Training Seminars

The following courses have been established and taught for a variety of SPEC's customers.  Additional or tailored courses are also available upon request.  All prices are subject to change.  All fees will be paid in advance of the date the course is taught.  Partial refunds for late cancellation may be available.

Proposal Engineering Seminars

System Engineering Seminars

DoDAF Training Seminars

PROP 101: Introduction to Proposal Engineering

PROP 201: Proposal Engineering Workshop

PROP 401: Executive Proposal Engineering

PROP 501: Competitive Assessment Workshop

PROP 701: Black Hat Workshop

 

System Engineering Seminars

SYS 101: Introduction to the DoD Architecture

SYS 201: Introduction to System Engineering

SYS 401: Executive Overview of the DoDAF

SYS 501: Developing Executable Architectures using DoDAF

SYS 502: Developing Integrated, Executable Architectures

SYS 601: Developing Executable Architectures using DoDAF and System Engineering

SYS 701: Contract Kickoff Workshop

 

 

 

---

 

 

PROP 101: Introduction to Proposal Engineering
(1/2-Day Class)

 

Objective:  To provide an introduction to the methods and tools used to develop successful proposals.

Who Should Attend This Course?  Technical and management personnel interested in developing proposals more efficiently and effectively.

Introductions

• Introduces the learning objectives for the class, the instructor and the students to one another.

• Provides the context for the proposal process, a definition of proposal engineering and how it differs from other approaches to proposal development.

1. Requirements Development

• Describes the means to develop the requirements for a proposal, including deriving requirements from marketing information and analysis of previous, as well as current requests for proposals (RFPs).

2. Developing the Logical Architecture

• Describes the essential elements of every proposal and how you can build them prior to the RFP release, thus developing an understanding of the problem and a model of how you will perform the job.

3. Developing the Physical Architecture

• Describes how to take the results of the logical architecture, together with the analysis of the RFP and develop a compliant and compelling proposal.

4. Proposal Project Management

• Describes the proposal management process, including planning, scheduling and reviews.

5. Program Execution and Its Impact on Proposals

• Discusses how program execution is critical to the success of any proposal and how your current program work can position you for future work.

 

back

 

---

PROP 201: Proposal Engineering Workshop
(1-Day Class)

 

Objective:  To kickoff the development of the proposal and begin creating the proposal plan of action, either before or after final RFP release.

Who Should Participate in This Workshop?  The entire proposal development team.

Warm-up – Why should we win this proposal?

• Discuss the characteristics of a team to win this specific proposal.

1. How We Will Execute This Proposal?

• The Theory.  This part summarizes the material in the Introduction to Proposal Engineering

• The Application.  This part focuses on the application of the proposal process for the particular proposal of interest.  This part includes a discussion of the proposal organization, schedule, and preliminary analysis of the Statement of Work (SOW). Extensive tailoring of workshop materials occurs for your specific RFP.

2. Working Groups

• The afternoon consists of facilitated working groups to develop the essential elements of the proposal, including the technical and management processes, work breakdown structure, past performance, and resumes.

3. Review Working Group Results

• Each working group presents their results.  Action items developed during this session.

 

back

---

 

PROP 401: Executive Proposal Engineering
(2-hour Class)

 

Objective:  To provide an overview of the role of a senior manager in the proposal process.

Who Should Attend This Course?  Managers who are new to proposals or want more structure in their proposal preparations to reduce proposal development costs and increase win rate.

1. Role of the Executive in the Proposal Process

• Discussion on what the role of an executive is in the proposal development process, including qualification of the opportunity and strategy development.

2. Overview of Proposal Process

• Description of the overall context of a proposal and how it is an integral part of the organizations means of doing business.

3. The Proposal Engineering Approach

• Introduction to the proposal engineering method and how it can provide structure to reduce proposal development cost and increase the probability of win.

4. Qualifying the Opportunity

• Discussion on the means to qualify potential bids to more cost-effectively spend the limited Bid and Proposal resources.

5. The Competitive Assessment Workshop

• Description of the competitive workshop and how you can use it to develop teaming, as well as size up the competition.

6. Strategy, Tactics and Themes

• Presentation of SPEC’s unique approach to ensuring traceability from Strategy to tactics to themes to thesis statements.  Provides an easy way to ensure that the proposal meets the strategic goals of the management.

7. Reviews

• Discussion of the guidelines for more effective proposal reviews.

8. The Goal: Cost-effective Proposals

• Summarizes the presentation and focuses on how to develop more cost-effective proposals.

 

back

 

---

PROP 501: Competitive Assessment Workshop
(1 day Class)

 

Objective:  To determine the competitive position of the contractor team for a particular opportunity and begin development of strategy, tactics and themes that will support a winning proposal.  In addition, this workshop will identify gaps in the team’s capabilities that may need to be filled by additional teaming.

Who Should Participate in This Workshop?  Personnel knowledgeable of the team’s and competition’s capabilities, who are interested in a better understanding of their ranking against the competition.

Introductions and Opening Remarks

• Brief introduction of the participants and opening remarks by the Senior-Manager-in-Charge.  Includes a discussion of the danger to incumbents of a recompetition (if applicable).

1. Procurement Overview

• Overview of the opportunity, including any preliminary of the draft RFP materials.  At least an understanding of the capabilities required must be available at this time.

2. What Does the Customer Want?

• Discussion of the customer’s mission, goals for this procurement, issues, concerns, risks, and other topics that characterize the customer’s need for this procurement.

3. Our Strengths and Weaknesses

• Assessment of the team’s strengths and weaknesses against any potential evaluation criteria and statement of work.

4. Competition Strengths and Weaknesses

• Assessment of the competition’s strengths and weaknesses against any potential evaluation criteria and statement of work.

5. Competitive Rankings

• Comparison of the team and the competition.

6. Strategy, Tactics and Themes

• Development of initial strategy, tactics and themes.

 

back

---

PROP 701: Black Hat Workshop
(1 day Class)

 

Objective:  To simulate a potential competitor to your team, determining the ways they might attack your bid.

Who Should Participate in This Workshop?  Personnel who know the competition’s (“Our”) capabilities.  The bidding team’s leadership should attend the debrief at the end of the workshop to understand where they are vulnerable.

Introductions and Opening Remarks

• Brief introduction of the participants and opening remarks by the Senior-Manager-in-Charge.  This part sets the stage for the workshop by putting the primary participants into the thought process of the competition.  A summary of the competition’s capabilities, from open-sources, is used to formulate this mindset.

1. Procurement Overview

• Overview of the opportunity, including any preliminary of the draft RFP materials.  A brief assessment of “our” capabilities to meet this procurement will also be discussed.

2. The Team’s Strengths and Weaknesses

• Assessment of the bidding team’s strengths and weaknesses against any potential evaluation criteria and statement of work.  This assessment is done from “our” point of view.

3. “Our” Attack Strategy and Tactics

• Development of the ways “our” team will attack the bidding team from a strategic and tactical point of view. 

4. Outbrief and Discussion

• A briefing given to the proposal team to highlight the results of the workshop, showing them where they may be “ghosted” by the competition.

 

back

 

---

 

SYS 101: Introduction to the DoD Architecture Framework (DoDAF)
(1-Day Class)

 

Objective:  To provide an introduction to the new DoD Architecture Framework Version 1.0 and to provide the principles needed to develop complete, defensible architectures, using the DoD Architecture Framework and using good system engineering processes and tools.

Who Should Attend This Course?  Personnel who are interested in leading architecture development projects or a general introduction to the DoDAF.

Introductions

•  Introduces the learning objectives for the class, the instructor and the students to one another.

1. What is Architecture and the DoD Architecture Framework?

• Defines what DoD means by architecture and how the DoDAF defines architecture.

2. What Policies Drive the Requirements for the DoD Architecture Framework?

• Describes the key policy documents that drive the Framework and other requirements, such as DoD 5000, that use the Framework products.

3. What Are the DoDAF Products?

• Describes at a high-level the DoDAF products, how to select them and how they are linked together.

4. What Techniques, Processes and Tools Should We Use to Develop Architectures?

• Describes the missing pieces of the DoDAF (lack of methodology, lack of metrics, missing comparison tools, …)

5. How Can We Better Communicate the Results of Our Architecture?

• Discusses the means to communicate architecture results to a wide array of interested parties.

 

back

SYS 201: Introduction to System Engineering
(1 day Class)

 

Objective:  To introduce participants to techniques and processes for conducting system engineering.

Who Should Attend This Course?  Personnel new to system engineering or who need a more structured approach to performing system engineering.

Introductions

• Introduces the learning objectives for the class, the instructor and the students to one another.

1. What is System Engineering?

• Provides a definition of system engineering and how it has changed over time.  It also discusses the benefits for doing system engineering.

2. What Techniques Can We Use?

• Describes, in detail, the various techniques for system engineering, including IDEF modeling, Structured Analysis, Object-Oriented Analysis and Behavior Modeling.

3. What Tools Are Available?

• Discusses the pros and cons of the current set of tools available for system engineering.

4. What Processes Do We Need?

• Describes the processes we need for system engineering, including requirements analysis, trade studies, functional analysis and allocation, scenario development, and synthesis of the design solution.

5. How Can We Apply the Techniques, Tools and Processes to a System Engineering Problem?

• Discussion, as a Group, in how to apply the techniques, tools and processes to a sample problem.

6. How Can We Better Communicate the Results of Our System Engineering?

• Discusses the means to communicate the results of system engineering to a wide array of interested parties.

back

SYS 401: Executive Overview of the DoDAF
(1/2-day Class)

 

Objective:  To provide an overview of the new DoD Architecture Framework Version 1.0 and to provide the principles needed to manage complete, defensible architectures.

Who Should Attend This Course?  Personnel who are interested in managing architecture developments.

Introduction

• Provides an “Executive Summary” of the course

1. What is Architecture?

• Defines what DoD means by architecture and how the DoDAF defines architecture.

2. What is the DoD Architecture Framework?

• Defines the key aspects of the Framework, including new definitions and the products

3. What Policies Drive the Requirements for the DoD Architecture Framework?

• Describes the key policy documents that drive the Framework and other requirements, such as DoD 5000, that use the Framework products

4. How Can We Build Architectures More Efficiently and Effectively?

• Describes the techniques, processes, tools and people needed to create architectures

5. How Can We Better Communicate the Results of Our Architecture?

• Discusses the means to communicate architecture results to a wide array of interested parties.

 back

SYS 501: Developing Executable Architectures Using the DoD Architecture Framework (DoDAF)
(2-Day Class)

 

Objective:  To provide a detailed understanding of the new DoD Architecture Framework Version 1.0 and to provide the principles needed to develop complete, defensible architectures, using the DoD Architecture Framework and using good system engineering processes and tools.

Who Should Attend This Course?  Personnel who are interested in developing architecture that work and are compliant to the DoDAF.

 

Day 1

Introductions

• Introduces the learning objectives for the class, the instructor and the students to one another.

1. What is Architecture and the DoD Architecture Framework?

• Defines what DoD means by architecture and how the DoDAF defines architecture.

2. What Policies Drive the Requirements for the DoD Architecture Framework?

• Describes the key policy documents that drive the Framework and other requirements, such as DoD 5000, that use the Framework products.

3. What Are the DoDAF Products?

• Describes at a high-level the DoDAF products, how to select them and how they are linked together.

4. What Techniques, Processes and Tools Should We Use to Develop Architectures?

• Describes the missing pieces of the DoDAF (lack of methodology, lack of metrics, missing comparison tools, …)

5. How Can We Better Communicate the Results of Our Architecture?

• Discusses the means to communicate architecture results to a wide array of interested parties.

6. What Do the Views Really Mean?

• Describes in detail the DoDAF products, all views.

7. What’s Missing from the DoD Architecture Framework?

• Describes the missing pieces of the DoDAF (lack of methodology, lack of metrics, missing comparison tools, …)

8. What Techniques, Processes and Tools Should We Use to Develop Architectures?

• Discusses at a high level, the available techniques, processes and tools for building architectures that can be documented using the DoDAF.

9. How Does DoDAF Support Interoperability?

• Discusses the LISI model, the specific products that support interoperability and identifies KPPs for interoperability.

 

Day 2

10. What Techniques Should We Use to Build Architectures?

• Presents a set of techniques for building architectures that can be documented using the DoDAF, including system engineering and data modeling.

11. What Process Should We Use to Build Architectures?

• Presents a process for building architectures that can be documented using the DoDAF.

12. What Tools Support DoD Architecture Framework Design and Development?

• Discusses the various tools available for architecture development and how they relate to the DoD data schema (CADM) and the DoD Architecture Repository System (DARS).

13. How Do We Develop Executable Architectures?

• Describes the theoretical and practical approaches to developing architectures that will work and can be tested via modeling and simulation.

14. How Can We Apply What We Have Learned?

• Applies the methodology, process and tools to a sample problem of interest.

Summary

• Summarizes the key points made during the two days and relates them to the learning objectives.

back

---

 

SYS 502: Developing Integrated, Executable Architectures
(2-Day Class)

 

Objective:  To provide an approach to developing executable, enterprise architectures for the practitioner’s and documenting them using products from common frameworks and to provide the principles needed to develop complete, defensible architectures, using the DoD Architecture Framework and using good system engineering processes and tools.

Who Should Attend This Course?  Architecture developers who are interested in producing architectures that can be demonstrated to work and be useful to decision makers and others who need the architecture products.

 

Day 1

Introductions

u    Introduces the learning objectives for the class, the instructor and the students to one another.

1. Overview of Architectures and System Engineering Practices

u    Defines what we mean by architecture, frameworks and how the system engineering approaches can provide a means to develop architectures.

2. What is Model-Based System Engineering?

u    Describes the MBSE technique we will use throughout the course.

3. What Process Can We Use to Develop Architectures Using MBSE?

u    Describes SPEC’s approach to architecture development, how to know when you have completed the project and the role of architecture in the lifecycle of the project.

4. What Are the Problem & the Plan?

u    Introduces the sample problem we will use as an example throughout the course and the plan for solving the problem using MBSE and SPEC’s architecture development process.

5. How Do We Analyze Requirements?

u    Using the sample problem, this part shows how to analyze the requirements provided, identify assumptions, incorporate planned and existing systems, and capture constraints.  Appropriate trade-off studies and products will also be discussed.

 

 

Day 2

6. How Do We Build an Operational Context Diagram?

u    Using the sample problem, this part shows how to develop an operational context diagram to better understand both the “as-is” and “to-be” architectures.  Appropriate trade-off studies and products will also be discussed.

7. What Scenarios Can We Use to Better Understand the Problem?

u    Using the sample problem, this part shows how to perform the necessary functional analysis, develop operational scenarios for analysis and evaluation, derive the integrated behavior, define resources, error detection and recovery, and perform dynamic analysis to ensure executability.  Appropriate trade-off studies and products will also be discussed.

8. How Do We Package the Functions into Systems?

u    Using the sample problem, this part shows how to use functional allocation and synthesis to derive the architecture’s system elements.  Appropriate trade-off studies and products will also be discussed.

9 How Can We Ensure Interoperability?

u    Using the sample problem, this part shows how interface and the operational demonstration master plan support the goal of interoperability.  Appropriate trade-off studies and products will also be discussed.

10. How Can We Manage the Development of the Program?

u    Using the sample problem, this part shows methods for ensuring good planning, monitoring and communications of results. Appropriate trade-off studies and products will also be discussed.

Summary

u    Summarizes the key points made during the two days and relates them to the learning objectives.

 

---

SYS 601: DEVELOPING EXECUTABLE ARCHITECTURES THROUGH USING THE DOD ARCHITECTURE FRAMEWORK (DODAF) AND SYSTEM ENGINEERING (SE)
(3 days)

 

Objectives: 

• To provide a detailed understanding of the DoD Architecture Framework Version 1.0
• To introduce participants to techniques and processes for conducting system engineering.
• To provide the principles needed to develop complete, defensible architectures, using the DoD Architecture Framework and using good system engineering processes and tools.

Who Should Participate in This Workshop?  Personnel interested in developing architectures that work and are compliant with the DoDAF. Personnel new to system engineering or who need a more structured approach to performing system engineering.

This course combines the SYS 201 and SYS 501 courses and is taught at your location.  Contact us for details.

back

 

---

SYS 701: Contract Kickoff Workshop
(5 to 15 days)

 

Objective:  To start off the contract with a clear plan of action to enable more efficient use of contract resources.  Three options, depending on the size and complexity of the effort are offered (small/simple – 5 day; medium/complex – 10 day; large/very complex – 15 day).

Who Should Participate in This Workshop?  Government and contractor leadership who will develop/refine the plan of action and present it to the complete team.

Workshop Details will be developed for the specific program, but will include analysis of the requirements, development of a logical architecture for the program, program organization, roles and responsibilities, schedule, and other components of the plan of action.

Please contact us for details.

back

 

 

---