- Identify the information required for a decision review
and recognize the significance of the Acquisition Program Baseline, Key
Performance Parameters, and Acquisition Strategy.
- Identify the advantages and disadvantages of
international armaments cooperative development in an acquisition
strategy.
1. Key Performance Parameters
(KPPs) are capabilities and characteristics considered by the user to be the
most essential in successfully accomplishing a capability need. KPPs:
- Should be a minimum number of Performance Parameters
necessary to adequately describe the required capability of the system
(generally eight or fewer).
- Are defined using threshold and objective
values as a way to describe performance capabilities.
While trade-offs among cost,
schedule, and performance might have to be made during the program's life
cycle, KPP thresholds are typically non-negotiable.
- Threshold values can
be lower or higher than objective values, depending on the parameter
involved. For example, for a lighter and faster vehicle, the threshold
speed would be lower, and the weight higher, than the
objective values.
- Threshold values establish the minimum acceptable
operational value of a given parameter, below which the utility of the
system becomes questionable.
- Unless otherwise specified, the objective value for
performance is the same as the threshold value. For schedule, the
threshold is the objective value plus six months, while the threshold cost
is the objective value plus 10 percent.
- Objective values
are the ideal performance parameters desired for the acquisition program,
and are usually defined in operationally meaningful, time-critical, and
cost-effective increments above the threshold values. Ideally, the
difference between the threshold and objective values should diminish as
the acquisition program advances.
2. The Acquisition Program Baseline (APB) establishes the cost, schedule and performance targets for an acquisition program. Specifically, the APB
- Serves as a formal agreement between the Program
Manager (PM) and the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA)
- Defines the space between the KPP objectives and
thresholds in which trade-offs can be made between cost, schedule and
performance without requiring MDA approval
- Can only be changed at milestone reviews, program
reviews, or in the event of an unrecoverable APB breach
3. The APB: Performance Criteria
- Key system design specs should be added at the start of
the production, fielding and support phases
- Only those performance criteria that influence
operational effectiveness, suitability, cost and schedule should be
included
4. The APB: Schedule Parameters
- Should include program initiation, major milestone
decision points, initial operating capability (IOC) and other critical
program dates
5. The APB: Cost Constraints
- This section of the APB shows program-related costs in
base year dollars, based on careful risk assessment and cost estimating
6. Development
of an Acquisition Strategy is usually done by an Acquisition Strategy IPT,
which includes representation from all functional areas, end users, and key
stakeholders. A well-defined acquisition strategy will include information on:
Contracting:number and types of
contracts, timing, competition, potential sources, source selection approach,
and Unique Identification (UID) implementation
Funding :Type and year of
appropriations, funding source agreements, and affordability analysis
Cost :CAIV objectives, cost estimates,
and identifying
Systems Engineering : Technology and
product solutions, including commercial and non-developmental items; open
systems architectures; modeling and simulation; and environmental, safety and
occupational health considerations; baseline system performance thresholds and
objectives; corrosion prevention and control; and interoperability
Test & Evaluation :Types of
testing, timing of testing, test articles including quantities and sources,
modeling and simulation, and resources such as test ranges
Software development :System
integration, sources, re-use, open systems architecture, data rights, and
computer resource life cycle management
Support Strategy :life cycle
sustainment addressing design for supportability, all applicable support requirements,
and Performance Based Logistics (PBL) approach.
Production :Design for
producibility; low-rate initial production (LRIP) schedule; and production
quantities, including long lead procurement items
Management :Risk management,
including planning, assessment, handling, and monitoring of cost, schedule and
performance risk; earned value management reports, if required, to track
contractor progress; and any international considerations related to the
program.
Much of this functional information
can be found in the Program Structure Chart, used to show specific dates
for critical events, including acquisition program phases, decision milestones,
program and technical reviews, major deliveries, T&E periods, RFP/contract
information, and other important scheduling information. The sequence and
interrelationship of activities as the team progresses through the acquisition
program is of significant importance in the program structure chart. The
program structure chart should be consistent with the schedule parameters in
the APB. The demonstration of program interrelationships is at the heart of the
IPT approach, where the actions and expertise of each team member can either
help or hinder the team's overall ability to deliver a successful end product.
Remember, as in any IPT-based
program, the team can be made up of different members depending on the nature
of the acquisition program itself, and the expertise needed to make it
successful. Because the Firebird is an ACAT II program, the management chain will
include the Program Executive Office, while the Army Service Acquisition
Executive (SAE) will be acting as the MDA.
7. International
Cooperation involves the collaboration of foreign governments and related
organizations during any stage of the acquisition cycle. Congress requires DoD
to determine if there are allied or other friendly nations with whom we can
cooperate on major systems development. Also, the acquisition strategy
should address the potential for international cooperative research, development,
production, logistics support, or sale. Some of the possible attractions of
international involvement include:
- A foreign government sharing in the cost of development
- An opportunity to incorporate emerging technology from
abroad
- Possible lower production costs through increased
foreign competition, by encouraging international producers to compete
with domestic sources
- Promoting interoperability of our systems with those of
our allies, providing a warfighting advantage in multi-national
warfighting coalitions
Some of the possible problems with
international involvement include:
- Political differences or economic problems with
partners that can delay programs
- Possible dependency on foreign sources
- Security issues associated with technology transfer
between countries can take a long time to resolve, which can lead to
program delays
- Economic considerations for the US industrial base when
foreign competition is introduced
- Legal and administrative requirements for international
participation including coordination with the State Department
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