CONSTRAINTS AND CONTROLS


Joint Requirements Oversight Council Adopts More Decisive Process


by Margaret C. Roth S


maller meetings, more-focused in- formation, and a stronger focus on priorities: These are steps that the Joint Requirements Oversight


Council (JROC) has taken to establish a more efficient, decisive, and ultimately effective way of validating major pro- gram requirements.


Speaking Nov. 2 at the PEO/SYSCOM Commanders’ Conference on “Improving Requirements Definition and Manage- ment,” Air Force Brig Gen Richard S. Stapp, Deputy Director for Requirements, Joint Staff (J-8), said, “We’ve made some very major changes” in the JROC process since the summer to fulfill JROC’s mandate— to make cost, schedule, and performance trades when looking at requirements.


“More than any other body in the Depart- ment [of Defense], they’re really charged with shaping the force—what do we need to fight the next fight [and] how do you bal- ance it against the budget you have” within the desired schedule. That said, “What the JROC has not done a good job of in the past is making those trades,” Stapp said.


He noted that “90 percent of ACAT [Acquisition Category] 1 programs are over cost and over schedule, and they have been for the last decade. It’s not a good track record.” The result is “all sorts of disruption and chaos” when funds have to be pulled from other programs to cover cost overruns, and budgets must be rewritten. “What we want to do with the


124 UPGRADING PORTFOLIOS


The Joint Requirements Oversight Council is considering each weapon system that comes before it to ensure that the system fits into the entire portfolio of solutions to fill a capability gap. Here, the new Apache Block III (AB3) helicopter lifts off the runway at the Boeing complex in Mesa, AZ, during a rollout ceremony in November 2011. The AB3 features key upgrades to previous Apache helicopters, including Level 4 interoperability with an unmanned aircraft system. (U.S. Army photo by Program Executive Office Aviation.)


requirements process is try to settle that down to some extent.” More-executable programs will mean more stable expendi- tures for DoD at a time when competition is intensifying for funding from base bud- gets, Stapp said.


“Right now there is no appetite and no budget for 100 percent solutions. You have to be willing to assume risk,” he said.


Setting clear priorities based on rigorous analysis is key, he added. “Not every- thing should have equal importance.” The JROC wants to be able to “debate the really difficult issues,” to look at each weapon system and its mission scenario and see how it fits into the total portfolio to fill a capability gap. “This is going to be much more deliberative than it’s going to be consensus-driven,” Stapp said.


Army AL&T Magazine


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