CDFM Performance Management and Metrics 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What federal law requires executive agencies, including DoD, to establish strategic plans, performance goals, and annual performance reports?
- Chief Financial Officers Act
- Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) (Correct answer)
- Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act
- Inspector General Act
Correct answer: Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)
The Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, modernized in 2010 (GPRA-MA), requires agencies to establish strategic plans, set performance goals, and report annual results.
Question 2: What is an 'efficiency measure' in the context of DoD performance management?
- A metric that tracks the number of personnel assigned to a unit
- A metric that relates outputs produced to inputs consumed, such as cost per unit of output (Correct answer)
- A measure of combat effectiveness in the field
- A ratio of appropriated funds to obligated funds
Correct answer: A metric that relates outputs produced to inputs consumed, such as cost per unit of output
An efficiency measure relates outputs produced to the resources (inputs) consumed, helping managers determine whether the organization is producing results at an acceptable cost.
Question 3: In DoD performance budgeting, what is the purpose of a Program Objective Memorandum (POM)?
- To certify contractor invoices for payment
- To document a military department's proposed resource allocation across the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) (Correct answer)
- To authorize emergency supplemental appropriations
- To report performance results to Congress
Correct answer: To document a military department's proposed resource allocation across the Future Years Defense Program (FYDP)
The POM documents a military department's or defense agency's proposed allocation of resources across the six-year Future Years Defense Program (FYDP) in support of defense strategy.
Question 4: What is the primary purpose of DoD's Balanced Scorecard approach to performance management?
- To evaluate military personnel fitness
- To link strategic objectives to measurable outcomes across financial, internal process, learning, and mission perspectives (Correct answer)
- To score contractors on past performance ratings
- To assess environmental compliance at installations
Correct answer: To link strategic objectives to measurable outcomes across financial, internal process, learning, and mission perspectives
The Balanced Scorecard links strategic objectives to measurable performance outcomes across multiple perspectives—financial, internal processes, learning/growth, and mission—providing a comprehensive management view.
Question 5: What does the term 'cost-effectiveness analysis' mean in DoD financial management?
- Analysis that determines the lowest-cost vendor for a procurement
- Analysis that compares alternatives achieving the same objective by their relative costs when benefits cannot be monetized (Correct answer)
- A review of contractor overhead rates
- An assessment of foreign currency exchange risk
Correct answer: Analysis that compares alternatives achieving the same objective by their relative costs when benefits cannot be monetized
Cost-effectiveness analysis compares alternative approaches to achieving a given objective by their costs when the benefits are the same or cannot be expressed in monetary terms, helping decision-makers choose the most efficient option.
Question 6: Which DoD document translates the National Defense Strategy into specific force structure, program, and budget decisions?
- President's Budget
- Defense Planning Guidance (DPG) (Correct answer)
- Congressional Budget Justification
- Program Budget Decision (PBD)
Correct answer: Defense Planning Guidance (DPG)
The Defense Planning Guidance (DPG) translates the National Defense Strategy into specific guidance on force structure, modernization priorities, and resource levels that drive the PPBE process.
CDFM Performance Management and Metrics 1
What federal law requires executive agencies, including DoD, to establish strategic plans, performance goals, and annual performance reports?