Contractually, the PM needs to ensure that the request for proposal and the subsequent contract describe the govern- ment’s
expectations for conducting
contractor testing and using contractor data. Te contract must allow for review and approval of contractor test plans to enable the government to provide proper guidance.
Te government uses various verification techniques (e.g., test, demonstration, inspection and analysis) to ensure that the systems or items being acquired meet performance requirements and the user’s needs. Te type of verification tech- niques and the amount of T&E needed should be part of a contractor test plan. Te government must ensure that proper procedures are part of the requirements verification portion.
Te contract also needs to address an ATEC inspection of any nongovernment test facilities and ATEC monitoring of test execution. ATEC needs to observe contractor testing to ensure that the system operates in the manner that Soldiers will use it.
Contractor testing typically takes two forms. One form involves the contrac- tors testing their systems in a stressing manner that can induce failures, thus causing contractors to resist sharing their test data. Te other involves the contrac- tors treating their equipment with kid gloves because they are afraid to break it. Tese concerns can make the contrac- tor reluctant to release test results to the government that show multiple failures.
Ten, when the system enters government testing, which replicates how the Soldier will use the system, testing uncovers a higher number of failures. Tis leads to delays to make time for redesigns, manu- facturing and testing to ensure contractual
CLEAR AND COMMON EXPECTATIONS
Let’s say a fuel efficiency test requires operating a vehicle for three hours at a stable speed, on a defined road course, using defined driver procedures. During the test, a tire fails. Clearly, the test must stop to replace the tire.
However, conflicts can arise when trying to restart the test. One agency may want to change the procedure to gather more information about why the tire failed and choose not to complete the efficiency test. Another agency may want to restart the test from the beginning to ensure that it can gather the fuel efficiency data (even though a tire may fail again before completion).
To combine contractor test data with government test data, several fundamental criteria must match: decision support, the data, test proce- dures, test execution, reporting and test article configuration.
Decision support—Tests are planned for different reasons. Test- ing by the contractor supports its design, engineering and production decisions (adequacy of drawings, accuracy of output, quality, design performance, reliability, etc.), whereas government testing supports assessment ratings to meet requirements and satisfy mission capabil- ity, while also supporting risk assessments of the factors the contractor used to support its test decisions.
Combined testing from the two sources must support both organiza- tions’ decision-making. The contractor’s decisions weigh the cost and benefit to its bottom line, which means it may benefit the contractor not to address or correct deficiencies, based on the cost. The govern- ment’s decision-making is based on a separate analysis of cost and benefit, weighing additional factors such as mission effect, attrition of equipment and loss of life.
Data—Data are defined by format, measurement, collection and system-unique requirements. To combine two sources, procedures must ensure that all four factors match and that the instrumentation can collect all data needed. This data authentication process should be relatively easy to establish: Set a standard for data and instrumenta- tion that both agencies will use.
Test plans and procedures—Users of the data (for the AMPV, BAE Systems and, for the government, ATEC and PM AMPV) all should agree on a common test procedure and execution. Each agency has
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