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FIGURE 19. QUESTION 8 MODEL CODES AND THEMES
ChatGPT Codes
Claude Codes
1. Preference for fixed-price contracts 2. Cost-plus contracts for uncertain projects 3. Incentives tied to schedule and performance 4. Use of OTAs for flexibility and innovation 5. Rigorous acquisition strategy approval processes 6. Strategic use of incentives to drive contractor performance 7. Impact of organizational structure on contract decisions 8. Adaptation of contract types to project requirements 9. Formalized processes driven by technical maturity and risk 10. Diverse contract types for comprehensive needs
1. Contract type depends on project specifics 2. Cost-plus preferred for development and unknowns 3. Fixed-price favored for mature designs 4. Incentives to align contractor and government goals 5. Tailoring strategies to program needs 6. Modular contracting for complex systems 7. OTAs for prototyping and flexibility 8. Agile development favors cost-plus arrangements 9. Balancing risk and collaboration 10. Importance of experienced personnel in decision-making
Question 8 Themes
1. Contract Type Alignment: • Matching contract type to project specifics and maturity 2. Incentives: • Use incentives strategically to drive contractor performance and alignment 3. Flexibility and Innovation: • Leveraging OTAs and agile methods for flexibility and innovation 4. Risk Balancing: • Balancing risk and collaboration between government and contractors 5. Process Formalization: • Formalizing processes based on technical maturity, risk, and complexity
Note. OTAs = Other Transaction Authorities.
Responses to Question 8 did not mention SOWs, but upon further investigation, at least five entries among other question responses indicated the use of SOWs for concrete deliverables. In response to Question 15 (monitoring technical progress), one participant mentioned, “From a software perspective, we had milestone design reviews based on the maturing of the software, firmware, algorithm, etc. I wrote specific entrance and exit criteria for those reviews in the Statement of Work.” Additionally, a response discussed the use of GFE in evaluating contract proposals. Both examples highlighted the benefits of leveraging manual data review to complement AI model results.
FIGURE 20. Q8 NVIVO THEMES
The data provided in the theme analysis and discussed in this section were compared to the NVivo theme analysis (Figure 20). Based on the comparison, the themes from NVivo aligned closely with those found by the LLMs, but both remain slightly divergent from
Q8: NVivo Themes 1. Contract Type 2. Fixed Price 3. Incentive 4. Acquisition Strategy
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Defense ARJ, Summer 2025, Vol. 32 No. 2: 132—193
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