A Conceptual Model of the Department of Defense Major System Acquisition Process

The Department of Defenses weapon system acquisition process has come under increasing scrutiny by Congress in the last two decades because of increased cost and inadequate performance of its new weapon systems. Many studies have been made on specific aspects of the acquisition process to improve acquisition strategies. As a result, constant changes have been made in the process in an attempt to eliminate problems. However, none of the changes have significantly improved the process. The problem of developing and implementing effective solutions to the acquisition process appear to stem not from valid research but from a lack of understanding of the total system and the environment in which the process operates. The Federal Procurement Institute expressed the desire for a model that would depict the contextual setting of the acquisition process to aid in formulating changes to the process using current research and in directing future research. The authors present a conceptual model of the DoD acquisition process that incorporates the contextual setting of the process, describes the major interactive factors, and captures the influences of these factors on each other as well as on the entire process.