We Don't Dance Well: Government and Industry Defense Materiel Acquisition
Abstract
Department of Defense acquisition programs continue to experience significant challenges in the areas of cost, schedule, and performance. The defense acquisition workforce, elected officials, and other key stakeholders continue to seek ways to improve acquisition processes and systems to meet the needs of the warfighter. Numerous processes, policies, and business approaches have been implemented to address those challenges, which have achieved various degrees of success. The latest attempt to address those challenges is the revised DoD Instruction 5000.02. The changes found in DoDI 5000.02 primarily focus on the early achievement of technology maturity using competitive prototyping prior to Milestone B and rigorous system engineering. Those activities are extremely important and critical to successful acquisition outcomes; however, is the department continuing to miss the mark on other low-cost, high-payoff opportunities to improve overall program performance? Are there practical measures that can be pursued to improve acquisition performance? The answer to both of those questions is an emphatic yes. Acquisition program performance can be greatly improved by focusing on DoDs relationship with industry, particularly in the following areas: Understanding and perspective, Communication, Education.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- AD1016150
Entities
People
- Steve Mills
Organizations
- Defense Acquisition University