Series:
Acquisition Research Symposium

Series Type
Conference
Description
ID

Publication Search Results

Now showing 1 - 10 of 2740
  • Publication
    Managing the Service Supply Chain in DoD: Implications for the Program Management Infrastructure
    (2007-04-01) Rendon, Rene G.; Apte, Uday; Acquisition Management (AM); Acquisition Research Program (ARP); Acquisition Management
    The services acquisition volume in the US Department of Defense (DoD) has continued to increase in scope and dollars in the past decade. In fact, in recent years, the DoD has spent more on services than on supplies, equipment and goods, even considering the high value of weapon systems and large military items (Camm, Blickstein & Venzor, 2004). Between FY 1999 to FY 2003, the DoD''s spending on services increased by 66%; and in FY 2003, the DoD spent over $118 billion (or approximately 57% of total DoD procurement dollars) on services (GAO, 2005a). The acquired services presently cover a very broad set of service activities, including: professional, administrative, and management support; construction, repair, and maintenance of facilities and equipment; information technology; research and development, and medical care.
  • Publication
    A Comparative Analysis of Advanced Methodologies to Improve the Acquisition of Information Technology in the Department of Defense for Optimal Risk Mitigation and Decision Support Systems to Avoid Cost and Schedule Overruns
    (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2021-05-10) Housel, Thomas J.; Mun, Johnathan; Jones, Raymond D.; Shives, Timothy R.; Carlton, Benjamin; Acquisition Research Program (ARP); Acquisition Research Program
    This study examines five advanced decision support methodologies—Lean Six Sigma (LSS), Balanced Score Card (BSC), Integrated Risk Management (IRM), Knowledge Value Added (KVA), and Earned Value Management (EVM)—in terms of how each can support the information technology (IT) acquisition process. In addition, the study provides guidance on when each methodology should be applied during the acquisition life cycle of IT projects. This research includes an in-depth review of each methodology in the context of the acquisition life cycle. All acquisition projects within the Department of Defense must go through the acquisition life cycle. While each acquisition project is unique, all must pass a series of common hurdles to succeed. Understanding how and when the methodologies can be applied to an IT acquisition is fundamental to its success. The study concludes with a set of recommendations for the use of each methodology in the acquisition life cycle of IT projects.
  • Publication
    Effect of Information and Decision-making on DoD Performance Incentives and Award Fees
    (2009-04-01) Hildebrandt, Greg; Acquisition Management (AM); Acquisition Research Program (ARP); Acquisition Management; Other Research Faculty
    This analysis discuses DoD policy for the use of Performance Incentives and Award-fee Contracts during System Development and Demonstration (SDD). Both a review of the use of Performance Incentive Contracts since the 1960s, as well as the current policy required by the DoD to develop performance incentives are provided. A performance incentive should be structured such that the contractor receives a profit for improved performance equal to the value to the government of the improved performance times the cost-sharing ratio. This formula will motivate a contractor to spend no more than the government''s value to enhance performance. If exactly that amount is spent, the loss in profit resulting from increased cost will just equal the profit received from enhanced performance. This project also shows how a similar logic can be extended to Award-fee Contracts. The analysis examines alternative decision-making and informational structures to determine the effect on contract outcome when the performance incentives are structured in accordance with policy. In certain situations, more complex incentive structures may be required. However, the informational requirements to properly develop these more complex Incentive Contracts may be substantial.
  • Publication
    Reducing Work Content in Early Stage Naval Ship Designs
    (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2014-05-01) Keane, Jr, Robert G.; Deschamps, Laury; Maguire, Steve; Acquisition Research Program (ARP)
  • Publication
    Acquisition Security Framework: Integration of Supply Chain Risk Management Across the DevSecOps Lifecycle
    (2022-05-02) Woody, Carol; Wallen, Charles; Alberts, Christopher; Bandor, Michael; Acquisition Research Program (ARP); Acquisition Research Program
    Supply chain cyber risks stem from many organizational dependencies—in particular, pro-cessing, transmitting, and storing data; information technology; and communications technolo-gy. These risks are broad, significant, and growing as outsourcing options expand. Important mission capabilities can be undermined by an adversary’s cyber-attack on third parties, even when the organization does not explicitly contract for technology. Virtually all products or ser-vices an organization acquires are supported by or integrate with information technology that in-cludes third-party components/services. Practices critical to monitoring and managing these risks are scattered across the organization, resulting in inconsistencies, gaps, and slow response to disruptions. The Acquisition Security Framework (ASF) contains leading practices to support programs acquiring/building a secure, resilient software-reliant system to manage these risks. It defines the organizational roles that must effectively collaborate to avoid gaps and inconsisten-cies. It also establishes how an organization should ensure effective supply chain risk manage-ment that supports its mission and objectives. The framework contains proven, effective goals and leading practices, and it is consistent with supply chain risk management guidelines from the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), National Institute of Standards and Technol-ogy (NIST), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
  • Publication
    Acquisition Management for Systems-of-systems: Exploratory Model Development and Experimentation
    (2009-04-01) DeLaurentis, Daniel; Mane, Muharrem; Acquisition Management (AM); Acquisition Research Program (ARP); Acquisition Management; Other Research Faculty
    In recent years, the Department of Defense (DoD) has placed a growing emphasis on the pursuit of agile capabilities via net-enabled operations. In this setting, systems are increasingly required to interoperate along several dimensions. Yet, the manner in which components of these ''system-of-systems'' (SoS) are acquired (designed, developed, tested and fielded) has not kept pace with the shifts in operational doctrine. Acquisition programs have struggled with complexities in both program management and engineering design. We have developed a conceptual model for pre-acquisition and acquisition strategy in an SoS environment and have implemented it in an exploratory, dynamic model. The model allows acquisition professionals to develop intuition for procuring and deploying system-of-systems by providing a venue for experimentation through which they can develop insights that will underpin successful acquisition of SoS-oriented defense capabilities. This paper presents example studies that demonstrate the capabilities of the dynamic model and highlight the importance of project characteristics. Specifically, we investigate the impact of SoS attributes''requirement interdependency, project risk, and span-of-control of SoS managers and engineers''on the completion time of SoS projects.
  • Publication
    Optimal Inventory Policy for Two-echelon Remanufacturing
    (2007-04-01) Ferrer, Geraldo; Acquisition Management (AM); Acquisition Research Program (ARP); Acquisition Management; NPS Faculty
    We present a two-echelon remanufacturing facility subject to constant demand, in which the disassembly process and the repair process observe stochastic yield. We develop an intuitive scheduling policy and perform a robustness test.
  • Publication
    DoD Software-Intenstive Systems Development: A Hit and Miss Process
    (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2015-04-01) Naegle, Brad; Acquisition Research Program (ARP)
  • Publication
    17th Annual Acquisition Research Symposium: "Creating Synergy for Informed Change"
    (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2020-05) Shaffer, Alan R.; Acquisition Management (AM); Acquisition Research Program (ARP); Acquisition Research Program
    Proceedings: 17th Annual Acquisition Research Symposium, Keynote Speaker: Hon. Alan R. Shaffer
  • Publication
    Understanding Defense Acquisition Workforce Challenges
    (Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School, 2017-03) Murphy, Colleen; Bouffard, Adam; Acquisition Research Program (ARP)
    The DoD acquisition system is a complex enterprise requiring professionals with many years of experience to execute the process expertly. However, the acquisition workforce faces several key challenges. First, the number of experienced acquisition professionals in the DoD is declining. They are being replaced by a young generation facing a long learning curve. Second, the acquisition workforce lacks the experience, knowledge, and tools necessary to digest and apply the wealth of information related to acquisition. Third, the workforce struggles to keep pace with the increasing complexity of the federal acquisitions. The MITRE Corporation conducted this research to validate the significance of the key challenges facing the workforce and provide a foundation for モnext steps.ヤ MITRE developed an independent survey to document the issues facing practitioners in the field. Through our research, we validated that the workforce believes they are ill-equipped to meet the demands of the acquisition environment. We determined that the workforce needs solutions to assist them to shorten the learning curve, modern tools that appeal to the changing workforce demographic, and cultural changes that support and encourage the workforce to think critically to successfully operate in a complex environment. The recommendations proposed as part of this research include a digitized work environment, tailored acquisition models, and workforce cultural changes. A digitized work environment is necessary to appeal to the junior acquisition workforce. They are accustomed to technology at their fingertips to answer questions and solve problems. Currently, acquisition policy and guiding documents are mainly a collection of static pdf documents spread across a variety of federal and organizational level websites. Digesting volumes of information to understand how to navigate acquisition processes is neither efficient nor appealing to a young and digitally focused workforce. Digitized policy provides centralized access to current policy and reference material to simplify complex processes. Tailored acquisition models provide streamlined approaches to address direction from acquisition leadership to tailor acquisition strategies when appropriate. Tailored models include only the required elements for a specific type of acquisition and enable less-experienced professionals to successfully navigate a tailored approach. Workforce cultural changes include recommendations to address implementation at the workforce level. For example, policy changes to approve tailored models, implementing a coaching environment to transition the knowledge of the departing experienced workforce to the junior workforce, and implementing modern tools and apps to deliver digital capabilities.