The authors investigate whether the tenure of program managers contributes to Nunn-McCurdy breaches. They also examine the existing decentralized systems used to track cost growth to determine whether additional guidance and control are needed to make acquisition category II programs performance more transparent. Finally, they investigate whether key assumptions, so-called framing assumptions, could be useful risk management tools.

In-sourcing has gained momentum in recent years, but producing definitive guidance that can be used to objectively determine the appropriate balance between contractor and government staff has proven quite challenging. The authors review the recent history of sourcing in the Department of Defense, assess relevant laws and policies, offer interpretations of key terms, and describe an approach to implementing current in-sourcing guidance.

New approaches to the acquisition of services and the related policy issues in which the Office of the Secretary of Defense is likely to become involved Six case studies, representing a range of new approaches used to identify policy issues in which OSD is likely to become involved, relevant to large service acquisitions. In all cases, program management is increasingly important as day-to-day management is delegated to contractors, and alternatives to arms-length relationships are used. OSD should focus on linking services acquisition goals to strategic goals, managing congressional concerns about service acquisition, and disseminating lessons learned.