Management by CDRLs leads to desk engineering
What is a CDRL? It stands for Contract Data Requirements List (CDRL), but in “government-speak” a CDRL is shorthand for any contractually mandated documentation (reports, […]
Month: February 2021
The reason bureaucratic planning doesn’t resolve weapons risk
Navy leaders have known for a very long time about what chemist and philosopher Michael Polanyi called “tacit knowledge,” or knowledge that is difficult to […]
Progress in Skyborg and what’s holding back hardware
Mike Atwood (General Atomics): We’re really excited to see the formation of the Vanguard programs and realize his vision. The challenge we’ve had is though […]
How Jeff Bezos created a business culture of mission command by replacing PowerPoint with narratives
I’d start by going back in time and place you where Jeff Bezos was when all entrepreneurs started out. At the beginning, Jeff worked out […]
DHS, DoD, and revisiting the valley of death
The Army has spent millions of dollars with goTenna, but the service cannot give the company one of the most important things for a small […]
Podcast: Big questions in defense acquisition with Col. Bryon McClain
I was pleased to speak with Colonel Bryon McClain on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss the biggest questions facing the defense acquisition system. He […]
Acquisition headlines (1/31 – 2/6/2021)
A better bureaucracy can close the gap between defense and commercial technology. (War on the Rocks) Good data on microelectronics and drone production. They want […]
Is Space Force merely a Trump vanity project?
Psaki was asked Tuesday by Bloomberg White House reporter Josh Wingrove if Biden has made a decision about “keeping, or keeping the scope of, Space […]
To stop industrial consolidation, DoD must look in the mirror
During the Trump administration, several high-powered defense-related mergers and acquisitions occured. L3 Technologies merged with Harris, United Technologies acquired Rockwell Collins and then merged with […]
Is Congress ready to rethink DoD oversight?
Dan Patt: Yeah. Speaking of a fresh look, we found it fascinating that in your report, you recommend changes to the budget and appropriations process to […]
Why the military accepts delivery of deficient systems
Here’s a quote from Henry Durham, a former production manager at Marietta George for Lockheed. He reported: When planes arrive at the flight line of […]
Data on SBIR, open topics, and the defense industry
The U.S. military has historically been an important investor in transformational technologies, but this model faces challenges from a less innovative and more concentrated defense […]
Podcast: How innovation really works with Anne Marie Knott
Anne Marie Knott joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss her book How Innovation Really Works. She is a professor teaching strategy and […]
Transcripts: How innovation really works with Anne Marie Knott
Listen to the podcast here, and read the write up here. _____________________ Eric Lofgren: I’m here with Anne Marie Knott she’s a professor teaching strategy […]