Under the AFTAS PRO contract Spectrum directly supports the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition, Technology & Logistics) and Undersecretary of the Air Force for Acquisition by providing critical counsel, insight and services this support ranges from Air Staff & Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) Senior Executive Service (SES) level steering/working Groups to various four letters functional offices in the acquisition domain. Highlights of the efforts include:

Strategic and Acquisition Planning

Our Subject Matter Experts participated in prioritizing Air Force (AF) Acquisition domain requirements and provide support for investment decisions to facilitate core acquisition oversight, and reporting. We provide updates on AF business process re-engineering while providing technical and acquisition support reviewing plans and budgets for changes in business operations, policies, and systems and how they align to the department’s Strategic Master Plan (SMP). Spectrum provides critical thought leadership in the areas of functional subject matter expertise and technical leadership analyzing future vision, policy, guidance, and use of acquisition information across DoD while advising on AF equities.

Information Technology (IT) System

Our IT support ranges from Sustainment, Implementation, Integration & Process Improvement to Portfolio Transformation Support and includes development of Investment Methodologies to achieve the Department’s requirements. Our team was instrumental in aligning SAF/AQ’s data strategy with the AF Chief Data Officer Strategy and provided the analysis that benchmarked the SAF/AQ domain’s performance against AF Chief Data Officer “Visibility, Accessibility, Understandable, Linked and Trustworthy” (VAULT) goals. These efforts have culminated in the development and refinement of the business systems dashboards which are providing data based evaluation and guiding investment decisions across all portfolios including cloud migration and where appropriate, retirement for legacy systems.

Acquisition Process Improvement

A key component of Spectrum’s support lies in the Center for Re-engineering and Enabling Technology (CRET) team. This unique team has received multiple awards and has been recognized as the process reengineering experts by SAF/AQ. The CRET team has conducted several dozen RIE/CPI events in support of AF program acquisition and program management. As authors and executors of the annual SAF/AQ CPI plan, the CRET team addresses all aspects of process improvement and change management. Their goal is to assist the acquisition enterprise in becoming more effective and efficient in executing AF acquisition. All our customers can reach back to the CRET team and call upon their experiences and apply them to their specific needs and challenges.

The CRET team also developed, routinely enhances and maintains the standard acquisition process reference model, the APM, which interprets over 290 laws, regulations, policies, and guidebooks into a cohesive, actionable set of processes for all stakeholders. Institutionalized in 2016 by the Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition as a key element of the Air Force Strategic Master Plan, the APM was memorialized by the Air Force Acquisition Executive in a letter to all Air Force Program Executive Officers, the APM is a valuable tool for PEOs, PMs & staffs as a key tool in performing their work. The enterprise now has access to current acquisition guidance and process descriptions required to do their jobs right at their fingertips.

The CRET team includes Master Black Belt expertise in facilitating changes in Air Force acquisition processes. In addition to leveraging change management to facilitate organizational changes, the CRET team includes change management activities in every process improvement event.