- Identify key issues regarding test and evaluation of
commercial and non-developmental (NDI) items.
- Identify the role of Early Operational Assessment (EOA)
in reducing program risk.
- Recognize key logistics related acquisition policies
and their impact (e.g., life-cycle cost, contractor logistics support,
commercial and non-developmental items).
1. Non-developmental
items (NDI) are previously developed items used exclusively for
governmental purposes by federal, state, local, or allied governments. Commercial
items are generally used for non-governmental purposes and are offered for
sale, lease or license to the general public
2. The use of non-developmental
items and commercial products is encouraged to reduce life cycle costs
associated with having to develop new products or systems. Use of these
types of products doesn't completely eliminate testing and supportability
issues, but it can drastically cut development costs. The benefits of
using NDI and commercial products include:
- Reduced cycle time
- Reduced/eliminated R&D cost
- Reduced technical, cost and schedule risk
- Availability of product samples for source selection
process
- Availability of state-of-the-art technology
On the other hand, there can be drawbacks
to using NDI and commercial products:
- Difficulty in integrating components
- Long-term logistics support problems
- Lack of engineering and test data
3. The amount and type of testing
required for an NDI or commercial item depends on how the item will be used,
whether any modifications are needed, and the availability of previous test
results.
- If the item will be used in the same environment for
which it was originally designed, developmental testing is usually not
necessary. However, operational testing will be required if the item
will be maintained by the Government.
- If the item will be used in a different environment
than that for which it was originally designed, some developmental testing
may be required to ensure the item meets specifications or make sure the
manufacturing process is effective. Operational testing, including early
operational assessment (EOA) and operational assessment (OA), will be
required to verify effectiveness and suitability.
- If the item will be integrated into a system,
developmental testing will be required on a test sample before the item is
integrated into the system. Pre-production testing of the complete
system, including both hardware and software, may be conducted. Operational
testing of the complete system will also be required.
- If the item will be modified, both developmental
testing and operational testing will be conducted to insure the
modification meets all the requirements.
Making government unique modifications
to commercial or non-developmental items may invalidate testing and usage
data. The more we modify these items, or change the way in which they
will be used, the more additional testing we will need to conduct.
4.
Operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) is the primary means of assessing
weapon system performance. One type of OT&E, Early Operational
Assessment (EOA), is conducted to forecast and assess potential operational
effectiveness and suitability of the weapon system during development. It
is used to detect deficiencies that may impact the performance, availability,
and supportability of a system. Thus, EOA increases our confidence in the
NDI or commercial item, thereby reducing our probability of failure, which in
turn reduces risk.
5. The use of NDI and commercial
items raises long-term supportability issues. For example, we
could face a situation where the vendor changes the product line or
discontinues making replacement parts. In addition, there may be problems
with design interface and the interoperability of parts with the overall
system. Furthermore, service unique logistics capability needs may be
difficult to meet with commercial and NDI products.
6. When deciding to use commercial or NDI items, we must determine how best to support the system once it is fielded; i.e., whether to use organic support : using military personnel : or to contract out logistics support. Both options have their merits and drawbacks, and determining these can be done by taking into account the following circumstances:
- How much modification is required to make the item
fully operational? If significant changes are required before
the item is used by the military, then government (organic) logistics
support might be the best approach.
- How or where will the item be used? If the
environment will be hostile or austere, it could affect the contractor's
ability to support the item due to safety concerns, and government
(organic) logistics support might be the best approach.
- What is the projected service life? For
short-term items, contractor logistics support is often more appropriate.
- How stable is the design or configuration? If constantly changing configurations are inevitable, especially due to advances in technology, then contractor logistics support is likely to be the better option.
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