes. Then, once a decision is made to “down-select” a particular organization to further develop the system, the government awards a contract for the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase. Then, once the appropriate time comes, a contract (or multiple contracts) would be awarded for the production of the system in its Production & Deployment (P&D) phase. Of course, once the systems are delivered, contracts are awarded during the Operations & Support (O&S) phase to maintain, update, and repair the systems once fielded. Each of these contracts (and any subsequent modifications) can be considered a project within the life cycle of an Acquisition Program. (Department of Defense. (2020). Department of Defense Instruction 5000.85, Major Capability Acquisition.)

For clarity, within the context of a Government Acquisition Program in the Department of the Air Force, for example, there are thousands of professionals referred to as APMs in their duty titles. In a particular Acquisition Program, there is only ONE Program Manager responsible for meeting cost, schedule, and performance requirements for the program, but there are many APMs who are responsible for developing acquisition strategies and getting contracts awarded. For example, THE Program Manager for a major weapon system like the F-35, is a three-star general (https://www.jsf.mil/leadership), as he is responsible for a program costing trillions (with a “T”) of dollars, and employs hundreds of other “Program Managers,” to award and manage contracts in support of that Program. (https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-24-106703)

“Big A” Acquisitions and the Triple Constraint

Returning to the definition of Acquisition, Acquisition in the DoD refers to two levels: one is referred to as “Big Acquisition,” which consists of three different processes, each with a multitude of laws, regulations, and policy guidance to adhere to. In layman’s terms, these three processes are the Requirement (what, exactly, do we need?), the Funding (which comes from the budgeting process), and then the Acquisition System (where APMs and their teams do the acquiring). Each of these three major systems is complicated and often mired in bureaucracy that an APM must have a firm understanding of in order to effectively and efficiently execute an Acquisition Program.

Source: Defense Acquisition University: A Guide to Program Management Business Processes (https://aaf.dau.edu/guidebooks/)

An APM must always have a validated technical requirement and funding to support a solution. These are not just “given” to a PM, the PM has to work with the requirements community (the people who need “the thing”) to determine objective (ideal) performance as well as threshold (bare minimum) performance, within the constraints of time and resources. This is sometimes referred to as the Triple Constraint: Cost, Schedule, and Performance. Usually, an APM has to make “tradeoffs” during a program’s life cycle because achieving all three objectives during execution is often akin to finding the mythical unicorn.

As a simple illustration, the requirements community, consisting of the actual operators (“warfighters”) in the field, may identify hundreds of different capabilities they need but that they do not have; these are referred to as capability gaps. During the requirements development process, known as the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS), all these gaps are analyzed to determine whether the gap can be bridged via changes in doctrine, policy, training, etc., (known as “DOTmLPFP” believe it or not…how we love our acronyms!). If not, then it’s determined that a “thing” must be either bought or developed; this is called a “materiel solution.” The decision to pursue a materiel solution is what triggers the Acquisition System to begin looking for ways to acquire products and/or services to meet the capability needs and bridge the gaps, and is referred to as a “validated requirement.”

The Defense Acquisition System (DAS) is described in policy under the Department of Defense Directive (DoDD) 5000.01, “The Defense Acquisition System,” and further in DoDI 5000.02, “Operation of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework” (or AAF). The AAF provides multiple acquisition pathways that APMs and their teams can employ, depending on the type of requirement. For example, the most ubiquitous and complex is the Major Capability Acquisition (MCA) pathway, which is further defined in DoDI 5000.85. This covers everything from fighter jets and submarines to training systems to radios and gas masks. Another pathway is Defense Business Systems (DBS), a specific type of software acquisition that covers defense applications like payroll and accounting and the maintenance information that operators use (DoDI 5000.75). We wouldn’t use the same exact process to develop software for timekeeping as we would for developing a flight simulator, even though they both involve software development. So each pathway has its own processes to follow and it’s up to the APM to navigate the pathway.

So once the requirement is identified, and the pathway is selected, we’re leaving out arguably the most critical piece: the money! We have to have an approved budget for this new program, and for the uninitiated, this involves ensuring the right “kind” of money; Congress appropriates specific amounts of money to be spent for specific purposes, and this is referred to as “colors of money.” But a validated requirement and a system for acquiring it are for naught if we haven’t BUDGETED for it, and this is where things get tricky.

The requirements process is needs-based; it’s a year-round process of identifying current capability gaps and determining how to fill them. The budget process, as most of us are painfully aware of, is time-based; it’s an annual event fraught with complexity and delays, and almost always involves uncertainty about when funds will be appropriated and how many continuing resolutions must occur before an actual appropriations act is signed into law. Then there’s the acquisition system, and that is event-based; pathways such as the MCA or DBS have phases and milestones that are “decision gates” in a predictive model. But there are also adaptive models that allow for more flexibility and iterative development. This is not all-inclusive, merely an illustration to show there is more than just one way to acquire things. 

The big takeaway from the above is that APMs, with their teams, have to juggle three big pieces: cost, schedule, and performance. They must manage their budgets and ensure the right type of funds are budgeted for in advance; they must maintain a schedule that includes the availability and application of required resources at the right times to deliver the required capability, and finally, performance, meaning ensuring that the products and services they’re acquiring actually meet the operator’s requirements to fill the identified gaps.

What Does an Acquisition Program Manager Do?

That’s easy. Just read all 196 pages of the Department of the Air Force Instruction 63-101/20-101 (DAFI 63-101). So yes, it’s quite a lot! And of course that doesn’t even cover ALL of what it is to be an APM. But other than the overall role of the APM that I provided in the previous section, here’s a smattering of other roles and responsibilities. This is not meant to be exhaustive but only illustrative.

The APM's most important general role is probably that of the Integrator. Integration comes in multiple forms in an Acquisition Program. First and foremost, the APM integrates all activities, processes, and deliverables to ensure alignment with the program's stated objectives and within the time and resources allocated to the program. It also means ensuring that every action taken and process used adds value. This involves managing processes and resources, including people. 

Managing processes, for the APM, is ensuring that the statutory, regulatory, and policy requirements for systems and services acquisitions are being met. There are a variety of different pathways to choose from in the aforementioned Adaptive Acquisition Framework, and each has its own set of process requirements. In the previous section, I referred to the MCA pathway; the APM must have a solid understanding of the laws, regulations, and policies regarding this type of acquisition within the context of the program they’re managing. And by the way, each of the members of their team has their own processes, such as Systems Engineering, Test and Evaluation, Life Cycle Logistics, Contracting, or Financial Management. While the APM may not need deep expertise in these functionally specific processes, they must be conversant enough to understand the time, resources, and risks associated with them.

Managing resources involves making sure all the tools and people are in place for successful planning and execution. Aside from having a thorough understanding and working knowledge of the technical aspects of a program, there is an even more important toolset for APMs: leadership. While unfortunately this often gets played down as “soft skills,” I’d argue that without the ability to set and articulate a vision, identify stakeholders, and communicate with them, all of an APM’s technical knowledge alone will not achieve success. The APM is, in addition to the Integrator, the Leader. The APM is the “face” of the program and does many things that a lot of folks simply don’t want any part of. This includes public speaking, conflict resolution, and being “that person” that the senior leaders hold accountable. I’ve personally come across a lot of folks who are interested in climbing ladders and being “in charge” but don’t really understand what that actually means. It means taking one for the team. Always. When things go bad and senior leadership is being critical, the APM takes the responsibility; but when things go well and senior leadership (or better yet, the customer) is lauding the performance, the APM gives all credit to their TEAM. The most effective APMs I’ve ever worked with embrace a Servant Leadership model; they’re facilitators and support, not autocrats and tyrants. And they focus not on transactional leadership but on transformational leadership. So the value of leadership is at least as important as, if not more important than, technical abilities and knowledge.

Project and Program Management at the University of Dayton School of Law

Given the complexity of the “Big A” Acquisition Enterprise of requirements, budgeting, and the Defense Acquisition System itself, gaining expertise requires much more than attending a few classes at a university. It can only truly be gained through experience. However, the UD program can offer a chance to understand the key legal and policy guidelines for acquisitions and exposure to the language and tools that project and program managers use.

First, the courses provide the legal and policy underpinnings of some of the more common responsibilities and activities that a government APM might encounter. The PPM I course, required for both the Contracts and Project and Program Management concentrations, is an introduction to project and program management principles from both the government and industry perspectives. Program Management and Financial and Budget Management are so integral to Contracting that these courses are foundational to Contract Management. The advanced Project and Program Management courses, PPM II and PPM III go a level deeper into the roles and responsibilities of APMs.

For example, developing (and getting approval for) an acquisition strategy is one of the most important things an APM will do. It involves working closely with subject matter experts on their team from multiple disciplines and perspectives to make sure “all the bases are covered” before issuing a solicitation to the industry and negotiating and awarding a contract. What will be the Systems Engineering Plan to ensure technical requirements are met? What will be the Test Plan to ensure that what’s being developed and delivered meets safety and technical requirements? What is the financial profile, including the type(s) of appropriations to be used, and how much, and during what years? What is the overall contracting strategy? What about a sustainment plan after the system is delivered? What are the technical, schedule, and funding risks to the acquisition? These and others are planning considerations that an APM must put together that must ultimately be approved by the appropriate decision authority. The entire PPM II course, as of this date, is dedicated to the development of an acquisition strategy.

But what about after the contracts are awarded? What does an APM have to do on a day-to-day basis to execute these contracts (which, by the way, is why government APMs are program managers and not just project managers…they’re often responsible for multiple related contracts and activities). Going back to our triple constraints of cost, schedule, and performance, the APM must be executing the plan. For major capability acquisitions, there’s an acquisition program baseline (APB), which sets the budget, schedule, and technical performance objectives for the APM. So what happens when it looks like a program is falling behind schedule? For that matter, how does an APM even know when they’re falling behind schedule? Same with cost or performance; monitoring what’s happening and making adjustments as needed takes both technical and leadership proficiencies.

Not only that, but the APM has to navigate critical decision gates called “milestones” in which the program is under intense scrutiny before a decision authority makes the call to continue to invest time and resources. Each phase in a program’s life cycle has specific goals to provide increasing levels of confidence at these milestones so that risky programs don’t fail or continue down a path that leads to failure. The main topic of the PPM III course is program execution which includes individual contracts execution as well as managing program phases and getting through major acquisition milestones.

The University of Dayton School of Law’s Project and Program Management courses include copious readings of law, policy, and guidance for managing projects and programs. They emphasize key skills such as written and oral communication in classroom activities, and deliverables, such as topic presentations and reflection papers. Of course, there are also formative and summative assessments (quizzes and exams) along the way. All of this is at the Master’s level, so it’s not for the faint of heart; however, due to the fully online offerings and depending on the individual courses, there’s a lot of flexibility so that working professionals or students that have other full-time endeavors (such as family) can work towards their degrees. 

The PPM II and PPM III courses will soon integrate Project Management training that meets the Project Management Institute® minimum requirements for the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM®), an optional precursor to the highly coveted and globally recognized Project Management Professional (PMP®) certification. This ensures that students are exposed to not only the government and regulatory environment but also Industry-Standard Project Management.

In Summary

There’s a lot to the art and science of being an APM. It requires a thorough knowledge of the legal and regulatory environment, as well as technical knowledge of the processes associated with industry-standard project management, and it involves leadership and communication skills for planning and executing what are often very complex projects and programs. The University of Dayton’s Project and Program Management courses are designed and offered to create a baseline of the knowledge and skills required for managing projects and programs. Maybe you’re working in another discipline such as engineering or financial management and you just want a view of the “bigger picture” of programs, or maybe you’re considering a move from your current position to explore a career in program management, or maybe you work in industry and you’re trying to figure out what in the world we’re thinking on the government side. In any of these cases, these courses should provide you with a common lexicon and at the very least an appreciation of the responsibilities APMs have.