Alternative Designs for a Joint Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) Capability Certification Management (JC3M) System

Abstract

US DoD has tended to design Command & Control (C2) systems without consideration for them to interoperate for synergistic effects since each is designed for one warfighting function. As systems have grown biologically into a System of Systems, achievement of mission-level effects has disappointed. Architecting the C2 SoS as a whole is improbable. However, capabilities-based acquisition requires interoperability certification based on delivering a warfighter capability via SoS. Students at the Naval Postgraduate School examined this problem. Their result is the Joint Capability Command and Control Management (JC3M) system. This paper summarizes their efforts. A systems engineering process was applied to elicit requirements, create and simulate alternative solutions, and recommend a solution with lifecycle cost estimates. The simulation tools selected to support the project were CORE, to model function and data flow; Arena, for timing and resource utilization; and POW-ER (Project, Organization, Work for Edge Research), for organizational design and processes. The use of these tools to complement each other is unique. Results indicated that JTEM Capability Test Methodology (CTM) was projected to perform better than other alternatives, with the median LCC. The final recommendation is to monitor JTEM CTM for further maturation as it promises improvements in the utility of C4I SoS evaluations.