Assessment of the U.S. Army Natick Research, Development, and Engineering Center (1997) / Chapter Skim
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Assessment of the Support Directorates
Assessment of the Support Directorates
Pages 86-113
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From page 86... ...
The assessment results reflect the committee's judgments of the contributions of the support directorates to the performance of the commodity directorates and the RDEC as a whole. ASSESSMENT PROCESS The committee decided early on not to subject STD and ASCD to the arduous assessment process undergone by the commodity directorates.
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From page 87... ...
These considerations were important to the committee's assessment of STD's impact on the overall performance of the commodity directorates, the ASCD, and the Natick RDEC as a whole. Resources and Capabilities Pillar Characteristics of the Resources and Capabilities Pillar · Personnel Quality · Budget · RD&E Capabilities, Skills, Talents · Use of External Resources · Important Technologies · Organizational Climate · Information Technology Facilities and Infrastructure Personnel Quality STD's customers indicated that their expectations were seldom exceeded by STD.
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From page 88... ...
For example, one person indicated that the hiring freeze is "crippling STD." Another interviewee, well known for his work, predicted that the best people will soon leave the Natick RDEC. The committee agrees that STD will probably incur losses, as most organizations do when budgets and resources are limited.
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From page 89... ...
Although the range of external work is impressive, the committee is concerned that there is no master plan showing how external research complements the internal research by STD to fulfill the RDEC's needs. Important Technologies Research at the Natick RDEC is divided between the commodity directorates, which conduct research that is uniquely applicable to their programs, and STD.
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From page 90... ...
STD management and personnel indicated that important technologies that need to be added include work in materials science, human performance, and modeling and simulation (see discussion under the Value Creation pillars. The committee learned that only one-fourth of the proposals submitted by STD were funded.
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From page 91... ...
Overall Assessment The general findings related to each of the characteristics and review of the associated metrics led the committee to an overall judgment of adequate for the Resources and Capabilities pillar. Indications are that there is a downward trend in STD's ability to maintain its RD&E capabilities, skills, and talents.
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From page 92... ...
The committee believes that STD and the other directorates must define and focus on the scientific and engineering base critical to the RDEC. STD personnel should understand the areas for which they will be held responsible and identify the technologies for which the commodity directorates expect excellence from the STD.
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From page 93... ...
Overall Assessment The committee arrived at an overall judgment of poor for the Strategic Vision pillar. Unfortunately, the committee found that STD has been unable to translate its vision and mission into a working philosophy that is accepted, let alone embraced, by the members of STD or the other directorates.
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From page 94... ...
Continuous Improvement STD personnel interviewed by the committee indicated that STD is not very flexible or capable of change; this inflexibility has contributed to STD's long-standing inward orientation. Interviewees noted, for example, that STD had not taken advantage of the RDEC's being designated as a personnel demonstration, which allows the organization to waive many civil service rules to find a better way of doing business.
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From page 95... ...
[earning Environment Funds are available for STD personnel who desire to pursue advanced technical degrees or continuing education courses. However, the committee noted that STD does not have a uniform policy to encourage individuals to pursue opportunities germane to STD's mission, which could amplify and strengthen the current skill base.
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From page 96... ...
Overall Assessment The committee arrived at an overall judgment of poor to adequate for the Quality Focus pillar. Improvements will require that STD refocus its activities to support the commodity directorates.
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From page 97... ...
This kind of feedback could be very useful to the other directorates. Overall Assessment The committee arrived at an overall judgment of poor for the Customer Focus pillar.
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From page 98... ...
STD personnel indicated, however, that current research programs were pursuing more relevant results. Several interviewees inside and outside of STD indicated that STD needs more expertise in materials science.
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From page 99... ...
Publications, research plans, and research proposals represent a historical database of research pursued by STD that could be assessed to justify and prioritize research projects. Overall Assessment The committee arrived at an overall judgment of poor to adequate for the Value Creation pillar.
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From page 100... ...
Developing the message requires identifying the modeling and simulations that accurately reflect relevant aspects of soldier-system performance and that demonstrate the combat value of Natick RDEC products. In the assessment of the impact of ASCD on the overall performance of its customersthe commodity directorates, STD, and top management of the Natick RDEC the committee took into account how modeling and simulations were used.
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From page 101... ...
Personnel who were involved with the customer liaison function interacted with the Army battle laboratories and understood the benefits of operations research to the Army. The committee learned that ASCD work usually meets, and occasionally exceeds, the expectations of the commodity directorates as well as RDEC management.
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From page 102... ...
technologies, ASCD appears to be better equipped to determine in quantitative terms if using a certain technology could improve the combat effectiveness of the soldier system. The committee observed that when commodity directorates requested ASCD assistance ASCD did incorporate their technologies into advanced models and simulations.
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From page 103... ...
Overall Assessment The committee arrived at an overall judgment of adequate to good for the Resources and Capabilities pillar. In contrast to other directorates where the committee noted indications of a decline in resources and capabilities, ASCD showed evidence of an upward trend.
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From page 104... ...
To begin with, there are only a limited number of instantiations of the soldier system to be modeled and simu . lated: the 21St Century Land Warrior, a multifaceted, high-technology soldier for the most challenging battlefield scenarios; the special-forces soldier, who is responsible for high performance in unique, specialized missions; the infantry soldier, who is expected to fight in more traditional situations; the peacetime soldier, who is deployed for operations other than war; the combat support soldier, who is responsible for battlefield support that requires improved technologies; and any other soldier who uses the products developed at the Natick RDEC.
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From page 105... ...
ASCD's modeling and simulation capabilities must reflect the full range of other directorates' visions, missions, plans, and programs. Currently, only select technologies, programs, and projects are represented in the ASCD cadre of models and simulations.
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From page 106... ...
Stakeholder Buy-In ASCD clearly understands the vision and mission of the RDEC, and its personnel are continually developing models and improving simulations. ASCD's part in the overall RDEC mission has been well thought out, but the commodity directorates do not seem to be interested in providing adequate resources for ASCD to implement its mission.
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From page 107... ...
The committee notes that substantial improvement will require the cooperation of other directorates in the RDEC. Quality Focus Pillar Characteristics of the Quality Focus Pillar Capacity for Breakthroughs Continuous Improvement Commitment to Quality Structured Processes Learning Environment Quality of Research Capacity for Breakthroughs During the interviews, the committee was told that the problems ASCD tries to solve, with limited resources, do not tend to allow for breakthroughs.
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From page 108... ...
. Commitment to Quality ASCD demonstrated a commitment to quality through its improved modeling and simulation capabilities that support acquisition decisions.
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From page 109... ...
The committee believes that the quality of work elsewhere in the RDEC could profit by close interaction with ASCD. Overall Assessment The committee arrived at an overall judgment of adequate for the Quality Focus pillar.
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From page 110... ...
Customer Involvement Interviewees from the commodity directorates indicated that they do participate in analyses performed by ASCD to support RDEC positions or acquisition decisions by the Soldier Systems Command. interaction between the commodity directorates and ASCD when an analysis is performed and its results are presented to higher-level commands and other DOD organizations means there must be customer involvement and feedback.
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From page 111... ...
Value Creation Pillar Characteristics of the Value Creation Pillar Proper Portfolio Product Perfonmance Cycle Time and Responsiveness Value of Work in Progress Proper Portfolio As a support organization for the entire RDEC, the ASCD portfolio must address the entire range of soldier-system needs and requirements. Although ASCD presented several examples of how it has provided analyses for each of the commodity directorates, in most cases these were special situations (e.g., a commodity directorate recognized a need for a particular analysis to justify a program)
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From page 112... ...
Value of Work in Progress Some interviewees told the committee that sponsors of programs request the help of ASCD because of its prior excellent work; requests like these demonstrate the value of ASCD support. ASCD employees explained that they had previously considered the soldier system as a collection of parts, but they now consider that the parts work together with the soldier.
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From page 113... ...
Overall Assessment The committee arrived at an overall judgment of adequate for the Value Creation pillar. There were modest indications of an upward trend, particularly in the understanding of the soldier-system concept.
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