Analysis of Alternatives in System Capability Satisficing for Effective Acquisition

Abstract Under the direction of the Principal Investigators and support from the Acquisition Research Program and government and industry partnerships, the Systems Development & Maturity Laboratory (SysDML) at Stevens Institute of Technology has successfully developed, tested, and implemented a system maturity measure (i.e., System Readiness Level) and supporting optimization models for inclusion in a System Earned Readiness Management methodology. Currently the SysDML is integrating these previous developments into tools to quantify maturity in multi‐function, multi‐capability (MFMC) systems. Given that the trend is for systems to provide MFMC, it has become challenging for managers to properly assess their development and acquisition to ensure the achievement of critical capabilities and functions. Moreover, such a challenge is compounded when the systems are not only comprised of MFMC but have multiple or competing technology and integration alternatives. This challenge, then, raises a fundamental question: How do we effectively assess the maturity of a system for acquisition when considering technology and integration alternatives or trade‐offs in a MFMC system? This research intends to answer this question and provide results that can be used to evaluate systems development maturity, track progress, identify component criticality, and form corresponding strategies for further development and trade‐offs in technology and integration alternatives. This material is based upon work supported by the Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research Program under Grant No. N00244‐11‐1‐0002. 2010‐2011