Early planning is key.

• Author: Ferguson, Bob
• Position: READERS' FORUM - Letter to the editor

The larger acquisition system is not really designed for success. It is very difficult to avoid the pressures of the "schedule and cost" mantra. We can, however, hope to improve overall performance so that smaller numbers of programs fail, and fewer programs experience breaches by understanding these dynamics and taking the longer view during product development.

Adopting a new technology requires development of skills in all aspects of product development, deployment and testing. A failure to plan sufficiently for the implementation of the technology in any aspect creates program delays and rework.

For example, the testers must know how the technology works; how it has affected the design of the product; how to build the test platform and several other aspects of the actual test setup and test cases. Schedule pressures combine with test design problems and result in products that are not ready for deployment and cannot be fielded as desired.

The other technical complexity problem is the tendency to start work on easy things and postpone the work on the hard problems. This allows the organization to demonstrate "rapid progress" at the expense of doing things in the wrong order. When the difficult problems are later resolved, some of the "easy" work has to be redone.

The strength of the mission need is probably the most important driver of program success. If the need is sufficient, the program will eventually deliver a solid product though the time required for delivery may be longer than desired. One can look to the Osprey as an example.

If the need is not sufficient, but the program champions are strong, well-backed supporters, the champions will seek additional customers. The program then experiences significant churn in mission definition and addressing the desires of...