Two of the thorniest problems confronting PMs are: The length of time required to process procurement documents [and]… The length of time required to effect contractual changes.
For example, a procurement request… typically must be reviewed and approved by 60 different people in 25 separate offices in the originating SYSCOM and Naval Material Command (NAVMAT) headquarters. “Simpler” procurements may involve only half as many approvals, but even that is an excessive number. As a result, the average procurement administrative lead time for negotiated contracts in excess of $1 million is approximately 240 days.
… In their study on project management, Cresap, McCormick and Paget (CMP) found that a PM’s contact with personnel in the Pentagon was five times greater than his contact with the contractor he was supervising. This indicates that the PM is spending more time answering questions than he spends managing the work he was appointed to manage… The PM must go through at least give organizational layers, i.e., SYSCOM, NAVMAT, OPNAV, SECNAV, and SECDEF… before he gets his program approved.
That was from the “Report of the Navy Marine Corps Acquisition Review Committee.” Volume 1, Office of the Secretary of the Navy, January, 1975.
What a great find!