Search

A modeling method is presented for the analysis of production lines with generally distributed processing times and finite buffers. First, the distributions are discretized by "probability masses fitting". In this paper, we study the "grouping at the beginning" principle, which concentrates the probability mass in a time step at its beginning. Second, the evolution of the line is described by a Markov chain. The method allows to compute refinable bounds on the throughput. We prove that "grouping at the beginning" leads to a better lower bound than "grouping at the end", which have been studied in earlier work. Moreover, we propose some approximations and show that combining both discretization principles brings a significant improvement. Finally, we show how the method performs on examples.

Among all sectors of a hospital, the operating theatre always draws the most attention of hospital managers because it is one of the most important and expensive sectors. Due to the constraint of budgets, resource-allocation issue has been recognized as a common problem in health-care organizations, and actually it is significant to operating theatre as well. In this paper, we focus on an operating theatre planning and scheduling problem in the case of an "open scheduling" strategy. In other words, we aim at assigning a set of surgical cases to an operating theatre, where both operating rooms and recovery beds of the recovery room are multifunctional, during one week by minimizing the operating cost and maximizing the utilization of operating theatre.

This paper deals with the application of statistical tests to Multi-Criteria Decision Making problems in the context of scheduling nonpreemptable jobs. This study synthesizes the results of the application of our framework to a real-life, highly constrained, discrete-continuous problem. The purpose of this paper is to compare the solutions of five scheduling strategies so as to select the most adequate scheduling strategy when considering the decision-maker's preferences and the economic context. The solutions are ranked via a lexicographical sort or a multicriteria analysis and validated by parametric and non-parametric statistical tests.

theatres on a hospital site, models of underlying phenomena are required. The objective of this study is to offer managers a tool to assist them in the planning of surgical operations and the allocation of time slots. Using periods of time of different lengths which were observed (and stored in a data warehouse) during surgical operations, taken from two different hospital sites, we propose a bivariate probability distribution model. Our study relates to about 10,000 observations.

The Air Force Research Laboratory, Warfighter Readiness Research Division, is continuously researching technologies to measure and track performance of knowledge and skills from an individual level to the command and control (C2) level, within both high fidelity distributed simulation environments and live training environments. This program initially developed a performance measurement system, the Performance Effectiveness Tracking System (PETS), which successfully captured the objective data necessary for Mission Essential Competency (MEC) evaluations, end-user performance feedback, simulator technology developer validation, and for researcher and program manager evaluation of training techniques and technologies. This report describes the preliminary testing of a new architecturally-structured performance measurement system (PETS), expanded to encompass the need for higher level measurement capabilities within multiple diverse virtual environments. This report describes the initial application of PETS within multi-player, multi-platform virtual exercises; discusses the lessons learned, and talks about the challenges faced in producing effective analysis of training results., Task order 34. Presented at the Spring Simulator Interoperability Workshop, held in San Diego, CA, on 3-8 Apr 2005. Prepared in cooperation with S & D Statistical Consulting Services, Mesa, AZ.

日本原子力研究開発機構(以下「機構」)システム計算科学センターでは、スーパーコンピュータをはじめとする大型計算機システムを導入し、計算機システム及びネットワークシステムの運用管理を通して機構の研究活動を支援している。スーパーコンピュータは研究活動にとって欠くことのできないインフラストラクチャとなっており、実験,理論に次ぐ第三の方法としてこれまで実験不可能だった現象の解明などに利用されている。本報告書は、機構の計算機を利用することにより得られた研究成果について調査を行い、その結果をまとめたものである。, Center for Promotion of Computational Science and Engineering(CCSE) of Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) installed large computer systems including super-computers in order to support research and development activities in JAEA. CCSE operates and manages the computer system and network system. This report presents usage records of the JAERI computer system and the big users' research and development activities by using the computer system in FY2005 (April 1, 2005 - March 31, 2006), 著者所属: 日本原子力研究開発機構(JAEA), JAEA-Review 2006-025

In this paper, we describe a generic scalable simulation model for the redesign and the global optimization of the supply chain of multi-site enterprises. Our model makes it possible to reproduce the dynamics of the supply chain and the information and material flows between its various entities. In particular, we concentrate on the modeling of the activities which take place both in and between the production and distribution centers. The model is designed to provide an in-depth evaluation of the effectiveness and the robustness of a certain number of network designs and to settle various management policies.

The paper presents and discusses a structure and components of a distributed decision making system for complex discrete systems and processes control. The decision-making nucleus of the system – System Dynamics Builder (SD Builder) – is described. The SD Builder is based on a hierarchical object-based representation of a complex discrete system and on a production rules based representation of discrete processes. It allows the using of on-line simulations, state-graph search, expert systems and other methods for decision making. A conceptual prototype of a sawmill in a timber factory illustrates the concepts described in the paper. In a case of a manufacturing system, the decision making system makes a part of a manufacturing execution system (MES).

For an organization to survive it must be able to adapt to its environment. A military organization operates in an environment that is constantly changing. The ability to model organizational configurations and organizational decision processes can assist the commander in adapting to the environment and understanding how a military organization is susceptible to Information Warfare (1W) attacks. First a commander must understand the concepts of Information Warfare, Command and Control and the concept of organizational decision processes and how these permit an organization to adapt to its environment. Then the commander must determine what level of detail is necessary to model the organizational decision processes for its environment. Next the commander must analyze his model for configuration and decision processes. Using such commercially available software as Organizational Consultant and vDT the commander can identify any organizational misfits to the environment and the 1W attack susceptibilities of the organizational decision processes. In the end, this approach demonstrates that it is feasible to model organizational configuration and organizational decision processes in an Information Warfare environment

Under the fiscal reality of the 21st century military budget, the typically manpower intensive United States Navy has had to learn to do more with less of everything, in many cases specifically less sailors. One mission area that is prime for manpower reduction is naval logistics. JMIC, the Joint Military Intermodal Container is a combined Naval Sea Systems Command/ Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (NAVSEA/OPNAV) program that is designed to change the way the United States Navy conducts logistics. Automation and efficiency improvements inherent to the JMIC program are proposed to drastically lower the manpower requirements and complexity of the US Navy logistics pipeline. JMIC is a program in the very early stages of development. This thesis will examine some of the operational and technical challenges associated with incorporating JMIC into the United States Navy, and ultimately United States Military logistics architecture.

This thesis investigates the efficiency of multicasting, a relatively new network technology that allows low bandwidth delivery of real-time and archived information. Bandwidth efficiency is derived from relieving the transmission source from the current burden of transporting and replication of a unique data stream for each individual recipient. Voice, video, and data are carried in a single transmission on any transport medium to any number of preselected users or group of users. It will allow commanders a synchornized, real-time logistics and intelligence information capability for making critical force employment decisions. In addition, multicasting's open standard architecture allows it to run over almost all of DoD's existing communication infrastructure. Research concentrates on the specific technologies and supporting equipment necessary to provide effective delivery of real-time or on-demand multimedia without major costs to the user and in compliance with the Defense Information Infrastructure/Common Operating Envioronment (DII/COE). While technical specifics are discussed, this paper focuses on the characteristics of multicasting that can increase the Marine Corps' combat and administrative effectiveness. With the increasing need to save time and money, multicasting offers a substantial advantage over currently used technologies.

The United States Marine Corps accomplishes its mission "to put the right Marine in the right place at the right time with the right skills and quality of life" in a variety of ways. One of the information systems assisting the Marine Enlisted Assignments branch is the Recruit Distribution Model (RDM). This thesis proposes changes to the RDM user interface, data management, assignment model, and analysis capability. With the use of business process reengineering, process modeling, mathematical modeling, and database design a fully functional prototype has been developed to address each identified change proposal. This reengineered system includes numerous innovations such as an intuitive navigational scheme using switchboards, and the elimination of manual data entry for data already available in the system. It also provides a number of significant contributions beneficial to the USMC. For instance, the reengineered system allows the user to objectively analyze different results by comparing four different objective measures, and its mathematical model uses commercial-off-the-shelf products eliminating a proprietary solver. All these changes will empower managers to effectively and efficiently manage the assignment of recruits in order to meet the challenges of the 21st century

Intranets are rapidly becoming a corporate internal information- sharing medium. Intranet technology is the same robust, proven, industry standard technology that is used on the Internet. The technical aspects of implementing the technology are simple. The organization and management aspects are significant and are key to its successful implementation. This internal use of Internet technology is easy, inexpensive, and has produced savings and benefits for corporate organizations. This thesis reviews corporate and government intranets and examines the feasibility of implementing this technology and benefiting from it, in a military organization. Specific applicability of Intranet technology was examined at Fleet Numerical Oceanographic and Meteorology Center, while maintaining the vision of its applicability to other military organizations. Fleet Numerical Oceanographic and Meteorology Center has the requisite technical and organizational infrastructure necessary to successfully implement Intranet technology. The management and technical skill sets necessary to successfully implement this technology at any military command operating a computer network should be available, or easily trained. Fleet Numerical Oceanographic and Meteorology Center and the U.S. Military should establish the organizational plans and infrastructure to implement and exploit this empowering information sharing medium.

The purpose of this study is to provide the United States Marine Corps (USMC) with an analysis of Windows NT 5.0 Network Operating System (NOS). This analysis will assist the Network Operations Center (NOC) in preparation for the eventual migration of Windows NT 5.0 into the Marine Corps Enterprise Network (MCEN). NT 5.0 offers some significant enhancements over earlier versions. Active Directory provides a unified platform to manage NOS resources by storing user information, network shares and policies. NT File System (NTFS) version 5 permits dynamic allocation of primary storage space to each user. NT 5.0 also improves network security by incorporating use of the Kerberos Version 5 protocol, providing integrated security for authentication and file encryption. A top-down migration strategy should be incorporated by the NOC. Particularly important is how the NOC builds the Domain Naming Service (DNS) conventions for the MCEN. This will require every subordinate unit to adhere to the naming convention of its chain of command. Migrating from Banyan Vines to Windows NT presents a significant change to the organization. An effective Change Management strategy can assist members of the organization in understanding the sense of loss and uncertainty that occur in times of transition, and to deal with these changes effectively.

All organizations, both private and public, must improve, streamline, and automate their business practices to adjust to rigorous demands of a highly volatile marketplace, austere financial resources, and manpower reductions. This thesis analyzes the potential of business process reengineering (BPR) to dramatically improve the Military Pay Document Process (MPDP) for the United States Army and the United States Coast Guard financial communities. Based on Nissen's methodology the MPDP is analyzed and three redesign alternatives are developed, which are capable of yielding order of magnitude improvements in cycle time and cost. This thesis includes process simulation and intelligent systems analysis of the Army and Coast Guard's baseline MPDP to generate and evaluate the three redesign alternatives. Simulation runs demonstrate that cycle time and cost can be reduced substantially by redesigning the MPDP. The redesign alternatives take a comprehensive look at transformation enablers and information technology (IT) capable of eliminating the Personnel Administrative Clerks (PAC) and the finance office functions as they pertain to pay transaction processing. The research concludes that the Army and Coast Guard's MPDP can be dramatically improved by eliminating middlemen functions (PAC and finance office) and shortening the value chain using IT along with other transformation enablers

Modern Test and Evaluation has long supported acquisition of warfighting systems in the United States Navy. As the complexity and long-term supportability of these systems has dramatically increased, the need to successfully, and incrementally test and evaluate families of systems, including their interfaces, has become even more critical. Long established techniques and methodologies for T&E may still apply, but new factors must be addressed. As the Navy continues to grapple with acquisition reform, and also looks to transform itself in the future, the Warfighters' needs have essentially remained the same - delivery of the best, most effective weapons, delivered as soon as possible, and made easy to operate and maintain. Without an equally effective developmental and operational test and evaluation process, the United States Navy cannot satisfy this need. This thesis examines T&E today and where it must go in the future. It provides recommendations for T&E enhancements, and explores several areas where the Navy, and in many cases, Joint Services, are already looking towards future, integrated and collaborative test and evaluation., The original document contains color images. All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.

A Department of Defense acquisition program is influenced by a large number of external stakeholders, including operational users, oversight authorities, contractors and suppliers, and interfacing program managers. Key stakeholders will readily agree that meeting the Warfighting needs of operational users is the primary objective of an acquisition program, however many stakeholders have developed their own strategies to achieve that goal. The job of the program manager within the acquisition system is to deliver a product that best meets stakeholder expectations (the right product delivered the right way). This research defines a methodology for eliciting strategic inputs from key stakeholders associated with an acquisition program. The methodology includes an environmental analysis leading to identification of key stakeholders and focus area for stakeholder interviews. The methodology is applied to the Global Command and Control System-Maritime program to obtain stakeholder input targeted for future strategic plans., The original document contains color images. All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.

This research supports a year long Marine Corps Institute project initiated to migrate from a closed non-relational legacy system to an open client/server system architecture in response to many identified shortcomings of the current information system used by the Student Services Department. The objectives of this thesis are: (1) to identify a set of Graphical User Interface (GUI) guidelines for application development, (2) design and develop a proof-of-concept prototype that demonstrates the functionality of a relational database management system, and (3) exercise usability testing to validate the prototype functionality. Additionally, an object oriented visual development tool is used to develop the prototype application based on process and data modeling constructs. Implementation recommendations include: (1) adopting a continuous application development strategy based on modern concurrent process and di-ta modeling constructs, (2) utilizing an object oriented visual development tool that compliments the target relational database management system, (3) utilizing the GUI guidelines identified during this research for future application development, and (4) applying usability testing to validate application functionality prior to implementation.

Government and contractor acquisition personnel are frequently directed by their superiors to trust one another and others with whom they have contracts. Unfortunately, relatively little thought may have been given to what trust consists of or what an act of trust must entail. This paper considers what is involved when one chooses to trust another person, under what circumstances trust may or may not be appropriate, and the consequences of trusting or not trusting. The paper concludes with brief suggestions concerning the ways in which trust might be incorporated into the source selection process., Published in Acquisition Review Quarterly, p224-233, Summer 2002.

This guide provides an introduction to scheduling intended for use by government program managers and industry program of project managers and their respective staffs. It is the third version of a 1986 publication prepared by Mr. David D. Acker, Mr. J. Stanley Baumgartner, and Mr. Michael B. Patterson. A second version, published in 1994, was prepared by Mr. William W. Bahnmaier and Mr. Paul T. McMahon. This version addresses many of the topics contained in their earlier versions, especially those relating to the different types of scheduling techniques. The major difference between this and the previous versions is the treatment of scheduling as part of the acquisition process and the overall program management effort, particularly as it relates to the planning and control functions of program management. Scheduling is discussed in the context of the development of integrated master plans and schedules, the risk management process, and earned value management. This guide is not intended as a detailed treatment of scheduling techniques. Instead, it is more of a primer on the subject, addressing the importance of scheduling and the application of basic scheduling techniques. It is a compilation of information from various sources, and hopefully will serve as a starting point for those who desire to delve deeper into the various scheduling techniques. The proliferation of microcomputers has greatly enhanced the capability of managers at all levels to develop and analyze schedules. Chapter 9 provides an overview of the types of automated tools available and information on desirable features of scheduling software applications.

DoD management has become increasingly concerned with broad-based increases in defense contractor indirect-cost rates. Many factors have contributed to these rate increases the major factor is the significant reduction in the business base for most defense contractors due to the declining defense budget. As a result, DoD has expanded efforts to strengthen monitoring indirect costs. It has become important for acquisition management personnel to thoroughly understand the complex and sensitive subject of indirect-cost management. By teaching various program management classes at the Defense Systems Management College (DSMC), I have found that the subject of indirect cost or overhead is commonly misunderstood and is usually referred to in unfavorable terms. It is thought to be virtually uncontrollable from a government program management perspective. In addition, the large number of indirect rates one encounters in the defense industry significantly contributes to the confusion our students experience. The objective of writing this guide is to demystify what many refer to as the sea of overhead. No single published source for the general audience of acquisition personnel provides a complete overview of indirect-cost management. This guide is intended to fill that void., Third Edition.

This report contains project summaries of the research projects in the Department of Systems Management. A list of recent publications is also included, which consists of conference presentations and publications, books, contributions to books, published journal papers, and technical reports. Thesis abstracts of students advised by faculty in the Department are also included. The mission of the Department is: To improve the managerial capabilities and leadership qualities of US and international officers and government civilians through graduate education, research, and professional service. To develop students' abilities to analyze, think critically, and take intelligent action so they can more effectively carry out their professional responsibilities, and lead their organizations in complex, and sometimes life-threatening, environment. To conduct research that supports military decision-making, problem solving, and policy setting, improves administrative processes and organizational effectiveness, contributes knowledge to academic disciplines, and advances the mission of graduate education, and To provide professional expertise that supports the development of the Naval Postgraduate School, the Departments of Navy and Defense, and other branches of Government, as well as our professional and academic organizations.

Department of Defense acquisition policy used to treat the modification of existing systems to meet new or changing requirements as an aberration rather than the norm. Little attention was paid to management of iterative processes such as preplanned product improvement spiral development or evolutionary acquisition. The recent shift in policy toward evolutionary acquisition as the preferred approach to meeting operational requirements will require a paradigm shift regarding management of defense systems acquisition programs. The Advanced Program Management Course offered at the Defense Systems Management College must be modified to support that shift., Pub. in Acquisition Review Quarterly, p61-78, Winter 2001.

Information technology is creating more realistic, more capable, and more diversified simulation tools. These tools have been applied to a range of ongoing product development programs with an increasing diversity of applications. Phenomenal reductions in development time, life-cycle costs, and improved system quality are reported from these new opportunities. In contrast to simply networking more and more computers and software together in ever-increasing capability, entirely new approaches are emerging. One overarching approach within the Department of Defense (DoD) is simulation-based acquisition (SBA). It is the proactive use of simulation and information technologies to rapidly advance all elements of the product development process. It is capturing more elements of industry every day and has the potential to revolutionize product development all over again. The author examines one powerful example of simulation-based acquisition implementation in the American and British Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft Program., Published in Acquisition Review Quarterly, p121-132, Summer 2001.

This document of viewgraphs discusses systems acquisition as part of the presentations given at the National Summit on U.S. Defense Policy, Acquisition, Research, Test and Evaluation, sponsored by NDIA, held 26-30 Mar 2001., Proceedings from National Summit on U.S. Defense Policy: Acquisition, Research, Test and Evaluation, 26-30 March 2001 sponsored by NDIA. Contains viewgraphs only.

The purpose of this thesis is to stimulate a discussion toward developing an all-encompassing Inter-agency Information Operations organization. The authors define an environment and identify theories that point toward the necessity of integrating Information Operations (10) throughout the U.S. Government (USG). The authors explore the feasibility of establishing and empowering an inter-agency organization that will monitor, evaluate and enforce all aspects of IO. Early forms of IO and their deployment are depicted in the historical backdrop of World War II. Concepts of renown futurists identify the importance of the information Age and the essential process to maximize its' full potential. A correlation between the current national security strategy and the IO environment strongly suggests the need for innovation. An overview of the current IO environment and USG organizations reveals a technological move toward inter-agency IO. Both the art and science sides of IO are incorporated into a new organization. OrgCon 7.0 is used to analyze the proposed IO organizational structure, which provides specific recommendations and defines misfits that must be addressed. The authors conclude that further work is required in modeling the organization via alternate software and a more in depth look is required in the area of National Security IO. The authors provide the essential goundwork for further research.

The transformation of the political relations in Europe at the dawn of the 21st Century resulted in deep changes in the concept of security and collective defense. In the context of NATO enlargement, Romania, like other Central and Eastern European countries, reconsidered its political and strategic position in this new environment, started profound reforms in its security institutions and continues to consolidate the democratic statecraft. This thesis examines the Steps Romania, as an aspiring country, has to complete for the admission into the Alliance. The analysis mainly focuses on the process of defense resource allocation and reorganization of the Armed Forces as requirements imposed by NATO through the concept of the Membership Action Plan. A detailed description of the defense resource allocation process is presented and analyzed against relevant theory on policy analysis and contemporary budgeting systems, in particular PPBS. The analysis concludes that through the implementation of the new defense resource management system and reorganization of the Armed Forces, Romania can meet its defense needs and become an important military contributor to NATO.

This study investigated mentoring and midshipmen at the United States Naval Academy (USNA). The mission of the Naval Academy is essentially to develop leaders, and mentoring is closely related to leadership. Therefore, this study looked at possible correlations between mentoring and midshipmen at USNA. Specifically, the extent of mentoring on midshipmen at USNA, the degree of influence mentors had on midshipmen, salient features of USNA mentors, and other psychosocial outcomes of mentoring on midshipmen were investigated in this study. This study suggests midshipmen generally accept mentoring as an important concept, but only 45% of USNA midshipmen have mentors. Female midshipmen were more likely to have a mentor at USNA than their male counterparts. USNA mentors were typically older than their protege, Caucasian, male and in the military. Peers were most trusted and utilized as mentors. This study also suggests that midshipmen having mentors were more satisfied with USNA, more likely to mentor others, and more likely to hold a leadership position on a sports team or in an extracurricular activity (ECA).

This thesis examines validity issues associated with the use of data collection techniques in information systems research. It presents an analysis of 37 studies that purported to empirically assess the effectiveness of information systems . These studies were evaluated to determine the validity of measures of effectiveness of information systems. Each study was reviewed to identify (1) data collection techniques used, (2) purported measures of the techniques, (3) ways in which the techniques were administered, and (4) discussions of validity issues arising from the use of the techniques. Findings indicate that information systems researchers have adopted data collection techniques commonly used by social scientists; however, they largely ignore or are unaware of associated validity issues . Over three-quarter of the studies involved questionnaires and fewer than a quarter addressed validity issues. Consequently, the credibility of information systems research is vulnerable to challenge.

This thesis presents a model of communication value as a function of organizational resources consumed in preparing communications. The value to an originator of a communication is based on the perception of the available resources consumed in preparing that communication. An originator consumes resources to satisfy the objective elements of information value (accuracy, timeliness and relevance) and subjective elements (format and presentation quality). Even when the objective elements of value arc satisfied, an originator continues to consume resources in pursuit of enhanced presentation quality through subjective embellishment. An originator is motivated to over-prepare by competition, maintenance of face and self-efficacy mechanisms. A recipient's value function is based on key objective elements of information value. The subjective elements have value only to the extent that they improve the reception of the objective elements. That value diminishes as resources are consumed in preparing a communication. Surplus value is introduced as the difference between a recipient's value and an originator's value of a given communication, at some quantity of resources consumed in preparation.

Drawing from a social constructionist theoroetical orientation and a range of congenial practices, we propose the concept of transformative dialogue which stresses relational responsibility, self-expression, affirmation, coordination, relfexivity, and the co-creation of new realities. We see conversational moves that accomplish these aims as highly promising; at the same time there is no attempt in the present article to suggest these as ultimate solutions to employ in situations of conflict. The present is an attempt to generate a potentially useful vocabulary rather than a strict set of rules for negotiating among incommensurate realities.

The United States Marine Corps (USMC) currently operates a fleet of KC130 aerial refueling tanker aircraft. This paper uses queuing and simulation models to examine the USMC KC130 tanker requirement, contrasts the results and explores the budgetary implications of alternative fleet requirements. This analysis finds that queuing models don't account for some of the complexities of aerial refueling operations. Therefore, queuing models may miscalculate the KC130 requirement. Simulation models give a more accurate depiction of actual KC130 requirement. Further, by incorrectly specifying the requirement the USMC could be faced with significant operational and budgetary implications., Published in Proceedings of the Winter Simulation Conference, p1075-1081, 2000. The original document contains color images.

While many studies have compared passive and active instructional methods, none provides statistical evidence that one method is clearly superior. When the subject matter to be taught is technical in nature, however, the experiential method has been shown to be more effective in terms of both student reactions and learning., Pub. in Acquisition Review Quarterly, p1-18, Winter 2000.

The United States has changed its military strategy and stepped up the use of its existing military forces without a major defense budget increase. A host of new initiatives are under way to generate the cost savings necessary to continue force modernization without a major budget increase. Reforms so far have primarily focused on the acquisition and logistic parts of the problem. Financial, contractual, and sustainment reforms are needed for acquisition and logistics reform (ALR) to achieve its full potential., Published in Acquisition Review Quarterly, p329-351, Fall 2000. The original document contains color images.

Accumulating baseline data on the defense acquisition system is essential to gauging just how successful reform efforts have been so far. This article delineates the first step in that process. Baselining, in and of itself, or as a step in continuous process improvement, has become an accepted modern management technique. Baselining attempts to describe and capture the level of success of an existing system, before proposed system changes are applied to the existing system. The changed system should show a large enough increase in success over the existing system to warrant the cost and other expenses of implementation. The Department of Defense (DoD) Acquisition Reform (AR) Program is a series of changes being incorporated into the DoD acquisition system. This article is an ex post facto attempt to baseline the DoD acquisition system prior to the introduction of reforms. To do that, one has to determine the effective date of the changes and the level of success of the then-existing DoD acquisition system. Data are available to allow one to do just that. The main point of this article is to identify and describe the first step in a three-step process called benchmarking, baselining, or a part of continuous process improvement. Step 1 is to identify a process, procedure, or product into which a series of changes or improvements are to be incorporated. Describe the current process, procedure or product as carefully as possible as regards its current effectiveness and efficiency. Establish a date for this baseline of the existing system. Step 2 is to introduce the changes or improvements into the process, procedure or product. Step 3 is to measure the effectiveness and efficiency of the changed system, at some future date. The appendix presents a review of Defense Acquisition Pilot Programs (DAPPs)., Published in Acquisition Review Quarterly, p33-45, Winter 2000.

The Department of Defense (DoD) could achieve substantially higher acquisition cost savings by following the lead of industry in applying systems engineering theory to organizational structure to develop an enterprise architecture for DoD acquisition. Commercial industries are realizing that the best opportunities for reducing costs are in the architectural mismatches that exist within their corporations. Realizing these cost savings will be essential to survival in a global economy. DoD must find new ways to achieve the cost savings necessary to replace the numerous aging systems throughout all service branches. Development of an enterprise architecture, including seamless interfaces between each level, assignment of responsibilities, metrics for measuring success, and personal accountability for results could be a substantial contributor to achieving the needed efficiencies and cost savings. The Zachman framework, with the addition of a metrics column, provides the best template for defining an enterprise architecture for DoD. Implementing the enterprise architecture will be the most difficult challenge, as it will require imposing change on entrenched bureaucracies. Transferring responsibilities to reengineered, smaller organizations is one proven method of achieving rapid change on a large scale. The question is not if DoD will follow the lead of industry, but when. John Zachman expressed it best when he said, "My opinion is, we are on the verge of seeing architecture 'come into its own,' and in the 21st century, it will be the determining factor, the factor that separates the winners from the losers, the successful and the failures, the acquiring from the acquired, the survivors from the others.", Published in Acquisition Review Quarterly, p121-130, Spring 2000.

This simulation experiment is the latest in a series conducted by the Adaptive Architecture for Command and Control (A2C2) research team. The focus was to evaluate the relative performance to two organizational structures on tasks that varied in terms of complexity and predictability. One structure represented a more traditional, functional form with interdependent nodes. The second structure was derived from computer-modeling to reduce the need for coordination by creating fairly autonomous divisional units. Results from a previous A2C2 experiment suggested that the more autonomous, divisional structure, while outperforming the functional structure in planned mission tasks, could be less effective with complex unpredictable tasks. Organization theory argues that coordination capability is an important factor in an organization's ability to respond to an uncertain and complex environment. The question examined in this research was whether the different degrees of coordination capability developed by these two structures would influence the performance and process outcomes for both predictable and unpredictable tasks. The results show only limited differences in the results for the two structures, though these are in the direction predicted above. However, a more consistent finding suggests that training and improved teamwork processes override structural differences in influencing performance outcomes. Implications to future research and training implications are discussed., Presented at the Command and Control Research and Technology Symposia, CCRTS 2000, held in Monterey, CA on 26-28 Jun 2000.

Program Manager is intended to be a vehicle for the transmission of information on policies, trends, events and current thinking affecting program management and defense systems acquisition., Original contains color plates: All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.

Program Manager is intended to be a vehicle for the transmission of information on policies, trends, events and current thinking affecting program management and defense systems acquisition., Original contains color plates: All DTIC reproductions will be in black and white.

The Acquisition Review Quarterly is published quarterly by the Defense Acquisition University Press, 9820 Belvoir Road, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-5565 The primary goal of the Acquisition Review Quarterly (ARQ) is to provide practicing acquisition professionals with relevant management tools and information based on recent advances in policy, management theory, and research. ARO addresses the needs of professionals across the full spectrum of defense acquisition, and is intended to serve as a mechanism for fostering and disseminating scholarly research on acquisition issues, for exchanging opinions, for communicating policy decisions, and for maintaining a high level awareness regarding acquisition management philosophies.

Program Manager is a vehicle for transmitting information on policies, trends, events, and current thinking affecting program management and defense systems acquisition.

Program Manager is intended to be a vehicle for the transmission of information on policies, trends, events and current thinking affecting program management and defense systems acquisition.

This is a book about the national armament systems of five nations. It provides an introduction to the political environment, the acquisition organizations, systems and processes of Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and the United States. These countries were selected for two reasons; they are participants in the annual Pacific International Acquisition and Procurements Seminar (IAPS) and because as allies and friends they are likely participants in future international armaments cooperative programs.

The Department of Defense and the Joint Recruiting Facilities Committee oversee the operation and maintenance of recruiting facilities for the Service recruiting commands. DOD is concerned with identifying the most cost-effective geographic locations for the Services recruiting offices. This report provides an overview of the Recruiting Station Location Project undertaken for the Assistant Secretary of Defense (FMP), Office of Accession Policy. The project developed models to assess the costs and benefits of alternative geographic locations for recruiting offices. The model is contained in the Recruiting Station Location Evaluation System (RSLES), which combines extensive ZIP code level data bases with an optimization routine and a geographic mapping capability. RSLES chooses optimal geographic locations for recruiting offices by balancing the impact of pre-specified ZIP code locations on costs and on new contract production. The report summarizes the components of the RSLES system. These include: the data bases of ZIP code level contracts and other demographic attributes; boundary files for all U.S. ZIP codes and ZIP code address of recruiting offices; econometric cost and contract production models; and, the optimization and mapping software. The report also details the architecture of the RSLES system and the integrating shell. Finally, the report describes efforts to apply and validate the RSLES system using data on Navy stationing actions in FY99 and FY00. The applications identify significant improvements in production that could be achieved by application of the RLSES model.

Program Manager is intended to be a vehicle for the transmission of information on policies, trends, events and current thinking affecting program management and defense systems acquisition. It is published bi-monthly by the Defense Systems Management College Press and is free to all U.S. and foreign national subscribers.

Most previous studies of military enlistment supply have used data aggregated to a specific geographic level, often the recruiting district level. A major disadvantage of aggregated data is that the district is not the primary level at which resources are allocated or recruiting activities occur. Rather, recruiters are assigned to stations and each station is responsible for a set of zip codes, which define its market territory. Thus, existing research does not provide information that would assist in identifying the best geographic areas in which to locate recruiters or stations. This paper exploits a unique data file constructed from the basic building blocks of recruiting markets - zip codes. This paper aims to measure the effects of geographic location, especially of recruiters and stations, on enlistment supply for the Navy and Army. In addition, the data allows an examination of inter-service competition among recruiters, including the effect of collocation in the same station.

This document provides guidance on the use of commercial items for program managers as well as for integrated product teams and contractors that support the program manager. It provides an overview of the fundamental challenges that organizations face when they integrate commercial items to form a system. It then addresses the issues involved in buying from the commercial marketplace, summarized lessons learned from programs that have made extensive use of commercial items, and offers suggestions.

A new wholesale level replenishment model is proposed for managing the Navy's inventories of repairable items. It is a readiness-based model which seeks to determine the depths of items of a weapon system which minimize the system's Mean Supply Response Time subject to budget constraint. The model incorporates both a batch procurement and batch repair of the items. Required inputs to this model are the specified values of each. The model assumes that demand is a Poisson process. The model formulation is presented. The solution procedure, which uses marginal analysis, is described. The budget generation process is also described. The model's performance is illustrated with an example of ten items. The results show that the proposed model provides much better Mean Supply Response Time values than the current Navy model. As an added benefit, it also gives better Supply Material Availability values that the current model. Results are also presented of a study conducted to determine potentially desirable values for the procurement order quantity and repair induction quantity. Finally, the use of a Mean Supply Response Time goal to determine the depths of the items is illustrated.

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the Recruiting Station Location Evaluation System (RSLES) optimization model. RSLES was designed to aid DOD decision-makers in determining the optimum number of recruiting stations, their geographic location and staff size. The optimization procedure attempts to maximize contract production subject to service budget constraints. The system integrates an access database, a GAMS optimizer, and MapInfo graphics to provide a flexible environment to maximize production through market analysis and demographic information. This research uses RSLES to analyze three different stationing scenarios. Each scenario is applied in a selected sample of 39 U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA). The station locations and recruiter assignments recommend by the RSLES model are compared to actual stationing decisions made by the Navy and Army in FY 1999 and 2000. Analysis of the different scenarios finds that applying RSLES could increase predicted production of high quality male contracts by as much as 3,938 throughout the entire U.S. compared to the stationing decisions made by the two services.