1. DAE CAE PEO PM OIPT Acquisition Category (FY14 $) ACAT ID
Makes ACAT ID and IAM Decisions
Signs Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM)
$480 M RDT&E or
$2.79 B Procurement
or MDA Special Interest
Defense Acquisition Executive
USD(AT&L)
DAE
ACAT IA
Defense Acquisition Board
$520 M Life Cycle Cost or
$165 M Total Program Cost
or $40 M Program Cost
in any single year
or MDA Special Interest
Advice to DAE
OIPT
Issue resolution
Overarching IPTs
(OIPTs)
ACAT IC/IAC
Configuration
Steering Boards
Component Acquisition
Executive
(Asst Secretary)
Makes ACAT IC,
IAC & II decisions
Signs ADM
CAE
ACAT II
Working-Level IPTs
(WIPTs)
$185 M RDT&E or
$835 M Procurement
or MDA designation
Component HQ Review
The acquisition chain of command and key decision making roles are in yellow, in response to 1986 Goldwater-Nichols Act that requires no more than 3 levels between the program manager and the highest level decision maker in the Department.
Oversight processes are at each level (at PEO level, Service/Agency level, or OSD level, if Milestone Decision Authority is at that level)
Acquisition category (ACAT) drives level of review for key milestones; thus oversight is greatest for ACAT ID/IAM programs where the USD(AT&L) is the milestone decision authority. The AT&L staff plays an expanded role for ACATID and IAM programs.
Note the role of the Configuration Steering Board: it is an interface with the requirements process to ensure currency and affordability of requirements over the program life cycle (as cost estimates get refined, and requirements learning occurs and/or technical challenges become clear). It also affords the PM the opportunity to request requirements modifications to improve affordability.
Business systems used to have an IT Acquisition Board but they are now governed by the DAB since Mr Kendall is the MDA again for ACAT IAMs (he rescinded his delegation to the DCMO in Nov 2013.)
Issue resolution
ACAT III
Program Executive Officer
(Gen Officer/SES)
PEO
Makes ACAT III
decisions
Signs ADM
No Fiscal Criteria [Does
not meet criteria above.]
Program Level
IPTs
Program Manager
(Col/LtCol/Civilian Equiv)
ACAT IV PM
IPTs assist the MDA
in oversight & review
Used by Navy/USMC
Note: Some PMs report directly to CAE

2. ACAT: Acquisition Category
ADM: Acquisition Decision Memorandum
CAE: Component Acquisition Executive
Col: Colonel
DAE: Defense Acquisition Executive
Equiv: Equivalent
HQ: Headquarters
IPT: Integrated Product Team
Lt Col: Lieutenant Colonel
M: Million
MDA: Milestone Decision Authority
PEO: Program Executive Officer
OIPTs: Overarching Integrated Product Teams
PM: Program Manager
RDT&E: Research, Development
Test and Evaluation
USD(AT&L): Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics
USMC: U.S. Marine Corps
WIPT: Working-Level Integrated Product Team