Doing so will naturally increase interop- erability with little extra effort and drive economies of scale to reduce cost using better buying power concepts. Building relationships is as important as building things. As a final note on this topic, look at programs holistically to reduce com- plexity by considering redundancy, cost and interoperability.
COMMANDING SKIES During a joint forcible entry training mission, the Army’s Global Response Force successfully used EMC to enable real-time joint intelligence, communications and collaboration capabilities as they flew cross-country to the objective in May 2017. The Ku-band-enabled suite of capabilities sup- ported real-time continuous mission command throughout the flight. (U.S. Army photo by 2nd Lt. Zachary Jacobson, 50th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 35th Signal Brigade)
DOCUMENTATION Another fresh approach to speeding acquisition timelines is to gain MDA approval to tailor or streamline documen- tation to significantly reduce redundancy and the likelihood of errors in substantial amounts of paperwork. Even for Acqui- sition Category (ACAT)
III programs,
which are the bulk of Army programs, there can be as many as 39 information requirements, with 16 needing MDA approval and accounting for as many as 550 pages to read.
a large network or technology to remain nimble enough to leverage newer technol- ogy as it materializes and continuously fosters competition. Te key here is to develop technology that is interoper- able instead of stovepiped. Te art of acquisition lies partially in avoiding the elevation of new products or systems to major defense acquisition program sta- tus whenever possible. Similarly, delegate MDA responsibility from the acquisi- tion executive or DOD component head to the program executive officer (PEO) level for adjudication—even down to the project managers—for as many programs as practicable. Tat will untether Army senior leaders from the unnecessary day- to-day management of these programs.
Keep organizations postured to steer clear of large, long-term procurement models whenever possible. As technol- ogy changes or improves, procure the next iteration as a technology insertion
or modification, always keeping interop- erability in mind. While an operational needs statement or directed requirement can be an effective method to rapidly implement capability, it’s not the only way to get things accomplished. Tink about using an integrated product team, working integrated
product team or
cross-functional team of representatives from appropriate functional disciplines to work together on devising innova- tive ways to improve processes, identify and resolve issues, and make sound and timely recommendations to facilitate decision-making. Ideally these forums will not become bureaucracies, but will enable movement through them.
Additionally, look beyond the local appli- cability of a baseline requirement and talk to other services like the Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force or U.S. Special Opera- tions Command and leverage mutual needs—in other words, work together.
My team and I have implemented a streamlined approach
for ACAT III
programs in the PEO for Command, Control and Communications – Tactical that effectively trimmed 39 information requirements to eight baseline documents through consolidation or reduction. Te net
result was a 79 percent decrease.
MDA signatures were reduced by 50 per- cent to eight, and total page count fell 53 percent, from 550 pages of documenta- tion to 256. Because senior leaders do not have limitless time, the MDA received the complete package plus a new execu- tive summary that distilled all the key information needed to make a decision in a five-page rollup—a 99 percent reduc- tion in reading material. Tis enabled the MDA to make a recent full-rate produc- tion decision more easily and rapidly.
FUNDING Tere are a couple of ways to increase the speed and flexibility of programs through
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