WHAT’S YOUR PROBLEM?


INCOMING!


A 155 mm Copperhead anti-armor projectile nears its target at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, in February 1984. Operating issues with the Copperhead left thousands in inventory and unused for decades despite two tank wars in Iraq. The problems might have been prevented if the critical elements of “why, how and what” had been employed early in the projectile’s develop- ment. (Photos by Tom Moore, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration)


the user’s requirements while balancing cost, schedule and risk, and he knows that a good problem statement is critical to kick off the discussion. Framing it too narrowly could mean missing valuable opportunities for better capabilities, but making it too vague could result in months of program churn as the integrated product team chases tasks that have nothing to do with the real problem facing the customer.


How should the PM proceed? Tey key is to arrive at an ap- propriate level of detail so there is clear understanding about the problem without overly constraining the options that may be available.


In the process, the PM must control the complexity of the problem, allowing him to understand it in its entirety in the process of solving it. Current weapon systems are some of the most complex man-made creations the world has ever produced, and a PM can quickly become lost in the myriad variables, options, interdependencies and priorities, with little better than serendipity to fall back on when the program runs into challenges. Te PM can control complexity by develop-


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ing a clear problem statement that focuses on the most impor- tant issue.


Carefully constructed problem statements resolve ambiguity, control complexity and focus creativity. Tese three factors are central to a well-structured effort. It is human nature to jump out of the problem definition stage and into solution-seeking before fully understanding or articulating the true problem. A clearly articulated problem statement prevents this.


NO STATEMENT, NO SOLUTION Unless the problem statement is constructed carefully, bias, am- biguity and missing needs can occur with disastrous results. In the 1970s, a laser-guided, 155 mm artillery projectile known as Copperhead countered the threat of massed Soviet armor in Eastern Europe. Copperhead could detect, guide-to and hit an armored target, and the large, shaped-charge warhead was con- sistently lethal against its target set.


Its development and qualification were successful, and industry produced thousands of projectiles for the Army in the late 1980s.


Army AL&T Magazine October-December 2016


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