PM 3.0 Program/Project Implementation

Proficiency Level
Participates as a project team member to gain an overall understanding of the tracking/trending process and to gain initial experience in the competency.

Illustrations
Team Practitioners should be able to describe, identify, or define:

• EVM metrics for the project and contract performance management.
• Maintenance/ monitoring of performance metrics, project risk, and earned value data to determine project health status.
• Project reporting and evaluation of technical performance metrics, earned value, and risk management analysis.
• Collaborative work commitments and strategic planning agreements.
• The decision log containing the rationale for major decisions made during the project life cycle.

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams in the execution of the tracking/trending process.
• Provides guidance and expertise to team members, assisting in resolving issues.

Illustrations
Team Leads should be able to:

• Ensure effective utilization of EVM methods for project and contract performance management.
• Maintain/monitor performance metrics, project risk, and earned value data to determine project health status.
• Oversee project reporting and evaluation of technical performance metrics, earned value, and risk management analysis.
• Participate in the development of element-level collaborative work commitments and strategic planning agreements.
• Participate in continuous project monitoring and periodic formal reviews.
• Maintain a decision log at the element level, containing the rationale for major decisions made during the project life cycle.

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams at the project level in the execution of the tracking/trending process.
• Provides guidance and expertise at the project level, resolving project issues.

Illustrations
Project Managers should be able to:

• Apply EVM methods to project and contract management.
• Conduct continual project monitoring and formal reviews.
• Oversee project reporting efforts and the evaluation of technical performance metrics, earned value, and risk management analysis.

Proficiency Level

• Leads overall effort, reviews and approves products, resolves issues, and maintains relationships with the highest level of internal, external, and international contacts.
• Understands and effectively utilizes EVM for program/project performance management.

Illustrations
Program Managers should be able to:

• Ensure continual project monitoring and lead periodic formal reviews.
• Effectively assess technical performance in relation to project risks, schedule demands, and resource utilization to determine project health status.
• Develop strategies for collaborative work commitments and strategic planning agreements.
• Ensure the maintenance of an accurate decision log containing rationale for major decisions made during the project life cycle.

Proficiency Level
Participates as a project team member to gain an overall understanding of the project control activities and to gain initial experience in the competency.

Illustrations
Team Practitioners should be able to describe, identify, or define:

• The purpose of project control.
• Processes for using tracking and trend data to analyze programmatic and technical performance with associated mitigation efforts to address performance variances.
• Configuration or change control processes and the responsibilities of configuration control boards.
• EVM processes that comply with the ANSI/EIA-748 EVMS guidelines.
• Reserve and margin policies and practices.
• Scheduling methods such as critical path analysis.
• The fundamental concept of continuous risk management.

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams in the execution of project control activities.
• Provides guidance and expertise to team members, assisting in resolving issues.

Illustrations
Team Leads should be able to:

• Apply program control techniques, including cost tracking, EVM, and configuration/data management.
• Manage contract change control.
• Oversee schedule integration of multiple project elements.
• Use techniques to assess, mitigate, and balance risks.
• Apply tracking and trend data to analyze programmatic and technical performance, with associated mitigation efforts to address performance variances.
• Implement corrective actions in areas that deviate from the baseline.
• Manage reserve and margin assessment activities.
• Support Configuration Control Board (CCB) activities for design/development changes in subsystem elements.

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams at the project level in the execution of project control activities.
• Provides guidance and expertise at the project level, resolving project issues.
• Effectively monitors all project activities based on technical requirements, resource limitations, schedule demands, contract scope, and risk assessments.

Illustrations
Project Managers should be able to:

• Manage techniques for controlling cost, schedule, technical content, and configuration and their application throughout the project.
• Conduct critical project control tasks such as reviewing EVM reports, approving cost and schedule changes, leading a CCB, and applying reserve and margin policy.
• Lead a risk-management process that includes conducting IBRs when EVM is required and utilization of risk analysis to support decision making.
• Direct project control mechanisms, as well as the corrective actions for areas that deviate from the baseline.
• Oversee PMC and other reporting when project plans cannot be met.

Proficiency Level

• Leads overall effort, reviews and approves products, resolves issues, and maintains relationships with the highest level of internal, external, and international contacts.
• Performs critical project control tasks such as reviewing EVM reports, approving program costs and schedule changes.
• Directs corrective actions for program areas that deviate from project plans and the application of tracking and trend data to analyze programmatic and technical performance, along with development, evaluation, and implementation of mitigation efforts to address performance variances.

Illustrations
Program Managers should be able to:

• Tailor reserve and margin policy and manage its application.
• Be responsible for PMC reporting when a project plan cannot be met.
• Ensure that adequate controls are implemented, such as program control techniques, including EVM, data management, and configuration management.
• Chair contract change control board for project.
• Establish and manage configurations for complex products (e.g., many diverse uses and users, complicated documentation and data control requirements, and complex user training requirements with more sophisticated training tools).
• Direct project risk management and control with respect to technical, cost, and schedule performance, including conduct of IBRs on in-house projects when EVM is required.

Proficiency Level
Participates as a project team member to gain an overall understanding of the EVM process and to gain initial experience in the competency.

Illustrations
Team Practitioners should be able to describe, identify, or define:

• Basic concepts of EVM and EVM terminology.
• NASA’s policy/procedures for applying EVM to major acquisitions.
• NASA EVM capability (i.e., people, processes, tools, training).
• Processes for implementing EVM on projects/ contracts and establishing and maintaining the PMB.
• IBR processes, including purpose, approach, requirements, and roles and responsibilities.
• Analysis of EVM data and utilization of the analysis to support decision making and development of estimates of cost and schedule at completion.
• The means for implementing NASA EVM capability on projects and contracts.
• Appropriate tailoring of EVM capability, preparing the EVM implementation plan for the project, and accomplishing the planning necessary to establish the PMB.
• When assigned as a Project-Control Account Manager (P-CAM), identify and assign appropriate performance measurement techniques to work packages to provide meaningful performance measurement data.
• When assigned as a P-CAM, understand the planning and executing of control account(s) within authorized scope, schedule, and budget.
• When assigned as a P-CAM, understand negotiation with line management for the assignment of performing resources.

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams in the execution of the EVM process.
• Provides guidance and expertise to team members, assisting in resolving issues.

Illustrations
Team Leads should be able to:

• Ensure that control account planning captures all the authorized scope, schedule, and budget prior to approval by the project manager.
• Negotiate with line management for the assignment of P-CAMs and other resources.
• Oversee the initiation and approval of Work Authorization Documents (WADs).
• Review Change Request Documents and approve those change request documents not requiring project manager approval.
• Ensure all Variance Analysis Reports (VARs) are complete/accurate and have valid corrective actions.
• Assist in the development of estimates at completion.
• Participate in and/or lead IBRs for major acquisitions that require EVM.
• Manage and communicate project/contract technical, schedule, and cost performance status and provide forecasts to the project manager using EVM data from the internal EVM system.

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams at the project level in the execution of the EVM process.
• Provides guidance and expertise at the project level, resolving project issues.
• Ensures the project EVM system is effectively implemented and maintained and the data from the EVMS is reliable.
• Approves control account planning guidelines and documentation such as Work Authorization Documents (WADs), management reserve, baseline change requests, estimates at completion (EACs), VARs, etc., for in-house EVM implementation, as appropriate.
• Negotiate with line management for the assignment of Subsystem Lead/Managers.
• Support the coordination and conduct of the project IBR by the program manager/customer and lead IBRs as appropriate.
• Ensure project schedule margin is reasonable and controlled.

Illustrations
Project Managers should be able to:

• Approve CPR for submittal to senior management and the sponsor.
• Use the EVM data and performance metrics to manage and control cost, schedule, and technical performance.
• Communicate status, impacts, and plans of action to the program manager/sponsor.

Proficiency Level
Leads overall effort, reviews and approves products, resolves issues, and maintains relationships with the highest level internal, external, and international contacts.

Illustrations
Program Managers should be able to:

• Ensure the application of EVM requirements to projects/contracts.
• Approve project plans that include the EVM Implementation Plan.
• Monitor project performance using EVM data and analysis.
• Direct and approve changes to the project baseline in a timely manner.

Proficiency Level
Participates as a project team member to gain an overall understanding of the project review and evaluation activities and to gain initial experience in the competency.

Illustrations
Team Practitioners should be able to describe, identify, or define:

• The purpose and value of internal and external project reviews.
• The review and approval process of technical and programmatic activity.
• Tools that objectively measure how much work has been accomplished on a program/ project and that relate resource planning to technical, cost, and schedule requirements.
• Techniques for presenting technical and programmatic information.
• The use of EVM and/or other tools to measure, evaluate, and provide input to progress reviews on specific aspects of the project.
• The role of participant in internal project peer reviews as both presenter and reviewer.
• The role and responsibilities of a convening authority in ensuring that technical reviews occur at the proper project level of maturity.
• The risk management process.

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams in the execution of project review and evaluation activities.
• Provides guidance and expertise to team members, assisting in resolving issues.

Illustrations
Team Leads should be able to:

• Plan and conduct subsystem portions of both internal and external project reviews.
• Prepare programmatic and technical subsystem development performance for project management’s use in external reviews.
• Present subsystem development performance at major milestone reviews such as Preliminary Design Review (PDR) and Critical Design Review (CDR).
• Plan and manage internal peer reviews for subsystems.
• Manage the process of addressing the findings of review panels/boards.

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams at the project level in execution of project review and evaluation activities.
• Provides guidance and expertise at the project level, resolving project issues.
• Participates or leads an element of the review and approval process for a technical and programmatic activity, and to manages all facets of preparing and conducting internal and external reviews.

Illustrations
Project Managers should be able to:

• Approve and manage the continuum of internal and external project reviews.
• Document and present project progress in terms of risk mitigation, resources, technical, and schedule accomplishments to the program office, PMC, and at reviews such as PDR, CDR, Standing Review Boards (SRB), etc.
• Recognize the need for and initiate additional reviews (e.g., peer reviews).
• Review business process reengineering.

Proficiency Level

• Leads overall effort, reviews and approves products, resolves issues, and maintains relationships with the highest level internal, external, and international contacts.
• Manages a project/program through a review and approval process and directs personnel on how to structure and formulate reviews to the major stakeholders at the highest level of agency management, academia, and industry.

Illustrations
Program Managers should be able to:

• Conduct major project reviews for the stakeholders of the governing PMC, SRB, independent assessment, or other high-level review teams, including those from academia and industry.

Proficiency Level
Participates as a project team member to gain an overall understanding of decommissioning/ disposal and data archival activities and to gain initial experience in the competency.

Illustrations
Team Practitioners should be able to describe, identify, or define:

• The project governance and communication plan describing the governance organization and process used to focus internal and external stakeholder resources, human, budgetary, regulatory, and physical aspects of decommissioning/ disposal, and data archival and records management.
• How NASA projects review, approve, and maintain decommissioning/ disposal plans and archive data.
• The communication of roles and responsibilities of project team members to decommission/ dispose and archive project data.
• How a decommissioning/ disposal plan incorporates the steps to transfer resources, archive project data, and close out products such as WBS, contracts, agreements, fiscal year obligations, assets (hardware/software, interfaces, technology, mission support, infrastructure), staffing, and IT (e.g., business applications, web).

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams in the execution of decommissioning/ disposal and data archival activities.
• Provides guidance and expertise to team members, assisting in resolving issues.

Illustrations
Team Leads should be able to:

• Develop a decommission/ disposal plan and a schedule to archive project data.
• Document the processes, responsible parties, contact points, historical documentation, and risks associated with the disposition/ decommission and archival data of project assets.
• Identify procedures to govern and communicate, with specific focus on the formal processes necessary to ensure the final disposition of, decommissioning, or archiving of project assets/data.
• Review and update disposal/ decommissioning and data archival plans according to project life cycle key decision point criteria.
• Procure, identify, track, and report on the disposition/ decommission or archiving of all project assets/data, whether located at the center or other agencies.
• Maintain databases of applicable serial numbers, asset tags, locations, and current disposition information relying on existing disposition/ decommission.
• Maintain records management of project data using existing policies and procedures for archiving.

Proficiency Level

• Leads teams at the project level in execution of the decommissioning/ disposal and archiving of data activities.
• Provides guidance and expertise at the project level, resolving project issues.
• Demonstrates expertise in specific project issues and environmental factors in relation to disposal/ decommissioning and data archiving.
• Validates and baselines project assets commensurate with internal/external stakeholder activity as defined in project plans.

Illustrations
Project Managers should be able to:

• Document and execute project asset identification for disposal/ decommissioning and archival data.
• Develop BOE/cost estimations of life cycle costs associated with project disposal/ decommissioning and archival data.
• Conduct effective identification of the disposal/ decommissioning and data archiving of project assets, resources, and records within the project schedule and the tracking of each milestone until completion.

Proficiency Level
Leads overall effort, reviews and approves products, resolves issues, and maintains relationships with the highest level internal, external, and international contacts.

Illustrations
Program Managers should be able to:

• Review and approve disposal/ decommission and archival data archival for functional, physical, operational architectures, and technology.
• Direct the development of functional, physical, operational architectures, and technology disposal/ decommissioning and archival data plans.
• Identify an asset manager within the program plan and utilize external partnership opportunities to develop appropriate measures to manage timelines associated with disposal/ decommissioning and archiving data throughout the program life cycle.
• Develop the support and internal/external resource activities involved in implementing and executing programdecommissioning/ disposal and data archiving.
• Develop the ongoing maintenance and operations of program artifacts, policies, and procedures for disposal/ decommissioning and data archiving.