Evolutionary Acquisition. Implementation Challenges for Defense Space Programs

This monograph presents findings of a RAND Project AIR FORCE research project that documented the lessons learned by the U.S. Air Force and other Department of Defense (DoD) cost analysis and acquisition community members from the implementation of evolutionary acquisition (EA) strategies for major...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Lorell, Mark A, Lowell, Julia F, Younossi, Obaid
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
ACQUISITION
AIR FORCE
COST ANALYSIS
Defense Systems
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Economics and Cost Analysis
EVOLUTION(GENERAL)
LESSONS LEARNED
Logistics, Military Facilities and Supplies
MILITARY STRATEGY
SPACE MISSIONS
STRATEGY
THRESHOLD EFFECTS
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Summary:This monograph presents findings of a RAND Project AIR FORCE research project that documented the lessons learned by the U.S. Air Force and other Department of Defense (DoD) cost analysis and acquisition community members from the implementation of evolutionary acquisition (EA) strategies for major Air Force defense space acquisition programs. In May 2003, DoD promulgated revised 5000 series acquisition directives and instructions that mandated EA strategies relying on the spiral development process as the preferred approach to satisfying operational needs. These same concepts were later incorporated into a new space acquisition policy document, the National Security Space Acquisition Policy (NSSAP) 03-01 (DoD, 2004). The principal goal of EA strategies is to provide operationally useful capabilities to the warfighter much more quickly than traditional acquisition strategies. Instead of the old approach of single step to full capability, evolutionary acquisition aims at achieving an overall objective end capability through the more rapid fielding of numerous operationally useful threshold capabilities by pursuing less demanding intermediary increments or steps. In theory, the initial spirals or increments provide a basic threshold capability relatively quickly, which is operationally useful to the user. Subsequent spirals or increments build on this to provide more capability, eventually resulting in a system that meets the full objective capability originally envisioned at the beginning of the program. The original document contains color images. ISBN-0-8330-3882