Identifying Governance Best Practices in Systems-of-Systems Acquisition

Abstract

Acquisition governance currently confronts two problems: the growing size and complexity of systems-of-systems capabilities and the limited effectiveness of existing governance models to ensure the on-cost and on-schedule delivery of those capabilities. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) is engaging in research on systems-of-systems acquisition governance best practices that could help the defense acquisition community overcome some of these problems. This report provides an update on the progress of that effort. It reviews the evolution of acquisition governance models throughout the history of U.S. defense acquisition, characterizes the ways in which those models fall short of meeting the challenges of complex systems-of-systems acquisition, and offers preliminary observations on best practices to overcome those challenges based on the results of CSIS research to date. That research to date includes two new case studies. The research is continuing beyond this interim report. The final report will reflect additional work and incorporate more case studies.