Streamlining Plans

Tired of reading lengthy, uninformative program strategies and systems engineering plans, Frank Kendall, the Pentagon's No. 2 acquisition official, has just issued new guidance that streamlines the templates for these key documents.

"The revised documents are intended to be shorter while providing the information necessary to support effective program planning and management decisions," he writes in an April 20 memo to the military departments and the defense agencies. The Defense Department has completely revamped the document formats to emphasize data and minimize descriptions, he notes. DOD also plans to issue new guidance on the format for life-cycle sustainment plans, which are now being separated from acquisition strategies. Further, the memo delegates to the services approval authority for other key documents such as corrosion prevention control plans.