Planning for naval research, development, test and evaluation

Abstract

Research, Development, Test, and JEvaluation (RDT&S) in the Navy today is truly big business. More than $1.4 billion will be spent for this purpose alone during the current fiscal year, and undoubtedly this figure will rise in the future. As with most endeavors, but especially those which involve large and complex organizations, the usability, feasibility, and applicability of the end products, as well as the efficiency with which they are produced, can be no better than the plans on which they are based. It is with this thought in mind that this thesis has been directed toward an examination of the planning processes by which the Navy prepares to direct its massive RDT&E effort. However, one word of caution must be expressed for future readers. A special study of the possible reorganization of the Department of the Navy structure, called the Dillon Report, is now before Congress. It is quite possible that this report, if approved and implemented, will drastically alter the organizational structure now utilized in the planning and control of the RDT&E effort. The possibility is very real that the functional role of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (Development) in the administration, planning and control of the RDT&3 effort of the Navy may be drastically revised, and that the planning processes now utilized to control the RDT&S effort may be altered considerably in the future.