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Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Program

Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Program

Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Program

Proceedings Paper (for Acquisition Research Program) Most systems now provide multiple functions and multiple capabilities (MFMC) in a single solution. Yet, it has become increasingly challenging for managers to properly assess the development and acquisition of these systems to ensure the achievement of adequate system maturity. Moreover, such a challenge is compounded when the systems are not only comprised of MFMC but have multiple or competing technology and integration alternatives. This challenge then raises a fundamental question: How do we effectively assess the maturity of a system for acquisition when considering technology and integration alternatives or trade-offs in a MFMC system? This paper introduces an approach to begin to address this question and provide results that can be used to evaluate systems development maturity, track progress, and form corresponding strategies for further development and trade-offs in technology and integration alternatives. Acquisition Research Program Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Symposium Presentation (for Acquisition Research Program) Symposium Presentation Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Program Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Proceedings Paper (for Acquisition Research Program) With support from the Naval Postgraduate School and government/industry partnerships, the Systems Development & Maturity Laboratory (SD&ML) at Stevens Institute of Technology has successfully developed a systems maturity measure (i.e., System Readiness Level [SRL]) and supporting optimization models for inclusion in a Systems Earned Readiness Management methodology. We now believe it is time to spiral back to the beginning of the original developments of the SRL to enhance fundamental capabilities of assessing system maturity in order to address some recurring issues to its application. That is, systems have variants in their physical architecture that realize certain functionality and capability by which trade-off decisions are made to find a satisficing solution for a deployable system. This paper enhances previously developed methodologies by addressing this fundamental question, ''What are the trades-off in functionality, capability, cost, schedule, and maturity that will allow the deployment of a less-than-fully mature system that can still satisfy specific needs of the warfighter?'' To answer this question, we formulate a capability-specific SRL and use multi-dimensional component importance analysis to identify which components of the system should receive the most application of resources when they are constrained. Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Program Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.

Acquisition research (Graduate School of Business & Public Policy) This paper proposes the use of a new Systems Readiness Level (SRL) scale for managing system development and for making effective and efficient decisions during the defense acquisition process. This scale incorporates both the current Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of the Department of Defense (DoD) and the concept of an Integration Readiness Level (IRL) developed by Stevens Institute of Technology. The paper describes the foundations for the SRL and how it is formulated; it also demonstrates the SRL's application within the defense acquisition process using a sample case with notional readiness values. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited.