DEFENSE ACQUISITION BEST PRACTICES: THE KNOWLEDGE-BASED APPROACH
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Authors
Heard, Charles D.
Subjects
knowledge-based approach
KBA
Government Accountability Office
GAO
KBA
Government Accountability Office
GAO
Advisors
Jones, Raymond D.
Mortlock, Robert F.
Date of Issue
2022-03
Date
Publisher
Monterey, CA; Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
Over the last decade, several response plans and methods have been established to reduce schedule and budget overruns in the Department of Defense’s (DOD) procurement programs. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) chose to revisit this issue in a recent study. They discovered that leveraging mature technology, having complete product designs, and having control over manufacturing processes were key to the successful development of new products. The GAO merged these principles into a single acquisition strategy known as the Knowledge-Based Approach (KBA). They assert that Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAP) that implement the KBA principles will have better program outcomes. The purpose of this research is to determine if MDAPs that meet the three basic KBA criteria outperform those that do not. MDAPs that adhered to KBA knowledge points were predicted to have lower percentages of schedule and budget overruns than those that did not. This thesis demonstrated a clear link between the KBA and program performance by using inferential testing to compare the KBA to the most recent MDAPs, thus validating the GAO’s approach, validating the research hypothesis, and promoting wider adoption of the KBA within the DOD’s acquisition community.
Type
Thesis
MBA Professional Project
MBA Professional Project
Description
Series/Report No
Department
Department of Defense Management (DDM)
Organization
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
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.