| The United States Army is currently facing austere budgetary constraints of indefinite duration, but at the same time must prepare for a more diverse, burdensome and uncertain strategic environment. Given these constraints, in 2006 the Department of Defense mandated the use of capability portfolio management in acquisitions, to ensure that the correct mix of systems are being developed and fielded within budgetary limitations. However, a lack of research in two important areas will constrain the ability of the Army to perform effective portfolio analyses. First, there is limited research to guide the Army in performing specific portfolio analyses of this kind. Second, a body of research has documented the extent and causes of cost growth, schedule delay, and cancellation in expensive 'major weapon systems', but relatively less attention has been paid to the smaller, less expensive systems that make up the majority of the Army's budget.;This dissertation attempts to address both of these areas by performing fundamental portfolio reviews of a group of related systems. The reviews assess differences in the development outcomes of large and small systems, and evaluate how successful the total portfolio of systems has been in filling critical capability gaps. |
