Air Force Weapons Systems Programs

NASA’s four-phase process is an outgrowth of the weapons systems procurement process used by the military. For many years the Department of Defense (DOD) pressed companies in the aerospace industry to develop standardized management, planning, and control tools. When standardization did not occur, the Air Force intro- duced a series of manuals in 1964 designed to administer consistent management con- trol to all its future systems. A program package concept was designed to relate planning and budgeting to defense requirements.

The program package outlines four phases that a defense system must go through. The phases, as well as the series of manuals, are still in use today. During Phase I, concept formulation, experimental and test studies are performed to develop the system concept and establish its feasibility in terms of technical, economic, and military criteria. Each contractor must perform certain steps for the Air Force that, in turn, must do the same for the DOD. When the best technical approach has been se- lected, the DOD makes sure that the cost-effectiveness of the approach weighs favor- ably in relation to the cost-effectiveness of competing systems on a DOD-wide basis. Phase II, contract definition, has three stages. Stage A involves screening contrac- tors and negotiating requirements on proposals. DOD finances contract definitions for, usually, two contractors. In Phase B the competing contract definitions are sub- mitted by the contractors; each includes complete technical, managerial, and cost pro- posals for the proposed system development. In Phase C an advisory committee reviews the competing proposals and selects a contractor.

Phase III and Phase IV overlap. In Phase III, acquisition, the system goes through detailed design, development, procurement, and testing. In Phase IV, operation, the system is delivered, placed in service, and then evaluated to ensure its effectiveness. After the system has been tested and accepted by the Air Force, it is transferred to a “user command” and made operational with active logistic support.

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There are good reasons why the systems development cycle appears in so many kinds of projects. First, it emphasizes continuous planning, review, and authorization. At each stage results are examined and used as the basis for decisions and planning for the next stage. Second, the process is goal oriented—It strives to maintain focus on user requirements and system objectives. Review and evaluation help ensure that mistakes and problems are caught early and corrected before they get out of control. If the en- vironment changes, timely action can be taken to modify the system or terminate the

project. Third, with the user requirements and system objectives always in sight, ac- tivities are undertaken so that they are coordinated and occur at the right time, in the right sequence.

The four-phase systems development cycle of the last two chapters outlines the nominal phases, stages, and activities for projects. It is just an outline, however, and should not be taken as a description of what does or should happen in all projects. As the examples show, it can be altered or simplified so that some phases receive more emphasis, some less, some none. Some even may appear in different sequence, depending on the project. Nonetheless, in preparing for any project it is a good idea to mentally review all of the phases described to make certain that nothing will be missed.

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1. When does the project manager become involved in the project? 2. How is the project team created?

3. What are user requirements, system objectives, and system specifications? Give examples. How are they related?

4. Describe the process of developing user requirements and system specifications. 5. What problems are associated with requirements definition? What are ways to

minimize these problems?

6. What is the purpose of specifying priorities and margins in defining require- ments?

7. How are the various functional areas and subcontractors involved in the re- quirements definition and project planning process?

8. Describe briefly the contents of a project master plan. 9. What are the aims of a quality-oriented project?

10. Discuss the preparation and content of a project quality plan.

11. Comment on the statement “a project should strive to produce an end-item with the fewest possible defects.”

12. What is the practice of “fast tracking” or “design/build?” What are the associ- ated potential benefits and dangers?

13. What happens during the design stage? Who is involved? What do they do? What is the role of the project manager? How are design changes monitored and controlled?

14. What is a prototype and what is its purpose in design and development? 15. What is rapid prototyping and how is it employed in the systems develop-

ment process?

16. What happens during the production or building stage? How is work planned and coordinated? Who oversees the work?

17. What is the distinction between the project end-item and project side items? What role does the project manager have regarding each?

18. What is contract administration?

19. How is the project end-item tested and checked out for approval?

20. How is the system implemented? Describe the important considerations for turning the system over to the user.

21. Describe ways of converting to the new system. 22. How are projects “closed out” or terminated?

23. Describe the postcompletion project summary. What is its purpose? 24. Describe the postinstallation review. What is its purpose?

25. Describe what happens during the operation stage. What is the role of the sys- tems development organization?

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As appropriate, answer review questions 1–4, 7, 8, 13, 16, 19, 20, 22–25 with re- gard to your project. Also, answer the following questions:

1. When the end-item is a product, system implementation includes marketing, promotion, and distribution of the product. If the end-item in your project is a product, when does the planning begin for marketing, promotion, and distribu- tion, and who is responsible? Where does the plan fit into the project master plan?

2. If the end-item is a building or other “constructed” item, how is it turned over to the user? Describe the testing, acceptance, training, and authorization process. 3. What happens to the project team when the project is completed?

4. How does the organization get reinvolved in the next project?

Case 5-1

Star-Board Construction/