Effectiveness of Competitive Prototyping and Preliminary Design Review Prior to Milestone B

Abstract

The 2013 Annual Report on the Performance of the Defense Acquisition System (USD[AT&L], June 28, 2013) identified a need for additional analysis of recent acquisition policies (DoDI 5000.02, December 2008) to reduce program technical risk by requiring competitive prototyping for risk reduction and a Preliminary Design Review (PDR) before Milestone B. This research uses cost and schedule estimates from Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) to determine if competitive prototyping and PDRs held prior to Milestone B have resulted in mature technologies (defined as Technology Readiness Level 6 or above) and subsequently reduced program cost and schedule slippage.