Enhancing military rapid product delivery capabilities

Abstract

The rapidly changing global security environment that todaypsilas military operates within requires an ever increasing ability to quickly adapt to non-traditional threats. This has forced the U.S. to re-examine the traditional means of equipping its forces to ensure more agile acquisition practices are available to the science and technology (S&T) and acquisition communities. While there have been significant efforts to look towards industry for potential solutions, the heavily bureaucratic and restrictive government environment has made this difficult. To effectively implement rapid reaction approaches within the government context, research into organizations facing similar constraints must be conducted. This research focused on interviewing innovative pockets across the government with proven track records for rapidly acquiring new technologies to cross-pollinate measures for success. Through the use of various qualitative measures, innovative practices and methodologies were identified that keep these organizations on the cutting edge of rapid product delivery. The recommendations of this research can be broadly applied to organizations chartered with rapidly responding to customer needs.