U.S. Army Directed Requirement Impacted by Director of Operational Test and Evaluation Oversight

Abstract

The Defense Acquisition System is undergoing a significant revision to policy, regulations and guidance to be more efficient in developing capability. The revisions resulted from the FY16 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which defined Middle Tier Acquisition (MTA) as rapid development of interim solutions delivered within two to five years of receiving a requirement. In support of this initiative, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued Instruction 5000.80 instructing the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOTE) to tailor test strategies for operational testing if MTA program is on oversight. Given the authority to oversee operational, survivability and lethality testing for programs on the DOTE Oversight List, DOTE serves as the final approval authority for OTE and LFTE planning, including approval of the TEMP (Defense Acquisition University, 2018, Chapter 8-2.2.2). Concurrently, the Army reorganized and shifted focus to modernization of the force. The Army established Army Futures Command (AFC) and delegated management of the top six priorities through eight cross-functional teams (CFTs). The intent of each CFT is to deliver capability quickly. The Army established a Directed Requirement (DR) as the source document to begin experimentation and prototype efforts prior to initiating a program of record. The Army expects efforts under a DR to move at an accelerated pace, and therefore the CFT manages and approves the test strategies. However, any system, per Title 10 U.S. Code, may be on the Office of Secretary of Defense (OSD) oversight list, requiring DOTE to approve the test strategy. When DOTE does not recognize a DR as a rapid prototyping and fielding effort, the organization treats it as a traditional program of record. Application of DOTE oversight will result in standard operational, survivability and lethality tests, putting the Army's compressed tailored test schedule and limited budget at risk.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 30, 2020
Accession Number
AD1106558

Entities

People

  • Jeannie L. Sommer

Organizations

  • Defense Acquisition University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Engineered Resilient Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Army Procurement
  • Combatant Commanders
  • Department Of Defense
  • Governments
  • Literature Surveys
  • Military Acquisition
  • Military Strategy
  • National Security
  • Software Prototyping
  • Systems Engineering
  • Task Forces
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Unified Combatant Commands
  • United States
  • United States Government
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Munitions and Ordnance Engineering