Implementing Earned Value Management for the F-14

Implementing Earned Value Management for the F-14

Implementing Earned Value Management for the F-14

Organization: NAVAIR, PMA-241

Team Name: F-14 Earned Value Management Systems Implementation Program Team

Related Acquisition Topic(s): Earned Value Management (EVM)

Description:

On March 26, 1997, the Naval Aviation Depot (NADEP), Jacksonville, FL, became the first DoD team site to receive a full Joint Service validation of an Earned Value Management System (EVMS). This effort was initiated as part of ongoing acquisition reform processes within F-14 programs to maximize resources and efficiencies. The result of this initiative proves that an industry standard EVMS can be implemented at DoD organic team sites. The systematic approach employed by the F-14 EVMS Implementation Team has become a model by which other Naval aviation program teams can base their projects, and sets the standard for implementing EVMS across DoD platforms.

Program Acquisition Innovation Highlights:
With little background material to follow, the EVMS Implementation Team, consisting of NAVAIR and NADEP personnel,had to generate policies, procedures, and automated systems "from the ground up." Earned Value Management is a comprehensive set of concepts, procedures, tools, and software designed to effectively manage the cost and schedule of complex technical programs. The F-14 Upgrade Program was no exception. The problem of setting up a system to "handle multiple aircraft and schedules so that concurrent component repair could be performed, while saving the flexibility to adapt to random changes," was indeed daunting. In addition to the technical challenges of implementing a complex EVMS, the team had to consider the human impact that such a change would have in an environment already affected by major cultural changes. NADEP Jacksonville committed to implementing Earned Value Management on all F-14 Depot workload during this period of transition.

The capabilities afforded by the EMVS system at the NADEP represent the cutting edge in cost performance technology. The F-14 Team is already beginning to experience a far more accurate communication of cost, schedule, and technical information. The consistency in cost and schedule reporting eliminates all ambiguity in progress reporting and allows program managers to identify problems at the lowest level. The daily evaluation of performance data makes it possible to continuously improve on existing processes. The result is a performance management and reporting system that offers shop floor and functional managers an accurate, real time status of work performed. The F-14 Program experienced a $1.2M cost savings within the first six months of the implementation process alone. These savings were realized as a direct result of the detailed up-front planning inherent in the EVMS discipline.

The rapid development approach used to implement EVMS reflects another example of how the Team overcame hurdles to achieve stated objectives. There is no question that Earned Value will revolutionize the way the F-14 Team and its Field Activities will manage programs, solve problems, and work together toward a common set of goals to achieve customer satisfaction. The Naval Air Systems Team, led by the F-14 Earned Value Implementation Team, is taking a visionary approach to redefining acquisition processes to better manage limited resources. The accomplishments of the PMA-241 and NADEP JAX Team have proven reform is not only worthwhile, but possible.

NAVAIR