Podcast: Aligning government contracts with agile software
In this episode of the Acquisition Talk podcast, I host an amazing panel on contracting practices for modern software with Florence Kasule (Director of Procurement, […]
cost accounting
Podcast: Mach 5 aircraft and deep tech contracting with Hermeus CEO AJ Piplica
AJ Piplica joined me on the Acquisition Talk podcast to discuss transportation at hypersonic speeds. He is the founder and CEO of Hermeus, which is […]
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 […]
Why cost accounting does not guarantee efficiency
But accurate accounts will not guarantee efficiency. Even if — as is unlikely to be the case [Sourwine 1993; 1994]– the service supplier’s financial and […]
Big changes might be ahead to simplify commercial buying
On Wednesday, November 27, the Department of Defense (DoD) published a proposed rule that simplifies the acquisition of commercial products to meet military requirements. Two […]
William Roper is saying all the right things on defense innovation
What we really have to do in acquisition is shift the culture that is solely focused on the balance sheet — on cost — and […]
Cost escalation for defense labor and material — can it continue to grow so fast?
When we talk about procurement or support costs in the 2040 decade, obviously that’s a long way from now. Any sort of projection of a […]
Agile is NOT compatible with current DOD mgmt systems (EVMS)
The Agile EVMS Desk Guide sounds like an oxymoron. EVMS [earned value management system] by its nature follows the waterfall methodology. Agile is inherently iterative. […]
Analytics cannot save the DOD, the data problem is deep
The July 24 Defense News article, “David Norquist has one word for you: Analytics,” refers to Mr. Norquist’s emphasis on analytics at the Office of […]
The inflation slushfund
In analyzing DOD’s inflation budgeting system, we found that between fiscal years 1982 and 1986 the administration budgeted more than was needed to cover inflation, […]
More on how gov’t can best support AI research
Here is an excerpt from my recent War on the Rocks article, responding the call for ideas from the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence […]
Effects of performance management systems
The unfortunate results of imposing management control systems on contractors was that they then felt obligated to operate two systems in parallel. The contractors used […]
Do defense firms tax the US government?
A good deal of the defense business in your State is conducted by conglomerates. That is another problem. Frequently a conglomerate means the pooling of […]