In the last three years, there has been a great deal of turbulence in U.S. defenseacquisition policy. This has contributed to confusion within the acquisition workforce interminology, major policy thrusts, and unclear implications of the changes. The newacquisition framework has added complexity, with more phases and delineations ofactivity, and both the number and level of decision reviews have been increased. Decisionreviews are used as top management level project control gates, and are also a feature ofcentralized control within a bureaucracy. Although the current stated policy is to foster anenvironment supporting flexibility and innovation, the result is a continuous cycle ofdecision reviews. Program Managers may now have fewer resources to manage theirprograms as they spend much of their time, and budgets, managing the bureaucracy.Moreover, the implicit aspects of the still new model have not been fully realized, and mayresult in policy that actually lengthens programs -- counter to goals of rapidtransformation. The framework, and its associated requirements for senior level reviews,are opposed to the rapid and evolutionary policy espoused, and are counter to appropriatemanagement strategies for a transformational era.
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