Lean and Agile Acquisition and Systems Engineering. A Paradigm Whose Time Has Come

摘要

Today's U.S. Department of Defense acquisition system is faced with historically unprecedented and seemingly insurmountable challenges that are leading to cost and schedule overruns, poor technical performance, reduced delivery order quantities, and outright program failure. Modern weapons have become enormously complex internetworked systems of systems, technology is evolving at an increasing rate, and current acquisition practices may be exacerbating poor program performance. Lean and agile acquisition and systems engineering practices are emerging to help overcome the challenges of rapidly fielding complex new systems in the face of dynamic and uncertain market conditions and ever increasing military and intelligence threats in order to satisfy enterprise and mission needs today. Lean and agile acquisition and systems engineering as we know it today is a relatively new paradigm for managing high-risk, time-sensitive, research and development-oriented new product development projects. It seems to be the ideal model for modern, post- industrial information age knowledge workers. In reality, however, it has a long and rich history and lineage. Its tenets can be traced back to Roman Infantry Tactics, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Sir Isaac Newton, and the principles of experimentation used by Louis Pasteur in the 1800s and Thomas Edison in the early 1900s. DoD also used its basic tenets to develop experimental aircraft throughout the 20th century. But today, the art and science of lean and agile principles have reached sophisticated new heights.