Calibrating Expectations: The Benefits and the Limitations of Models and Simulations in the Acquisition Process
Abstract
The Army is committed to exploiting the benefits of modeling and simulation (M&S) to improve the acquisition process. M&S is expected to simultaneously support the goals of "faster, better and cheaper." M&S will enable continual involvement of the user in requirements evolution, will reduce cycle-time by means of more efficient development processes, and will lower the ultimate cost of ownership by addressing all aspects of sustainability early in a program. Army interest is motivated and sustained by the ever-increasing availability of enabling technologies for M&S, by examples of successful implementations of virtual prototyping in commercial industry, and by impressive displays of virtual-reality and special effects by the entertainment industry. These developments suggest that a bold new strategy for virtual design and development is "on the horizon." However, models and simulations are inherently limited in what they can do, i.e., by their very nature they only approximate reality. Moreover, the fundamental management constraint embedded in simultaneously addressing cost, schedule and performance, i.e., a program manager can reasonably set only two of the three, suggests there are limits to what can be accomplished. For all these reasons, M&S should be an essential tool for a PM to improve his program, but it should not be expected to be a panacea for all program challenges nor should a single M&S approach be expected to fit all program needs. The purpose of this research is to determine reasonable expectations of potential M&S contributions to the acquisition process and to propose focus areas for the Army M&S community in order to maximize the benefits to the acquisition community.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 10, 2000
- Accession Number
- ADA380130
Entities
People
- James D. Wargo
Organizations
- United States Army War College