Managing Complex Programs in a Post-LSI Environment

Abstract

Abstract : From the mid-1980s to the present, program management of large-scale, Department of Defense (DoD) acquisitions has been characterized by a trend away from government oversight and control toward greater privatization. The limits of privatization have been reached with the evolution to lead system integrators (LSIs), which assume such traditional government roles as requirements determination, systems trades and program management. External forces played a major role in the evolution of these practices: A defense procurement holiday throughout the 1990s significantly reduced defense procurement spending and commensurate programs to manage; Cumulative reductions (approximately 50 percent) in the DoD acquisition workforce left government program managers without required organizational expertise; Evolution of families of systems (i.e., systems of systems) development strategies increased the complexity of the systems developed and management responsibilities; and Reform initiatives that permitted wider latitude in privatization or competition of formerly government-only responsibilities. This paper examines an evolution of government program management from a period of large government organizations chartered with detailed oversight responsebilities, to the present, which is characterized by small, core-government staffs providing limited insight of contractor activities. A media survey of the effectiveness of the LSI strategy is conducted. Statutory remedies and regulatory changes that have been drafted and subsequently enacted are also examined. Lastly, the paper proposes a basis for DoD acquisition management policy initiatives that will transition certain program management responsibilities and expertise back to the government following this period of extensive privatization. Because the government acquisition workforce is not currently sized or trained for these expanded responsibilities, policy effects and recommendations are explored.