File:USASOC VALUATION MODEL (IA usasocvaluationm1094564017).pdf

This report presents the development of a model designed to assist the United States Army Special Operations Command (USASOC) in prioritizing its acquisition requirements. Traditional benchmarks for obligations and expenditures from the Office of the Secretary of Defense do not sufficiently address USASOC’s concern for capability in the hands of the Special Operations Forces (SOF) operator. Existing methods focus on financial metrics instead of capability-based analysis. This report discusses how the team analyzed stakeholder requirements, decomposed them into traceable value measures, and created a working value model: the Capabilities Assessment Value Model (CAVM). The model assesses projects based on the capability the product or system will provide to the warfighter. Previous research on USASOC acquisitions, qualitative and quantitative value modeling, measurement theory, and detailed input from SOF operators and their leadership are the basis for the development of the CAVM. Unique to the CAVM is the model’s ability to generate a value score that enables USASOC to independently rank-order potential investment projects into a fiscal year order of merit list (OML). The model is a novel evaluation tool that integrates into USASOC’s current process yet breaks from the traditional methods of measuring programmatic success. The CAVM provides USASOC with additional decision-making analysis that focuses on the capability provided to the end user.

Subjects: value; optimization; capability; utility; versatility; complexity; interoperability; compatibility; criticality; acquisition; technical readiness; prioritization