Path from Urgent Operational Need to Program of Record
Eileen P. Whaley and Dana L. Stewart

The United States went to war in the Middle East with a warfighter partially equipped to defeat the ever-evolving threats the enemy brought into the operational theater. In response, units were equipped with urgent, unique solutions that countered the threat. The vulnerability of units in urban hostile situations is one example that led to the development of the Lethal Miniature Aerial Munition System to improve survivability for the troops. The solutions became enduring capabilities, leading the way and bringing a program from fulfilling an urgent need to a Program of Record, with emphasis on the Capabilities Development for Rapid Transition. This article addresses current policies, procedures, processes, and required actions associated with that effort.

Applications of Should Cost to Achieve Cost Reductions
D. Mark Husband

The initial version of the DoD’s Better Buying Power (BBP) guidance directed use of “Should Cost Management” as a tool to increase efficiency and productivity in DoD acquisition programs. Over 3 years later, it is worthwhile to examine how programs have implemented Should Cost, the types of savings programs have identified and realized, and best practices and lessons learned that may be adopted or adapted by other programs. This paper provides selected Should Cost implementation examples from 15 Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) that have resulted in realized Should-Cost savings or initiatives that have an excellent chance of being realized. These programs employed various approaches based on the program’s characteristics and phase within the acquisition life cycle.

Adverse Impacts of Furlough Programs on Employee Work Rate and Organizational Productivity
Adedeji B. Badiru

This article is primarily a research-provoking exposition against the management approach used in the 2013 government furlough program. It is intended to prompt potentially productive research investigations on the impact of personnel furloughs, particularly on defense acquisition programs. Defense acquisition programs are time-sensitive and systemsoriented. What appears as a minor delay in one unit of an acquisition life cycle can lead to long-term encumbrances within the entire defense system, resulting in enormous cost escalation. Pertinent analytical techniques/ methodologies are provided to illustrate potential pathways for further research studies of furloughs and how they adversely impact organizational productivity. The author’s intent is to provoke research so that future furloughs can be better conceived, planned, executed, and managed—or avoided altogether.