This Enhanced Combat Helmet (ECH) case study encourages critical analysis of a U.S. Defense Department project at two key decision points: project start and production. The case centers on the development, testing, and procurement (also referred to as acquisition) of the ECH for U.S. Army Soldiers andU.S. Marines. Two things make this case study particularly interesting. First is that key project stakeholders are passionate about helmets because they save lives in combat and all Soldiers and Marines consider themselves subject matter experts on helmets—resulting in wide applicability. Second is the fact that the key decisions involved with the ECH effort involved ambiguous data within a complex acquisition environment—requiring decision making under uncertainty. The ECH case study reinforces critical thinking in uncertain environments, documents lessons learned for sound project management for future application, and provides wide private sector exposure to the complexities of public sector acquisition and helmet manufacture in particular.
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