Best Practice Alignment and Program Outcomes in DoD Middle Tier Acquisition of Acquisition: A Cross-Program Analysis

Abstract

This research examines the extent to which Department of Defense (DoD) Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) rapid prototyping programs align with selected acquisition best-practice constructs. The study employed structured content analysis using selected program artifacts from the Defense Acquisition Visibility Environment (DAVE). The program artifacts were quantitatively analyzed using the GenAI.mil large language model (LLM) to ordinally score and provide document references for the scoring rationale. The rubric-constrained scoring model was applied to evaluate six best-practice constructs: Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), iterative development, modeling and simulation (M&S), delegation of authority, business case quality, and technological readiness level (TRL) at program entry. The outputs were cataloged and analyzed using descriptive comparisons and exploratory regression. Descriptive comparisons evaluated differences between successful and unsuccessful programs, Service-level differences, and acquisition document-type analysis in relation to the best-practice constructs. Exploratory regression was used to investigate relationships among the best-practice construct variables, including selected multivariate models. This research contributes a structured framework for evaluating MTA program structures and provides recommendations to improve acquisition visibility, assessment, and decision-making within rapid prototyping efforts.