Paper (6): Program Management Improvement Team: a Best Practice Based Approach to Process Improvement and Program Governance at the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Abstract: The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) within the U.S. Department of Energy maintains and enhances the safety, security, reliability and performance of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without nuclear testing; works to reduce global danger from weapons of mass destruction; provides the U.S. Navy with safe and effective nuclear propulsion; and responds to nuclear and radiological emergencies in the U.S. and abroad. NNSA’s Office of Safety, Infrastructure and Operations (NA-50) is responsible for enabling safe operations, ensuring effective infrastructure and providing enterprise services to NNSA programs and national laboratories to meet the 21st Century needs of the NNSA Nuclear Security Enterprise.
NA-50 plans, directs and oversees the maintenance, operation and modernization of infrastructure and facilities at eight national labs, a vast and complex enterprise of 41,000 employees, 36 million square feet of buildings including 400 nuclear facilities, 2,000 miles of roads, 9.1 trillion BTUs of energy use, and 15.2 million tons of hazardous materials, on 2,160 square miles of land. With an annual budget of approximately $1.5 billion, NA-50 plans, funds, directs and oversees hundreds of projects each year. In September 2015 NA-50 established a Program Management Improvement Team (PMIT) to enhance program, portfolio and project performance through the identification, development and sharing of best practices and to help ensure the achievement of cost-effective, timely, measurable and quality results in support of the NNSA mission. The PMIT is comprised of a small cadre of private industry program management experts who meet with NA-50 federal program managers quarterly to discuss and share successful leading-edge program management practices. This paper will describe the purpose, activities and results to date of the NNSA’s PMIT.
Biography: Wayne F. Abba is an executive advisor and principal of Abba Consulting, an independent management consulting firm based in Falls Church, Virginia. He is internationally-recognized as a spokesperson for program management using Earned Value Management (EVM). With over 30 years’ experience in program analysis and a worldwide reputation as a leader in acquisition improvement, he was integrally involved in the complete reengineering of Department of Defense (DoD) contract cost and schedule management policies and implementation, which was awarded the Packard Award for Excellence in Acquisition in 1998. He retired in 1999 as Senior Program Analyst in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology. His clients include the Social Security Administration, the Federal Aviation Administration, the Agency for International Development, the US Navy, the National Nuclear Security Administration, the National Science Foundation, the Office of the Secretary of Defense and several national laboratories. He has been an advisor to the Office of Management and Budget, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and other US and foreign government agencies. He served several years as an officer of the National Defense Industrial Association’s Integrated Program Management Division. Wayne has a Masters degree in Public Administration from The American University and a B.S. degree from the University of the State of New York.
During his public service career, Wayne coordinated cooperative agreements among DoD and its counterparts in Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Sweden and the United Kingdom related to acquisition policies & standards. Since retiring from DoD in 1999, Wayne has also been vice president for a PM software and services company; a member of the NDIA Program Management Systems Committee with responsibility for international liaison; President of the College of Performance Management (CPM) and currently Executive VP of CPM; advisor to GAO Cost Estimating and Assessment and Scheduling guide teams; Senior Program Management Advisor for the Global Threat Reduction Initiative Program for the NNSA at DOE headquarters; program/project management advisor to several US national laboratories; Member of the Board of Directors of the Graduate School Japan (2012-present); and advisor to Japan’s Ministry of Defense on acquisition and program management issues. He was a winner of PMI’s Distinguished Contribution Award in 1999; was named an Honorary Fellow of the Centre for Excellence in Project Management, India in 2005; and has been a frequent keynote speaker on EVM, Program & Project Management since 1990.
