Earned Capabilities Management (ECM) Meets FIRE – A Framework for Rapid Acquisition
Abstract:
Earned Capabilities Management (ECM) is an alternative approach to managing the acquisition lifecycle that uses Agile concepts to emphasize fast delivery of working capabilities with high return on investment (ROI). It offers a framework for the whole acquisition lifecycle that puts the focus of projects back where it should be – impacting the mission and strategy of the organization. ECM builds on best practices from traditional program management that use cost-based methods (e.g. earned value management or “EVM”), and retools the processes to be value-driven and emphasize speed of delivery.
ECM is needed as the Federal Government and large businesses are entering a new era of rapidly changing requirements. The old models of acquisition of using Waterfall/Stage-Gate processes are slow and often deliver products too late or no longer a fit for the organization. Famous examples include the XM2001 (2001), Future Combat System (2009), and most recently the F-35.
In his book “FIRE: How Fast, Inexpensive, Restrained, and Elegant Methods Ignite Innovation” the author Dan Ward shows examples across eras of how agile acquisitions can enable higher portfolio success. With examples from WWII and recently from NASA, we can see how rapid acquisitions can build the first fighter jet in 142 days or land on a moving asteroid two billion miles away at two-thirds the cost to collect dust trail samples.
When ECM meets FIRE, the result is a new framework for Rapid Acquisition that could enable large organizations to confidently speed up capability development and achieve immediate mission success.
