An Investigation of the Role of System Effectiveness in the Acquisition and Sustainment of U.S. Defense Systems: 1958 to 2021

Abstract

This paper addresses the system effectiveness methodology and its intended role in acquiring and sustaining U.S. military weapon systems from 1958 to 2021. Given the prolonged period covered by this study and the many changes to the acquisition process, it would be reasonable to expect the methodology to change and adapt, and the study supports this assumption. The study uses the innovative approach of applying three qualitative methods: a structured review of the literature related to system effectiveness, a grounded theory analysis of the structured literature review, and a historiography of the initial grounded theory results. The research identifies five epochs, each marked by changes in the acquisition guidance. The conclusions are fourfold. First, the role of system effectiveness today is vastly diminished from its original purpose because the original material was not widely accessible to the community of interest during the formative years. The grounded theory result was that the concept was never allowed to mature because of changes that marked the second epoch's advent. Second, analysis of source documents provides insight into how to correct past misconceptions and incorporate system effectiveness into modern engineering. Third, the models developed in epoch one may have relevance for today's problems.