Assessment of the U.S. Army Natick Research, Development, and Engineering Center (1997) / Chapter Skim
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C Excerpts from the Phase-One Report
C Excerpts from the Phase-One Report
Pages 170-189
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From page 170... ...
Appendix C Excerpts from the Phase-One Report This appendix contains key excerpts from the committee's phase-one report, WorId-CIass Research and Development, Characteristics for an Army Research, Development, and Engineering Organization.. The excerpts consist of the Executive Summary and the tables (Tables C-]
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From page 171... ...
The Natick RDEC vision is to be a worId-cIass RD&E team that provides global customers with the essentials of life. The RDEC is organized into the following five directorates, which reflect the essential elements of its mission: (~)
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From page 172... ...
. These competitive advantages result from excellence in five key attributes, which are often called "pillars." The pillars are (~)
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From page 173... ...
However, this strategy and ultimately the vision are necessarily influenced by the current environment, which includes shrinking budgets and levels of personnel. Taking the factors listed above into account, the committee determined that a worId-cIass Army RD&E organization is one that excels in several key attributes by matching core competencies to its mission, thereby fulfilling the needs of soldiers as well as, or better than, similar organizations anywhere in the world.
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From page 174... ...
Customer involvement in setting program objectives and following progress can also be evaluated. Although an Army RDEC must focus on the primary markets it serves, the committee believes that some market diversification is proper for any RD&E organization.
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From page 175... ...
Value Creation Pillar The characteristics of this pillar are a proper portfolio, product performance, cycle time and responsiveness, and the value of work in progress. Value creation is often a perception based on a comparison of previous products (or lack thereof)
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From page 176... ...
These attributes, often called pillars, are customer focus, resources and capabilities, strategic focus, value creation, and quality focus.
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From page 177... ...
The concepts, characteristics, and metrics developed in this study should be used to assist the committee to assess the Natick RDEC. Recommendation 2.
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From page 178... ...
Poor Adequate Good Excellent Although diversification is addressed in strategic and business plans, senior management has not effectively broadened the customer base; products are developed only for the Army; few joint service RD&E programs are In place. RD&E programs result in products for the Army and the other uniformed services; the organization provides products to other federal agencies; some of the budget is devoted to developing partnerships with industry and academia.
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From page 179... ...
; new skills and capabilities are regularly introduced into the organization; newly hired personnel bring new, state-of-the-art methods into the organization; personnel are encouraged to devote a significant amount of their work week to improving and acquiring technical skills; personnel are recognized for their accomplishments by individuals and organizations outside the Army; career structures support the development of technologists in a wide range of needed disciplines; personnel are noted for effective use of both external and internal resources. Research and program support budgets are constrained; research programs are consistently underfunded; out-year budget projections are flat or decrease; mid-year budget cuts are routine; programs are abandoned, with resulting ineff~eiencies.
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From page 180... ...
The organization possesses the skills and talents to fulfill customer requirements for the foreseeable future; new and innovative techniques, skills, and processes are incorporated into the RD&E processes; newly acquired skills result in improved product engineering, manufacturing, or performance; new personnel are recruited to bring state-of-the-art techniques into the organization; personnel are encouraged to participate in formal continuing education programs; members of the research staff are encouraged to participate in professional societies, serve on external committees, etc.; program managers recognize new skills that will benefit their programs, and they plan for the acquisition of these skills and talents. The research and support staffs are recognized as possessing superb technical and administrative skills and talents; many members of the support staff are recognized as artisans of their trade; research personnel incorporate state-of-the-art techniques into their research and develop pioneering methods of their own; a clearly articulated plan describes how needs and voids in core capabilities are identified and filled; new capabilities that must be developed are also addressed and acted upon; a growing inventory of skills is maintained.
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From page 181... ...
Base technologies being developed or used in the research program are necessary for fulfilling technological needs but offer little differentiation in product performance from other alternatives; important technologies are recognized, developed, and used, but technology development is not advanced. Pacing technologies are being developed or used in the research program; these technologies have the potential to change significantly the nature of the research program, but they are not yet embodied in products; incorporation of pacing technologies results in leap-ahead developments.
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From page 182... ...
Performance Characteristics Level Metrics Information Poor Technology Adequate Good Excellent Facilities and Poor Infrastructure Adequate Good Excellent Computer hardware and software are not available at every work station; software and hardware are two generations or more out of date; personnel cannot communicate electronically or transfer data internally or externally; personnel are poorly trained and hesitant to learn new applications; funding for information technology and user training is inadequate. Information technology is used as a tool by research and support personnel, and it increases productivity and ultimately decreases the organization's overhead; acquisition of new hardware and software is adequately funded; training and technical support are available; personnel are comfortable with the available technology and are electronically connected internally and externally.
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From page 183... ...
A robust planning process is in place, with broad involvement across the organization; the resulting planning document is used to measure progress throughout the year; contingency or alternative plans are developed to accommodate rapid changes in customer needs, the environment, or resources. Plans for human resources, information technology facilities, budget, and travel are fully integrated into strategic plans; the planning horizon for the strategic plans is sufficient to anticipate major Army and joint service needs; multiple examples demonstrate a high degree of flexibility within the organization, which has reacted rapidly to either major opportunities or critical customer needs.
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From page 184... ...
Commitment of the senior leadership to the strategic vision or research plan is poorly communicated to the staff; administrative and product development managers are not involved in planning the direction of future research or developing the business plan; personnel are suspicious or do not trust the organization's leadership; stakeholders view the senior leadership as ineffectual and reactive. The strategic vision and research plan are understood by the staff; resources (i.e., time, personnel, and dollars)
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From page 185... ...
Portfolio analyses of a program are an integral part of the strategic planning process; there is broad and active customer involvement in the portfolio analysis; programs yield products that have significant customer acceptance, meet or exceed customer requirements, and demonstrate increased value compared to current products or commercial alternatives; minor changes in product design occur after initial fielding. Portfolio analyses result in RD&E processes that yield products and services with excellent value, performance, and customer acceptance.
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From page 186... ...
quicker than similar government or commercial programs; innovative processes and technical solutions reduce typical quick-fix response times by nearly half; the staff monitors foreign and domestic industrial and academic research for solutions to new and unanticipated technical problems; commanders directly and indirectly express gratitude for responsive quick fixes. No evaluations of historical RD&E programs are available for comparison to current programs; no methodology is in place to assess current RD&E programs; customer perception of prior RD&E programs is predominantly critical and negative, and little or no value is placed upon the current programs by the customers.
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From page 187... ...
Greater productivity, enhanced research and product quality, improved customer involvement and satisfaction, and continuing education of the work force are areas of primary interest to senior management; the concepts of continuous improvement and excellent product value are embedded in the goals of each RD&E and support function; there is a systematic analysis of research and support processes to eliminate non-value-added activities; research personnel are renowned for finding innovative solutions to technically difficult problems.
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From page 188... ...
Program managers are flexible and adaptive; senior leadership and staff are receptive to innovative ideas for improving work processes and procedures; product quality and customer focus mean continuous improvement; disciplined approaches and the scientific method are used consistently. The senior leadership strives to identify and incorporate best business practices into the organization; processes are considered flexible and not overly restrictive, prescriptive, or bureaucratic; management is focused on achieving superior perfommance and product quality; emphasis on cross-project management ensures timeliness and the proper allocation of resources; disciplined approaches to problem solving include an extensive network linked to Ammy technological resources worldwide; the scientific method is strictly followed.
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From page 189... ...
Organizational learning is adaptive and anticipatory; research and technical capabilities continually expand, and management anticipates change; traditional and innovative methodologies are used to measure and evaluate organizational learning. Research and technology programs are not generally aligned with customer requirements and needs; records of research methodology and results are poor; although recorded in technical reports, data are not published in peer-reviewed journals or cited by other scientists in academia or industry; research results cannot be replicated by scientists and engineers outside the organization.
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