The Government has a method to get product to soldiers fast - big defense needs to catch up

Abstract

Working within a large defense company has shown me the vast array of process that is created by contractors as a response to the numbers of requirements and processes that the Department of Defense has levied on the industry. These industry processes are geared towards very large defense development projects ($100M+) and, in my experience, do not work well for smaller (<$10M) rapid developments. The process does not enable contractors to get new products into the hands of warfighters expeditiously. The United States Government is aware of this and has been taking steps to create rapid procurement organizations that are empowered to develop and field new capabilities faster than the traditional process permits. These new organizations have exposed a new problem; large defense companies are so encumbered by the process they have matured that they have lost their agility and are unable to develop rapidly. How can that agility be restored within an industry where traditional process isn't fast enough anymore? Thesis Statement: An alternative process can be created within large defense companies that, when followed, allows fast and agile performance on rapid developments. This thesis explores the origin of the defense industry process, provides data showing that the current process isn't optimized and suggests an updated process that is streamlined for rapid development.