TESTED BY AUSTERITY
T&E timelines
to support
fact-based
decision-making. Te ultimate goal is to ensure that Soldiers’ equipment is effec- tive and suitable and will survive in even the toughest operational environments to which Soldiers deploy.
STRATEGIC PRINCIPLES In compliance with current acquisi- tion and T&E policy, CTS examines all aspects of the developmental phases of the acquisition life cycle in search of T&E efficiencies while supporting all major milestones and fielding decisions.
Te CTS rests on four key tenets: • Actively using Soldiers in DT.
• Leveraging DT data to support OT evaluations.
• Using maneuver force home station training for data collection.
• Using combat training center (CTC) rotations to evaluate operational impacts.
Although the individual tenets are not new, combining them into one strategy with greater emphasis on the use of alter- nate OT methods has not yet been fully explored.
USING SOLDIERS IN DT Leveraging Soldier-user assessments dur- ing DT helps uncover early system design or functional issues. Program manag- ers can leverage data from those early assessments to make decisions on system technology development in advance of production and fielding. Leveraging the data early mitigates the impact of system design changes on a program’s cost and schedule. To ensure Soldier availability and competence in testing, ATEC has re-energized its training mission so that
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TEST STRATEGY IN ACTION
Soldiers attach hydraulic hoses in preparation for a bridge retrieval during preproduction qualifica- tion testing of the Joint Assault Bridge at APG in 2014. In an example of leveraging DT to support the OT evaluation, ATEC’s T&E master plan for the bridge includes creating an operationally realis- tic environment during the production-qualification test by adding Soldiers in realistic scenarios to certain phases. (U.S. Army photo)
Soldiers may perform multiple roles in the field: Soldier, operator, maintainer, tester and evaluator (SOMTE). However, as the Army continues to reduce its force structure, the availability of SOMTEs for participation in testing is uncertain.
Soldier feedback is invaluable and influences the program manager’s decision-making during early phases of acquisition and T&E. For example, in May 2013 during an ATEC test on a gre- nade ammunition pouch in partnership with the Rapid Equipping Force, Sol- diers navigated an obstacle course during which grenades fell out of their ammu- nition pouches. ATEC provided data from the user assessment to the program manager, which resulted in the redesign of the pouch. Early Soldier involvement and data collection allowed for system improvements without which Soldier safety or readiness might have suffered.
Te benefits of using Soldiers in DT extend beyond reducing T&E costs, though. Perhaps equally notable is gaining Soldiers’ understanding of the
environment in which they will be using a system and how other Soldiers will interact with it. Capturing Soldier feed- back is critical to the Army’s efficient development of effective, suitable and survivable systems.
LEVERAGING DT DATA Soldier participation in operationally realistic scenarios throughout the DT environment has yet to be practiced, but it clearly can reduce the time and cost of OT later in the acquisition cycle by enabling discovery of potential opportu- nities for system improvement while the system is in development.
One key to the success of this approach is limiting the test scope to only what is necessary to accomplish the evaluation. Tis means removing all test facets of the OT that have no impact on the specific operational area of focus and accepting that this focus on operational realism will not negate test results. Operational data obtained during this process can be used to make improvements early in the program’s life cycle. Using Soldiers in an
Army AL&T Magazine October-December 2015
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