MODEL-BASED ACQUISITION KICKSTART: Lowering the Barrier-to-Entry for Model-Based Deliverables

In the current acquisition landscape, the typical program office is proliferating and drowning in a plethora of documents to manage their increasingly complex efforts. Model-based approaches allow System Acquirers (SA) (i.e., Program offices) to articulate system and contractual needs more effectively and precisely. Model-based approaches allow System Developers (SD) to focus their energy on designing complex solutions, instead of spending time and effort preparing documentation to check-the-box; or worse, to create inconsistencies and confuse the SA. There is an immense opportunity to utilize state-of-the-art Digital Engineering (DE) technology and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) methods to its full potential to streamline the acquisition and system development lifecycle. One of the opportunities is to address the current understanding of a “deliverable”. This paper outlines the current beliefs concerning deliverables and presents a desired future state with recommended constructs for implementation.