Reliability, Maintainability, and Life Cycle Cost Effects of Commercial Off-the-Shelf Equipment. Volume I. Technical Results

摘要

The report documents the results of a study to determine the effects of using commercial off-the-shelf electronic equipment in a military environment. A key element of confusion in applying commercial technology is understanding what design criteria is a part of such terms as 'best commercial practices,' etc. The report clarifies how this term and other common ones relate to 'militarized.' The choice of a militarized vs. commercial approach must be done on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, rather than firm acquisition strategy being given for all cases, an analytical procedure is presented that may be applied for each unique acquisition situation. Key to making the best decision is the determination of the appropriate weighting for the operational factors necessary for program success as well as the relative weighting of cost and risk. Regardless of the choice of acquisition strategy, use of the guideline technique formalizes management consideration of all factors contributing to the strategy decision and identifies areas of potential risk reduction.