Industrial Methods for the Effective Development and Testing of Defense Systems (2012) / Chapter Skim
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4 Design and Development
4 Design and Development
Pages 33-44
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From page 33... ...
There are many studies that describe problems caused by inserting insufficiently mature technologies in the critical path of acquisition programs for both DOD and commercial companies (see, e.g., National Research Council [2010a]
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From page 34... ...
produced IDA Paper P-2551, which covered some 100 major defense acquisition programs, reached a firm conclusion that failure to identify technical issues, as well as real costs, before entering into full-scale development -- now referred to as engineering and manufacturing development -- was the overwhelming cause for subsequent schedule delays and the resulting cost increases.
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From page 35... ...
Faced with the above challenges, top management in the commercial sector is increasingly approving "pre-spend" money for major programs. This pre-spend money is spent on conducting technical feasibility studies on perceived program challenges while the program details are still being finalized for program approval.1 The challenges can include a wide range of activities, such as establishing feasibility of aggressive exterior styling, kicking off die development for major body panels that have long lead times, and studying the feasibility of adapting a new powertrain and getting better cost estimates on the project.
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From page 36... ...
The problems result from the different cultures and practices of the different participants in the requirements development process, the acquisition process, and the resource allocation process -- not in stated DOD policies and procedures contained in DOD directives. The Technology Readiness Assessment Deskbook The current U.S.
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From page 37... ...
certify technologies used at Milestone B have been demonstrated to perform at level TRL6.4 This was not true in the previous version of the TRA Deskbook, which followed the DODI 5000.02 guidance.5 The current 2009 TRA Deskbook also describes an elaborate process for the preparation of technology readiness assessments involving a sug gested schedule of 11 months and the selection of an integrated product team consisting of a balanced set of subject matter experts (SMEs) from DOD components, other government agencies, and possibly, nongovernment entities.
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From page 38... ...
, which requires that the DDR&E submit an annual report. The report, covering 2009, was critical of the technological readiness levels assigned to technologies in the Joint Tactical Radio System and wideband networking waveform, as well as the technological readiness levels used in the Army's first increment of its brigade combat team modernization effort.
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From page 39... ...
We are aware that a substantial part of the above recommendation is currently required by law or by DOD instructions. In particular, DODI 5000.02 obligates DDR&E to perform an independent technology readiness assessment of major defense acquisition programs prior to Milestones B and C
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From page 40... ...
More than one speaker at the workshop said that it is key that defense systems should not pass milestones unless there is objective, quantitative evidence that major design thresholds, key performance parameters, and reliability criteria have been met or can be achieved with minor product changes. The lack of consistent use of objective, quantitative metrics occurs at many points during defense acquisition: • the generation of system requirements (see Chapter 3)
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From page 41... ...
provides an excellent discussion of these issues: "Rigorous enforcement of key requirement thresholds, along with emphasis on performance in the intended mission environment, should be the norm when entering System Development and Demonstration. Issues that need to be addressed in relation to requirements setting include technology readiness, the translation of requirements into design criteria, with attention to testability at the subsystem and system levels, as well as defining thresholds for key performance parameters."
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From page 42... ...
DOD acquisition regulations do permit tailoring, but the committee found few examples of the successful application of the current acquisition regulations to IT programs, and those that were successful required herculean efforts or unique cir cumstances. Changes broader than tailoring are necessary; they must encompass changes to culture, redefinition of the categories of IT systems, and restructured procurement, development, and testing processes as identified in this report.
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From page 43... ...
Staged development appears to be natural for large-scale complex software systems. The use of staged development may also be appropriate for some hardware systems: two examples of situations in which substantial upgrades to fielded systems provided a substantial increase in war fighting capability are the Apache helicopter and the M-1 tank.
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