全球智库信息集成服务系统

• Joint management and commonality are not the same. Joint management is an organizational construct established to jointly manage a program with multiple participants. In contrast, commonality is a technical design concept in which different systems use the same components or subsystems. In general, it is commonality (in some form) that is responsible for cost savings or other benefits that are attributed to joint management. Commonality may emerge organically (bottom-up) and be managed successfully without a formal joint management construct.
• Voluntary participation is a key enabler of successful joint initiatives. This ensures that participants are self-motivated and self-organizing.
• Requirements must be substantially the same across all stakeholders. This means that the basic technical characteristics of the system (or subsystems and components) must be similar enough that compromises to accommodate diverse requirements do not impose additional costs (in dollars, risk, or performance) on the system. This is extremely challenging for a complex multiservice weapon system program, but it may be somewhat more manageable at the subsystem or component level.
• Any formal joint or multiservice management construct should be founded on comprehensive planning, which includes delineating the roles, responsibilities, and authorities or participants; decision and oversight processes; and other rules of engagement. These should be codified in a memorandum of agreement.
• The specific advantages and disadvantages — benefits and costs — of each management construct are contingent on a clear definition of exactly what is being acquired and by whom, as well as the business, organizational, and budgetary environment in which they are operating in.

The history of joint acquisition programs in the U.S. Department of Defense reveals varied outcomes — some positive, some negative. Joint program management is intended to reduce management costs and spread risks across participating services. Increased commonality theoretically yields economies of scale and savings that can be realized during the development, production, and support phases. However, joint management introduces significant complexity, while commonality also introduces significant technical challenges. Some joint programs have proved to be successful (e.g., the Joint Direct Attack Munition), while the complexity of joint requirements might have contributed to cost growth and schedule delays in other programs (e.g., F-35 Joint Strike Fighter), detracting from the benefits expected from commonality. The joint Future Vertical Lift (FVL) initiative asked RAND to examine joint management constructs and recommend strategies for improving both its internal organizational structure and its alignment with key external bodies. The authors draw a distinction between joint program management and commonality and argue that it is possible to achieve some degree of commonality without joint program management. Based on a review of historical joint initiatives, as well as a review of relevant business management literature, the authors identify some of the factors affecting joint program success and recommend ways to apply those lessons to the management of FVL.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  Methodology

• Chapter Three

  Description of the Joint FVL Initiative

• Chapter Four

  Lessons from Organizational Theory and Academic Literature

• Chapter Five

  Select Historical Examples of Joint Program Management in DoD

• Chapter Six

  Alternative Management Constructs

• Chapter Seven

  Conclusions and Recommendations