The Value Hexagon of Warfighting Acquisition: Applying the Six Competing Constraints to Accelerate Warfighting Capability and Revitalize the U.S. Defense Industrial Base

Abstract

This paper proposes the adoption of the Value Hexagon of Warfighting Acquisition. By adding three dimensions—Benefit/Value, Sponsor/Combatant Commander (CCMD) Priority, and Risk Tolerance—alongside the original three—Cost, Schedule, and Performance (C/S/P)—the Warfighting Acquisition System can shift from a risk-averse/risk-minimization focus to one of program value optimization and innovation. The Value Hexagon is a visualization tool that provides Portfolio Acquisition Executives (PAE) with the analytical basis to make transparent decisions and swiftly, decisively shift funding within portfolios’ authorized boundaries. Rather than shifting funds based on gut feel or political pressure, a PAE can show two Value Hexagon spider profiles side by side—a “Legacy Drifter” program bleeding resources and a “Rapid Responder” program starved of them—and document the trade; this is defensible to Congress and to the Secretary in a way that a narrative memo is not. The PAE has the authority to ensure honest scoring on the Value Hexagon and to make real decisions about which programs continue to add warfighting value and which should be terminated. Requiring the decision authority to co-sign an explicit risk tolerance statement—rather than leaving risk as a hidden variable—creates accountability that does not currently exist in acquisition.