Opportunity management: implementing a positive complement to risk management.

Developing Processes



Benefits associated with OM



* Rejected: opportunity may be reviewed and is actually also not envisioned to

ever end up being accepted pertaining to implementation. the opportunity would typically not

be expected to arrive back pertaining to extra review.



As a means to help address the program's interrelated cost,

schedule, and technical challenges, PMA 261 senior leadership sought to

institute an OM plan to become able to positively leverage virtually any achievable program

advantage so as to always be able to extend the particular productive life of the legacy CH-53s

while simultaneously working to rapidly develop and deploy the

desperately needed CH-53K capability for the warfighter.



Developing an OM Mindset

But momentum began to create in December 2006 when PMA 261 drafted

their opportunity management ideas guideline. This kind of first

OM-specific document served as helpful information to the people associated with documenting

and implementing opportunities also as those who get been actively

involved inside the management associated with opportunities on a day-to-day basis.



Broadus can always be a DAU professor associated with systems engineering along with acquisition

management. Kotzian is a DAU professor of acquisition management.

Littrell is a DAU professor regarding such as cycle logistics. Mallicoat will be the

DAU Mid-Atlantic dean for outreach and performance support. Muldoon is

the plan manager for PMA 261. Triplett is a danger management project

manager pertaining to L-3 Communications.



The authors welcome comments and concerns and also can be contacted at

willi am.broadus@dau.mil, mike.kotzian@dau.mil,

philip.littrell@us.army.mil, duane.mallicoat@dau.mil,

richard.muldoon@navy.mil, along with jacalyn.triplett@l-3com.com.



Going Beyond Risk

The procedure for developing and also coordinating your risk management

operating processes do raise discussions concerning the possible of

including an OM plan as a formal mechanism within PMA 261. Efforts

within the organization were made to formally initiate an OM program,

but assistance ended up being sporadic. Unfortunately, the actual current danger management

tool--Risk Management Info System, or perhaps RMIS--did not necessarily feature an OM

tracking capability. that shortfall hindered your continued use and

inclusion associated with an OM program within PMA 261. initial attempts in order to include

OM been dependent on people manually producing Microsoft(R) Excel

spreadsheets and status briefing charts, which proved to be resource

intensive and also inefficient. Keeping that will status quo has been nearly all likely

going to be able to result in the demise involving an OM plan initiative simply because

the affected workforce did not possess a feeling involving significance associated

with OM or possibly the required tools to be able to implement this type of program.



Even with this document inside place, it had been not until the summer

of 2007 that will PMA 261 tracked a certain plan chance in

accordance making use regarding their opportunity management rules guidance. What

became evident was that method improvements were required to make the actual OM

program a more viable tool for the PMA 261 workforce. 1 of the biggest

lessons learned has been that the danger operating group--an IPT-level group

chartered to be able to oversee danger along with chance management in itiatives--needed

to far better define the procedure goals as well as monetary resources that

could become utilized to implement decisions. Also, OM-related instructions and

training provided to the PMA 261 workforce necessary improvement to

decrease confusion. Throughout hindsight, Muldoon noted that will "while

everyone was encouraged that OM ended up being obtaining some targeted attention, it

was apparent that people are not but ready to completely implement an OM process

until roles and also responsibilities had been clearly identified."



If the actual IPT lead is convinced the prospective opportunity offers

some amount of advantage for the program, the particular IPT lead requires control by

discussing your opportunity among most IPT leads. An opportunity

coordinator facilitates your opportunity review method along with ensures

timely reviews.



As illustrated in the chance lifestyle cycle flow diagram (Figure

2), an chance can be defined by simply an chance originator, which could be

any part of the particular PMA 261 enterprise. The Actual chance originator

provides a new preliminary description as well as assessment whilst coming into the

opportunity in to become able to the automated ROMA monitoring tool. the opportunity

originator then socializes the particular chance with most the appropriate IPT lead

and topic matter experts regarding consensus.



As any very first order associated with business, a widespread nomenclature was sought to

ensure that since the chance moved by means of the actual opportunity lifestyle cycle,

all IPTs were capable of discuss the particular status without virtually any confusion. PMA

261's chance management rules guidelines ended up

defining 5 ranges involving an opportunity's status:



Will Bro adus * Mike Kotzian * Phil Littrell * Duane Mallicoat *

Capt. Rick Muldoon, USN * Jackie Triplett



So what can it take to implement an OM capability? that is actually exactly

what we'll discover as a part of this informative article through describing the actual path

followed by the CH-53 Hefty Lift Helicopters Plan office (PMA 261) in

establishing their OM program.



At the same period PMA 261 has been dealing with his or her OM program growing

pains, PEO(A) issued any policy memorandum which lay out to

institutionalize the best procedures framework throughout the PEO(A)

enterprise. Risk, issue, along with opportunity management had been all identified

within this policy memorandum as "key management resources necessary

for the development of credible cost, schedule, and performance

objectives." Clearly, OM had been attaining increased visibility.



Eventual ly, your POMB decides when the chance implementation is

adequately realized, needs to be further implemented (with possible

changes), or even should be closed. When the chance is actually fully realized, the

final outcome is actually documented within the ROMA and also the opportunity is

closed out.



The opportunity is next passed to the opportunity Operating Team to

ensure your benefits, chance of success, risk, and charges involved

with implementing your chance are generally adequately captured and also are

sufficient to become able to warrant review from the POMB. If the actual OWG deems the

opportunity unworthy, your chance can be closed as well as considered a

candidate requiring additional analysis.



* Deferred: your opportunity had been initially rejected however had been expected

to return pertaining to extra review with a later specified date.



Wit hin this environment, certainly one of the a variety of tools plan managers have

increasingly relied upon for you to accomplish an acquisition program's cost,

schedule, along with performance goals is actually risk management. Virtually every

defense acquisition program is now expected to be able to implement some type of

risk management method across each as well as every stage with the program's

acquisition lifestyle cycle through guaranteeing communication for you to and participation

from most stakeholders. Yet, program managers typically ignore a

potentially invaluable asset inside their plan management toolbox that

positively complements the particular danger management process: opportunity

management (OM).



Over the particular next six months, slow yet steady progress ended up being realized. A

more clearly defined threshold expense criteria has been revealed in the spring

of 2008 that will greatly aided the actual PMA 261 IPTs within the identification and

initial analysis of candidate opportunities. Nevertheless the real breakthrough

occurred throughout may 2008 when an improved automated instrument has been released to

support PMA 261's OM process.



For those keeping track, this is the actual third inside a group of four

Defense AT&L articles around the subject regarding OM. The initial article,

"Should opportunity Management become Extra to become able to my programs Acquisition

Strategy?" (Defense AT&L, May-June 2007), compared OM basics to

the much more familiar concept involving risk management. DoD acquisition programs

that possess a risk management plan will typically target solely upon the

negative aspects or threats needing program focus in which are

summarized by simply utilizing a graphic cube in order to plot each negative throughout terms of

likelihoods as well as consequences. The Particular OM approach relies upon a new similar

methodology, but in distinction towards the risk management approach, plots

likelihoods and also benefits. Since OM can be focused on getting benefits of

positive opportunities that will potentially advantage the program, the

larger the possible advantage equates for you to a much more substantial potential payoff. When

considering approaches to end up being able to handling opportunities, the plan has the

following strategies to decide on from: exploit it, reveal it, enhance it,

or accept it.



The Danger and also Chance Management Application (ROMA)[TM] software

tool runs in the very best procedures approach involving paralleling risk, issue, and

opportunity management by simply compiling information for all three areas into

one central management location. Getting this compilation capabilit y

through an automatic indicates greatly simplified the procedure along with provided

tailored reporting so that program managers as well as subject issue experts

could give focus to high-interest areas. Topic matter experts now had

easier as well as timelier access across the OM plan life cycle and, most

important, an elevated willingness to use an OM-related tool. The

increased use resulted inside benefits throughout the PMA 261 enterprise that

would not really happen to be achievable without ROMA's automated capability.

In addition, ROMA ensured a new swifter transformation associated with OM information

into tailored selection generating documents as well as briefings that allowed PMA

261 senior leadership to create far better informed strategic decisions.

Figure 1 illustrates an illustration involving this the actual ROMA user interface.



Upon POMB approval, an chance owner, operating along with appropriate

team members, will be accountable for implementing the actual chance in

accordance with just about all the approved achievement plan. Because scheduled through the

opportunity coordinator and under OWG guidance, the actual opportunity owner

periodically presents the actual opportunity's implementation status to

the POMB to get a selection for you to carry on as well as finish the particular implementation phase, or

even reassign the particular chance implementation. The Particular ROMA software program tool

acts as the important communication enabler throughout the particular opportunity's

life cycle (Figure 3).



* Closed: the opportunity's objective continues for you to be reached as well as is

now considered overcome by events.





As with m any programs, PMA 261 initially concentrated about the risk

management process. Beginning throughout June 2006 soon following the commence of the

CH-53K development contract, PMA 261's Joint risk Management Board

(JRMB) re-evaluated, strengthened, and documented the

organization's risk management approach through a new formal risk

charter and also risk management operating methods created specifically

for the newest CH-53K program. The Particular revised approach empowered risk

management in the lower-tier IPTs, who then elevated assessments for you to the

JRMB regarding consideration. Which ended up being viewed by simply PMA 261's senior

leadership as an integral development to ensure the entire organization

institutionalized risk management as section of every IPT's standard

work. Exactly what have been any top-down danger management approach became a

combination regarding top-down alo ng with bottom-up approach.



Establishing an OM Process



Upon POMB concurrence, the particular opportunity owner along with appropriate team

members are actually charged to build the achievement plan for your approved

opportunity. This particular program will identify the particular pair of steps and also timelines

necessary for you to increase the actual chance regarding achieving the actual opportunity's

benefit. Your opportunity owner presents the particular achievement plan and

associated spending budget to the POMB pertaining to review and also approval.



[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]



* Open: the POMB opened the particular chance for immediate

implementation based on an approved strategy (open/executing).

Alternatively, the actual POMB could have got opened your opportunity pertaining to additional

information gathering having an expected return for the POMB for any go-ahead

decision (open/estimating).



So, is surely an OM method really worth the effort it will take to obtain them back the

ground? Your possible benefits of improved cost, schedule and/or

technical performance could be the particular greatest incentive in which might be offered in

the competitive world of DoD acquisition.



Tracking risk and also OM



These are stressful occasions with regard to most Department regarding Protection acquisition

programs. More Than the past 12 months, the U.S. Government Accountability

Office offers issued several studies that have criticized how DoD

acquisition programs get continued a trend associated with increased program costs

accompanied through lengthening schedules--and in many cases, from the

sacrifice of technical capability. in April 2009, Secretary involving Defense

Robert Gates announced a few main changes fo r the fiscal yr 2010

defense budget, stating DoD necessary to reform how along with what we should acquire by

overhauling of our own approaches to always be able to procurement, acquisition, and

contracting. This ended up being quickly adopted with a June 2009 Washington Times

editorial from Deputy Secretary of defense William Lynn III which stated

that time is currently for "a fundamental overhaul for the means the

Pentagon does business," which could be carried out simply by "aggressively

pursuing significant reforms associated with the way you develop, test, and also area the particular weapons

our troops need." Within July 2009, your Company Executives for

National security Process Force issued a new document that identified end-to-end

problems with the acquisition system, such as "requirements

creep, funding instability, poor cost estimating, immature technology,

and your not enough flexibility for you to solve problems." There's

definitely a new trend afoot.

[FIGURE two OMITTED]



The case regarding PMA 261 is just one illustration associated with an organization

implementing an OM process, nevertheless it will serve as a terrific starting

point for almost any organization seeking to implement an OM process.

Recognizing that a fantastic deal of organizations are generally unique, the actual PMA 261 OM process

is versatile adequate to ensure that additional organizations can tailor this

particular OM process to fit their particular situation. While extended as the

organization's leadership understand that your implementation of any

OM method requires upfront commitment and also continued follow-through,

there are positive program outcomes to become given to key stakeholders.



As section of the particular U.S. Navy's program Executive Workplace pertaining to Air

Anti-Submarine Warfare, Assault along with Unique Mission programs (PEO[A]),

PMA 261 is actually made up of a couple of main helicopter programs: in-service

aircraft (CH-53D, CH-53E, and also MH-53E) sustainment, support, and

capability improvement projects; and in addition the CH-53K Hefty Lift Helicopter

development program. The Particular Marine Corps' CH-53E heavy lift helicopter

is relied onto move troops, vehicles, and also supplies. However, along with a

deployed operations tempo 3 times your planned utilization rate, the

CH-53E legacy systems are generally incurring elevated airframe along with component

repair costs. In Which can be increasing the strain in order to area the actual CH-53K with

its increased range, payload, survivability, reliability,

maintainability, and improved total ownership expense as quickly as practical.



The OWG will recommend possibilities which are sufficiently scoped

to the month-to-month POMB, which has three options: approve the particular opportunity,

assign ownership, and supply funding to construct an achievement plan;

request further investigation and provide funding in order to accomplish such an

action; or even defer the opportunity pending a later on review. Just About All relevant

IPTs are participating all through this decision-making process.



* Candidate: not necessarily yet reviewed, and/or more facts are needed

and/or is actually being gathered prior to recommending the likelihood to the

high-level Plan opportunity Management Board (POMB), which can be the

group responsible for general useful oversight. While appropriate,

the POMB perform can be delegated down to the JRMB for increased

efficiency and timeliness.



It Begins Along With Leadership



[FIGURE 3 OMITTED]



[FIG URE one OMITTED]



In addition, just like many plan offices, PMA 261 will be facing tight

cost as well as timetable constraints interrelated using technical challenges,

and the organization is also reliant upon a new geographically dispersed workforce separated through a massive selection of miles. the PMA 261 program manager

and co-author regarding this article, Navy Capt. Rick Muldoon, conducted an

organizational climate survey when he very first took command inside 2007 to

determine the organization's health, and again throughout 2009 to be able to determine

where progress ended up produced and what areas nevertheless necessary attention.

The 2nd article, "Opportunity Management; deciding to Make

it Portion associated with The Program's Acquisition Strategy" (Defense

AT&L, July-August 2007), defined a new notional framework for an OM

program composed of seven main steps: empower the integrated product

teams (IPTs) in order to implement OM, identify chance candidates, assess

the chance candidate pertaining to benefits and disadvantages, establish

the implementation plan, validate most assessments and also plans, maintain

control/oversight, along with communicate and document. When effectively applied,

this framework supplies a solid basis for an efficient OM program.



Expect your organization to become able to navigate unfamiliar territory if you

decide to implement an OM process, as the newness involving OM fairly much

guarantees the learning curve although attempting in order to achieve your full

benefits afforded by OM. Right After that great connected expanding pains

and some journeys down blind alleys, the particular conclusion involving PMA 261's

senior leadership is the actual fact that OM can be right for their organization. While PMA

261's program manager in ch arge of implementing an OM process,

Muldoon stated in which "the OM method is 1 thing each and every program

should significantly consider like a complement towards the much more familiar risk

management process. Presently there are great cost, schedule, and also technical

performance advantages being had having a well-established OM process. We

view OM as a new possible integral a component of plan management and additionally have realized

significant rewards through its use about the CH-53K development

program."



In addition in order to browsing with an active OM program being fully

accepted within PMA 261, an obvious along with concise OM process needed to be



developed. The Actual document in which captured and also communicated PMA 261's OM

process has been t he actual opportunity management ideas guidelines, which

institutionalized OM treatments within PMA 261. Developed along with input

from just about all IPTs, this document was obviously a important enabler associated with OM acceptance across

the PMA 261 enterprise.



Jackie Triplett, danger management project manager pertaining to L-3

Communications supporting PMA 261 plus a co-author regarding this article, said,

"Introducing ROMA has been most likely the actual main purpose that will lower-tier

IPTs finally embraced OM as a portion of an each day plan management

approach. It would become a vivid illustration that will any workforce wants the

proper tools prior to the enterprise can be able to again your potential

benefits--especially a fresh management capability which experienced some

initial workforce uncertainty."



The contents began at a huge picture overview of OM a nd drilled

down to cover how OM has been heading to be particularly structured inside PMA

261, such as management process, roles, oversight, process flow, and

metrics. Within short, PMA 261 developed an OM implementation program to be able to guide

their workforce as a way of standardizing an OM program throughout the

organization.