Lessons From Army System Developments. Volume 2: Case Studies

摘要

This report documents the results of a research project of several years' duration which employed a structured case study approach to examine the history and processes that had resulted in the introduction of a number of technology-based Army systems in time to make a positive contribution to the outcome of Desert Storm. Volume II of the report contains the 15 case studies that were developed on systems ranging from the M829A1 'silver bullet' to the GUARDRAIL Common Sensor and the APACHE attack helicopter. The case studies were developed through the use of structured interviews with key participants from the government/contractor team that developed each system. In addition to the case studies, this process resulted in collection of a common set of data for the systems studied which could then be analyzed to identify factors contributing to successful system development. That analysis is contained in Volume I of this report. Two of the 15 case studies examined systems which might have been useful on the battlefield (based on the views of Army technical leaders), but which failed to successfully complete development. The intent of including failures in the research was to provide a basis for distinguishing factors which contributed to both successful and unsuccessful system developments. While they are useful for the qualitative lessons they offer, two cases are inadequate for quantitative analysis and most analysis focuses on the 13 successful cases. It is therefore an assessment of contributors to the relative degree of success.