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The Problem as Seen by Senior Air Force Leaders: The Need for Experimentation

Senior Air Force leaders provided input on problems and opportunities in experimentation campaigns in the innovation cycle, as seen by senior U.S. Air Force (USAF) leaders, with presentations by the following speakers:

• General Ellen M. Pawlikowski, Commander, Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC), presented her perspective to the workshop on her experiences as the Commander of AFMC and as a senior USAF acquisition leader regarding the Air Force’s need for experimentation.
• William A. LaPlante, former Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, presented his remarks to the workshop on “Making Experimentation and Innovation a Part of Air Force Acquisition Culture.”
• Col. Chuck Ormsby, Military Deputy to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology and Engineering, presented remarks to the workshop on behalf David Walker, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Science, Technology, and Engineering.

While the speakers presented to the workshop separately, the comments they provided lend themselves to a single summary.

COMMON THEMES

Overall, the speakers commented that properly executed experimentation campaigns can be the key to innovation in the Air Force and cited a rich history of success in this area. Unfortunately, as indicated by the speakers, the proper use of experimentation campaigns is too rare in today’s Air Force. They stressed that experimentation has been well studied and what is needed is help to understand how experimentation campaigns can be institutionalized and made a dynamic part of developmental planning efforts in today’s Air Force.

• Organization. The speakers commented on the difficulty of institutionalizing innovation in a large organization such as the Air Force and avoiding the problem of experimentation campaigns falling in the “white space” between organizational units that have other primary objectives and outcomes to produce.
• Culture and environment. The speakers commented on the need for a culture that is tolerant of risk, embodies the idea of failing fast before investing big, and can distinguish between a failed experiment (an experiment poorly executed) and a disappointing outcome from a well-run experiment.

• Leadership. The speakers commented on the need to institutionalize experimentation rather than rely on “personality driven” experimentation that disappears as soon as the leader leaves. The speakers also commented on the critical need for leadership support for the successful execution of experimentation campaigns.
• Required capabilities. The speakers commented on the need to ensure that knowledge of best practices for conducting experimentation campaigns is widespread and that the basic “tools of experimentation” are in place where they can be readily accessed by teams of planners, technologists, and operators.
• Sustainability. The speakers commented on the need to ensure that successful experimentation efforts do not languish and are sustained and employed over time.