Accelerate Requirements

Requirements set the foundation of an acquisition program. They must be clearly defined, realistic, affordable, and testable. Given the rapidly changing pace of operations, technologies, and threats, DoD cannot afford to spend two years authoring and coordinating JCIDS documents to lock down requirements for a decade or more. 

Effectively scoping a program, increment, or release is a critical element to being able to deliver capabilities in a timely manner. Far too many programs attempt to do too much at once which risks delivering any capabilities. The key is to scope the work that leverages mature technologies, is affordable within the available budget, and can realistically be delivered within the desired/needed timelines. To help meet expected delivery dates, some degree of flexibility is needed in the requirements. The operational command or business unit should convey requirements via high level objectives for the acquiring organization to deliver as much capability as possible based on budgets, schedules, risks, and other factors.

The old adage: “Perfect is the enemy of good” applies to program scope and requirements; it’s better to have an 80% solution today than risk the entire program trying to get it perfect. If your program is under pressure to deliver sooner, ask yourself: What functionality could be removed or deferred and still achieve the desired outcomes? If you effectively scope the program and manage requirements as outlined below, you should be able to regularly deliver capabilities.