Defense Acquisition Research Journal Issue 95

A Publication of DAU

https://www.dau.edu

and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase of the life cycle. The authors provide guidance on where cost analysts’ efforts should be allocated, using factor creation and statistical testing in areas such as program management, systems engineering, data, and training. The third article is “A Learning Curve Model Accounting for the Flattening Effect in Production Cycles” by Evan R. Boone, John J. Elshaw, Clay M. Koschnick, Jonathan D. Ritschel, and Adedeji B. Badiru. It describes the creation of a new learning curve for produc tion processes that incorporates a new model parameter, that of the “flattening effect” later in the production process, i.e., a decreasing learning rate function over time, as opposed to a constant learning rate that is frequently used. The new parameter allows for a steeper learning curve at the beginning of production, and a flattening effect near the end of production. This model showed a statistically significant reduction in error when compared to Wright’s learning curve, which is a popular method used by many organizations today. The Research Agenda has been expanded to include cybersecurity and cyberanalytics. This issue’s Current Research Resources in Defense Acquisition focuses on Mid-Tier Acquisition. The featured work in the Defense Acquisition Reading List book review is The Story of Technology: How We Got Here and What the Future Holds by Daniel Gerstein, reviewed by Janel C. Wallace. Dr. Craig Arndt has left the Editorial Board. We thank him for his service. We welcome Mr. David Lewis to the Editorial Board.

Dr. Larrie D. Ferreiro Chairman and Executive Editor Defense ARJ

viii