expenditure targets and avoid losing money when targets expire). Financial rules severely constrain the rapid resource shifts needed to respond to new threats and oppor- tunities. In today’s dynamic environ- ment, the ability to respond quickly and pivot without having to navigate through a bureaucracy is critical. Many changes are needed, which will require congressional action. Requirements Reform Our deliberate requirements gen- eration and validation process typi- cally attempts to address a full list of capability needs prior to initial feld- ing. This produces felding times that are measured in years (or decades for complex systems). Requirements staf devote signifcant efort analyz- ing capability gaps and then trans- lating these gaps into requirements documents that are vetted through- out the Service and Joint Staf. Once
for acquisition, other factors such as excessive oversight, funding instabil- ity, and statutory/regulatory compli- ance contribute to risk aversion. De- fense acquisition is encumbered with countless rules that can severely re- strict the available courses of action. And the list of rules continues to grow with new policies and statutes, as evidenced by yearly National Defense Authorization Acts. The commercial technology sector can teach us the benefts of informed risk-taking. We can learn from the be- haviors of venture capitalists, start-up companies, and experienced innova- tors. Risks are viewed in the same context as opportunities, since the investment risk is accepted based on the investment’s potential sales and return. However, investment capital is carefully managed, usually starting with relatively small commitments to gauge market potential and followed by growth and expansion into new products and new markets. Changing culture is not easy and will require an efort from leaders and stakeholders at all levels. We must incentivize and reward risk-taking, recognizing that not all ventures will succeed. Speed It is very encouraging to see pro- posed legislation like the FoRGED and SPEED Acts. These actions suggest that Congress is supportive of the need for acquisition at the speed of change and technological advance- ment. Strategic competition involves a technology race for game-changing new capabilities that could give one nation a decisive edge. We cannot af- ford to lose this race. The “Acquisition Speed Manifesto,” in- spired by the Agile Manifesto, outlines several values and principles that would enable greater speed. One of these states that “we value informed opportunity management over risk aversion.” Like the Agile Manifesto, the article concludes that, if we adopt the values and principles, good out- comes will follow.
validated, the preferred approach is to avoid scope creep by locking the requirements down to avoid costly changes, some of which might only be nice to have. We know from the Agile Manifesto that we should accept new require- ments, even late in the development process. While this agile approach is targeted at software development, it clearly has lessons for systems devel- opment. We should avoid overly con- straining new system development with long lists of locked-in require- ments. Portfolio managers should be given the capability gaps to assess how best to address them in a mis- sion portfolio and kill chain. Risk-taking Many senior ofcials lament DoD’s risk-averse culture, which has several root causes. DoD often faces severe risks dealing with operational mis- sions, force protection, and safety. But
Suggested Reading In Order of Topics Addressed in Articles by Author Portfolio Management
- A Portfolio Management-Based Acquisition Model? (Article) Financial Management Time to Reform Acquisition Funding Rules? (Article) Requirements Faster, Greater Value, and Cheaper—Is It Real? (Article) Risk-taking (1) Moving From Risk Averse to Innovation Opportunity Seekers (Article) (2) Please Change the Acquisition Culture (Article) Speed An Acquisition Speed Manifesto (Article) Workforce (1) Business Acumen for Better Acquisition (includes 12 Business Acumen Skills) (Article) (2) How Critical is Critical Thinking? (Article) Disruptive Innovation Time to Rethink “Big A” Acquisition? (Article)
42 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION | September-October 2025
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