Business Case Analysis and Contractor vs. Organizational Support: A First-Principles View

Abstract

The Business Case Analysis (BCA) is regarded as a highly-useful management tool. BCAs are mandatory, among other things, for formulating Product Support Strategies (PSSs) in the development of major systems. While defense managers appear to have sufficient guidance regarding BCA documentation, a comparable level of guidance regarding analytical methods is not evident. In fact, there is extant OSD guidance which leaves analytical methods as a task for the services. Accordingly, this essay addresses theoretical foundations useful for BCAs, and practical foundations for analysis in the defense arena with special attention to the choice of contractor vs. organic support in the formulation of Product Support Strategies (PSSs). The report concludes with a proposed partnership involving the Navy with the defense academic and analytical communities. It also offers words of advice based on current state-of-the-art for Program Managers doing BCAs assessing contractor vs. organic support.