Comparative Analysis of the Resources Required for Test and Evaluation on Army-Led Weapon System Programs, Based Upon Program Size and Acquisition Management Complexity

摘要

Test and Evaluation (T&E) is an integral part of every acquisition program, as such, it consumes considerable program resources. The Department of Defense (DoD) T&E program management requirements are written to meet the risk reduction needs of large acquisition programs, but do not provide the details needed to consistently scale T&E management efforts for smaller programs across DoD. This research study investigates ways that the T&E burden to programs differs based upon the Acquisition Category (ACAT), application of T&E oversight, and materiel commodity area. The primary data source for the study was each program s Test and Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP). The majority of the programs evaluated are part of the DoD Chemical Biological Defense Program (CBDP). This research effort found ACAT-based patterns in requirements definitions and ACAT-induced variability in test site usage. The study also determined that the TEMP documentation burden was similar across all ACATs, and consistently higher than Service guidance. Future studies using this analysis methodology are required to determine whether the T&E burden to CBDP programs is typical or unique within DoD.