Capability engineering: transforming defence acquisition in Canada

Jack Pagotto; Robert S. Walker

doi:10.1117/12.547938

19 July 2004 Capability engineering: transforming defence acquisition in Canada

Jack Pagotto, Robert S. Walker

Proceedings Volume 5441, Battlespace Digitization and Network-Centric Systems IV; (2004) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.547938
Event: Defense and Security, 2004, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Capability engineering, a new methodology with the potential to transform defence planning and acquisition, is described. The impact of capability engineering on existing defence business processes and organizations is being explored in Canada during the course of a four-year Technology Demonstration Project called Collaborative Capability Definition, Engineering and Management (CapDEM). Having completed the first of three experimentation spirals within this project, a high-level capability engineering process model has been defined. The process begins by mapping strategic defence guidance onto defence capabilities, using architectural models that articulate the people, process and materiel requirements of each capability when viewed as a system-of-systems. For a selected capability, metrics are rigorously applied to these models to assess their ability to deliver the military capability outcomes required by a set of predefined tasks and force planning scenarios. By programming the modification of these tasks and planning scenarios over time according to evolving capability objectives, quantifiable capability gaps are identified, that in turn drive the process towards options to close these gaps. The implementation plan for these options constitutes a capability evolution roadmap to support defence-investment decisions. Capability engineering is viewed as an essential enabler to meeting the objective of improved capability management, subsuming the functions of capability generation, sustainment and employment.

Citation Download Citation

Jack Pagotto and Robert S. Walker "Capability engineering: transforming defence acquisition in Canada", Proc. SPIE 5441, Battlespace Digitization and Network-Centric Systems IV, (19 July 2004); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.547938

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