A strategy to improve the early production phase in Air Force acquisition programs

Allen D. Lee

Expert InsightsPublished 1983

This paper addresses issues of designing the early production phase in major systems acquisition programs to reduce the costs of design changes and improve system effectiveness. It focuses on the Phased Acquisition Strategy approach, that prescribes an initial low-rate production phase, intensified testing and operations, and rapid use of test and operations data. The analysis employs a model of the early production phase to illuminate key decision variables and their effects on program outcomes. The model identifies the ways that the initial production rate, initial production phase length, and early operational test intensity affect program cost-effectiveness. The study concludes by outlining some general lessons for the conduct of future acquisition programs and notes that recent acquisition experiences demonstrate a partial trend toward the policies it advocates.

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Lee, Allen D., A strategy to improve the early production phase in Air Force acquisition programs. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1983. https://www.rand.org/pubs/papers/P6941.html.
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