SHIFTLEFT
Coordinated contractor testing can help accelerate the acquisition process and improve the quality of equipment and programs.
by Mr. Harry H. Jenkins III T
est and evaluation (T&E) is a perennial target of criticism for the time and cost it adds to acquisition programs. But there are ways to minimize this impact. One way is to use contractor-generated test data.
As the acquisition community strives to “shift left”—to accelerate acquisition timelines and thus support earlier decision-making—the use of data derived from contractor test- ing could be more efficient, save on testing costs and speed fielding of equipment. Te project manager (PM) for the Armored Multi-Purpose Vehicle (AMPV), the replace- ment for the M113 family of vehicles, is exploring the use of contractor testing and its impact on the acquisition process, especially when resources are constrained.
Typically, contractors test an article in accordance with their own test plan to deter- mine broadly whether their design meets intended requirements. Tis testing is done in isolation with minimal input from the government, generally at the contractor’s own facilities. Contractual language added to the statement of work created the conditions for the AMPV contractor to successfully demonstrate the required performance speci- fications and for the government to obtain valid data to support the evaluation in one test, versus separate tests, saving time and money. Te key is for the government and the contractor to share a common cause with the testing, creating advantages for each.
Te PM AMPV’s effort dates to June 2016, when it described not only how the program office would be conducting contractor-driven developmental and reliability testing, but also the potential for the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command (ATEC) to use these test data for evaluation purposes.
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