VIRTUAL REVIEW
THE CHALLENGE Te XM204 development program scheduled a system require- ments review combined with a system functional review in early April 2020. Te system requirements review is a formal review between the prime contractor and the government to ensure a complete and mutual understanding of system requirements. Te review ensures that the XM204 Top Attack system can proceed into initial systems development and that all system and perfor- mance requirements are defined, testable, and consistent with cost, schedule, risk, technology readiness and other system constraints. Te system functional review is a technical review to ensure that the system’s functional baseline is established and can satisfy the requirements within the currently allocated budget and schedule. Tese reviews typically occur before technologies have matured, in an effort to complete a preliminary design.
FRONT-ROW SEATS SHAPING THE TERRAIN
Imagine you’re in a small contingent of Soldiers—a squad or platoon element—in the field. The enemy is due north and will be approaching your location with heavy tracked vehicles. Reinforcements are a couple of days out, so you must alter the enemies’ path of travel or they will find your position and you will be overrun. You have several XM204 Top Attack munition systems at your disposal and have decided to set up an obstacle. Obstacles are a means to limit the enemy’s ability to maneuver and can be composed of ditches, wire, natural terrain restrictions and lethal munitions. In this case, you have decided to go with the lethal munitions option. The XM204 Top Attack will cause the enemy to reconsider their operational advance because of the risk or realization of costly casualties if they continue down a path of travel that will lead them directly to your location.
After hand emplacement of the obstacles, you hightail it far outside the munitions’ effective range while leaving reconnaissance elements to maintain watch over the obstacles. Several hours later, your overwatch element confirms that multiple XM204 Top Attack munition systems launched submunitions that effectively engaged enemy vehicles, causing extensive damage and resulting in the enemy having to change directions. Mission accomplished. The emplaced obstacle effectively shaped the terrain, resulting in enemy maneuver in a direction that gives your Soldiers sufficient time for reinforcements to arrive.
Capt. Harold “Trey” Bishop, assistant product manager for (TSO) and co-author, monitors the virtual system requirements review and system functional review in April. TSO utilized available technology to quickly convert the exhaustive three-day, in-person review to an online event. (Photo courtesy of the author and JPEO A&A)
THE SOLUTION Te project team conducted an expedient analysis of alternatives to evaluate the best virtual tool to effectively enable contractor- to-government presentation of materials and joint collaboration. Te team ultimately selected the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP)-approved version of WebEx. However, this didn’t solve the problem of ensuring that every- one received and understood all the briefing materials in support of the review. Te team developed a novel approach to conduct- ing a virtual conference whereby panel members could count on receiving timely information sufficient to conduct full assess- ments of the system requirements review and system functional review entrance and exit criteria. In advance of the event, the team supplied:
• Briefing packages with embedded audio narration.
• Questions solicited from review panel members pertaining to the briefing packages, with responses.
• Training sessions with FedRAMP-approved version of WebEx.
• Customized templates to capture, organize and disseminate questions and answers from the entire team before the conference.
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Army AL&T Magazine
Summer 2020
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