This is the first of two issues of IDA’s Research Notes focused on acquisition in the Department of Defense. These two issues will cover topics related to program inception, program execution, and managing a portfolio of acquisition programs. In this issue, we present articles related to program inception—specifically, starting viable programs. Establishing feasible programs at Milestone B is truly a critical step. Programs that enter development with flawed assumptions or concepts must address the consequent problems during execution—sometimes resulting in Nunn-McCurdy breaches. This issue contains articles on three challenges that programs must address at inception: selecting the system’s capability and its specific attributes, accurately estimating cost and schedule, and choosing an appropriate acquisition strategy.
- Defining Acquisition Trade Space Through "DERIVE"
- Supporting Acquisition Decisions in Air Mobility
- Assessing System Reliability with Limited Flight Testing
- Promise, Reality, and Limitations of Software Defined Radios
- Implications of Contractor Working Capital on Contract Pricing and Financing
- The Mechanisms and Value of Competition
- Initiation and Early Management of Acquisitions Programs