Deltek MPM to Sunset, Part 1: What do Maintenance Support and Sustainment Support Really Mean?

For many years, Deltek's Micro-Frame Program Manager (MPM) has been the backbone of many Earned Value Management systems.  It has been providing a simplistic cost engine for a single program environment that could be integrated with scheduling data to meet the EVM reporting needs of government programs, but the software will soon be phased out by Deltek.  

By now you will have received notice that the software will be moving from maintenance support to sustaining support by the end of next year.  This necessitates selection of a new cost engine and potentially an overhaul of other related program management applications that makeup your Integrated Program Management System.

What Does Maintenance Support and Sustaining Support Really Mean?

MPM is currently in a Maintenance Support phase.  This means you will continue to receive fixes for non-functioning software issues considered severe, and updates that have regulatory or tax implications.  While that may sound adequate, it is important to understand that the “nice to have” fixes may not be an option.  Enhancements of existing capabilities will also not be added to the list of updates.  For new programs with new contract requirements, this may prove to be a challenge.

On December 31, 2018, MPM will be moved into Sustaining Support.  No further updates or fixes to the software will be offered by the vendor after this date.  The state of the software, as it exists at that time, is how it remain going forward. No software fixes of any kind will be released by the vendor. When you factor in the time required for implementation of a replacement tool with the appropriate level of support, training and adoption, it is easy to see that decisions will need to be made now to prepare - even if you make the decision to remain on MPM.

In Part 2 of this 3 part series, we will explore Remaining on MPM.

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