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A framework for evaluating technology readiness, system quality, and program performance of U.S. DoD acquisitions

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  • Nazanin Azizian
  • Thomas Mazzuchi
  • Shahram Sarkani
  • David F. Rico

Abstract

Although U.S. weapon systems are among the best in the world, defense acquisition programs have a historical track record for being vulnerable to enormous risks in the form of cost overruns, schedule delays, and poor technical performance. Based on assessments of selected defense acquisition programs, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) concluded that premature selection and use of insufficiently mature technologies is a driving cause of these risks. By means of policies, initiatives, and best practices, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is mandating the use of Technology Readiness Assessments (TRAs) throughout the acquisition lifecycle in an effort to curtail these risks. However, the extent to which defense acquisition programs adhere to assessing technology maturity through the TRA process and the degree of relationship to quality of U.S. military systems and performance of programs is debatable. To address this shortcoming, a framework was developed to measure the extent of correlation between TRA and key enabling engineering activities, system quality, and program performance. The framework was developed in conjunction with Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from the DoD, the Intelligence Community (IC), and the Institute of Defense Analysis (IDA) and empirically examined using a sample of 223 engineers, program managers, and executives from various U.S. DoD acquisition programs. The results suggest that, although conducting a formal TRA is not a significant predictor of system quality or program performance, there are engineering activities called for in a TRA that have strongly correlation to these factors. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Suggested Citation

  • Nazanin Azizian & Thomas Mazzuchi & Shahram Sarkani & David F. Rico, 2011. "A framework for evaluating technology readiness, system quality, and program performance of U.S. DoD acquisitions," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 14(4), pages 410-426, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:syseng:v:14:y:2011:i:4:p:410-426
    DOI: 10.1002/sys.20186
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Brian J. Sauser & Jose E. Ramirez-Marquez & Devanandham Henry & Donald DiMarzio, 2008. "A system maturity index for the systems engineering life cycle," International Journal of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 3(6), pages 673-691.
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    Cited by:

    1. Michael J. Pennock, 2015. "Defense Acquisition: A Tragedy of the Commons," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 18(4), pages 349-364, July.
    2. Wanda Peters & Steven Doskey & James Moreland, 2017. "Technology Maturity Assessments and Confidence Intervals," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 20(2), pages 188-204, March.
    3. Michael Miller & Seth Thomas & Christina Rusnock, 2016. "Extending System Readiness Levels to Assess and Communicate Human Readiness," Systems Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 19(2), pages 146-157, March.

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