FAA / PMIWDC Community November Brown Bag Luncheon

James T. Eck

Director, Air Traffic Control Communications Services
Federal Aviation Administration

View the speaker's presentation

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Time and Location:

FAA Conference Room,
3rd Floor, Orville Wright Building (FAA)
800 Independence Ave, SW
Washington, DC 20591

Note:  security credentials are required to enter the building.  If you do not have a DOT ID, you will be required to sign in at the guard’s desk and be escorted to the meeting. Please call 202-267-7888 in advance to arrange an escort and plan on arriving by 11:45.


Pre-registration is required.

Thursday, November 20, 2008, 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm

Cost:

None. The session is free of charge, but preregistration is required.

Agenda:

Jim Eck, FAA Director, Air Traffic Control Communications Services, will dicuss Program and Project management from his position as Director and  from his previous positions

About the Program:

The FAA is reviewing and updating its acquisition policy to in order to increase effectiveness of the investment process, and to create a framework in which to train and empower a new generation of acquisition managers.  To achieve this goal, the FAA has created two new executive groups - the Acquisition Executive Board and Acquisition Workforce Council.  The fundamental premise of both boards is that institutionalization of process and practice is a necessary element for success.  Further, both groups agree that to be sufficient, processes need to be clear and concise, and supported by best practices that produce products that are:

1) tailored to the level of the acquisition,
2) tailored to the life cycle of the given investment and
3) used by all communities (both internal and external) that review a given investment.

The presentation will provide an overview of the work of the Acquisition Executive Board in defining the acquisition investment levels and creating best practice templates. It will highlight some of the experience of the program teams that are working with the best practice regimen.  Finally, it will align this work with efforts in the Workforce Council to define acquisition management career progression and certification.

About the Speakers:

Jim Eck

Jim Eck is the Director for Air Traffic Control (ATC) Communications Services in the Technical Operations Service Unit of the ATO.  His directorate is responsible for all NAS infrastructure modernization activities associated with telecommunications, voice switching and recording systems, radio systems, air/ground voice and data communications, and system wide information management (SWIM).  Additionally, Jim’s organization works directly with aviation users to develop and implement avionics standards and systems to satisfy safety critical voice and data communications for the Next Generation Air Transportation System.

Jim has been working voice and data communications programs since joining the FAA in 1996.   Previously, Jim spent 18 years working for the Navy, concluding his work with the Naval Command Control and Ocean Surveillance Center in tactical communications research and development.  Jim is a 1978 BSEE graduate from the Pennsylvania State University and a 1983 MSE System Engineering graduate from the University of Pennsylvania.