An Investigation of the Role of System Effectiveness in the Acquisition and Sustainment of U.S. Defense Systems: 1958 to 2021
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Authors
Green, John M.
Subjects
Advisors
Date of Issue
2022-05-02
Date
05/02/22
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
This paper addresses the system effectiveness methodology and its intended role in acquiring and sustaining U.S. military weapon systems from 1958 to 2021. Given the prolonged period covered by this study and the many changes to the acquisition process, it would be reasonable to expect the methodology to change and adapt, and the study supports this assumption. The study uses the innovative approach of applying three qualitative methods: a structured review of the literature related to system effectiveness, a grounded theory analysis of the structured literature review, and a historiography of the initial grounded theory results. The research identifies five epochs, each marked by changes in the acquisition guidance. The conclusions are fourfold. First, the role of system effectiveness today is vastly diminished from its original purpose because the original material was not widely accessible to the community of interest during the formative years. The grounded theory result was that the concept was never allowed to mature because of changes that marked the second epoch's advent. Second, analysis of source documents provides insight into how to correct past misconceptions and incorporate system effectiveness into modern engineering. Third, the models developed in epoch one may have relevance for today's problems.
Type
Conference Paper
Description
Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Acquisition Research Symposium
Series/Report No
Department
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
SYM-AM-22-096
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Funder
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Citation
Distribution Statement
Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.