A Quality Improvement Strategy for Systems Acquisition,
Abstract
Affordability and readiness are among the most prominent concerns in the defense establishment today--to say nothing about the Congress and the media. Any number of techniques, procedures and controls have been established to improve management of systems acquisition and to minimize cost growth, the perennial nemesis of large, complex human endeavors. Cost/schedule control systems and reporting, for example, are now standard practice. No one technique, or combination of techniques, has yet been found to provide a satisfactory solution for today's acquisition managers. It is our purpose to portray quality in systems acquisition from this commercially-oriented perspective. An improvement strategy which is relevant to both readiness and affordability is outlined. It treats quality in its broadest, multifunctional sense. The bottom line is that if quality/productivity improvement is important to us in defense, then we must manage to get it. The strategy to be discussed is not a one-shot program or a quick fix. Rather, it is a basic shift in how we approach our work and is based on application of successful commercial practice to the system acquisition environment.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1983
- Accession Number
- ADP002820
Entities
People
- G. J. Thielen