The S&T community controls the budget for basic research, applied  research, and advanced technology development. Prior GAO reports have said that DOD launches new weapon programs  with immature technology. Leading Companies Rely on Strategic Planning, a Gated Process, and Tools to Transition Needed Technologies

To successfully develop and transition technologies from their labs to  their product lines, leading commercial companies depend on three key  techniques:    strategic planning at the corporate level;    a gated management review process that ensures a technology’s relevancy,  feasibility, and transition readiness; and   effective tools to solidify commitment, address transition issues, and  gauge project progress and process effectiveness. This report touches briefly on strategic planning, which precedes  technology development. Technology transition agreements are formal documents that detail the  specific cost, schedule, and performance attributes of the technology that  labs must demonstrate before transition can occur. Relationship Managers

3M, IBM, and Motorola use lab and product line relationship managers to  smooth transition. DOD Lacks Breadth and Depth of Techniques That Leading Companies Use to Effectively Transition Technologies

DOD has taken some steps over the past few years to improve its  technology transition processes, but the practice of accepting high levels  of technology risk at the start of major weapon system acquisition  programs continues to be the norm. This shortcoming is a major  contributor to DOD’s poor cost and schedule outcomes. The collection and use of meaningful metrics,  however, remain a problem. However, these programs represent a small portion of   $13 billion DOD spends on science and technology development. It must rely on the acquisition  community to identify advanced component development and prototype  funding for transitioning the technologies. Examples from past initiatives serve as reminders that just changing the  mechanics of technology transition processes, without changing the  environment that determines incentives, may not produce better  outcomes. Funding for  technology development largely comes from the corporate level, with the  research labs having responsibility for technology development until  technology is matured and transitioned to the product line. Specifically,  our objectives were to (1) identify techniques that commercial companies  use to transition mature technologies before the start of product  development and (2) assess the extent to which DOD is using these  techniques. We synthesized information from  GAO’s past best practices work about technology and product  development. Best Practices: Successful Application to Weapon Acquisition Requires  Changes in DOD’s Environment.
Why GAO Did This Study

The Department of Defense (DOD) relies on its science and technology community to develop innovative technologies for weapon systems, spending $13 billion on basic, applied, and advanced technology research. Several GAO reports have addressed problems in transitioning technologies to the acquisition community. This report, which was prepared under the Comptroller General's authority to conduct evaluations, compares DOD's technology transition processes with commercial best practices. Specifically, GAO identifies technology transition techniques used by leading companies and assesses the extent to which DOD uses the techniques

What GAO Found

Leading commercial companies use three key techniques for successfully developing and transitioning technologies, with the basic premise being that technologies must be mature before transitioning to the product line side. (1) Strategic planning at the corporate level: Strategic planning precedes technology development so managers can gauge market needs, identify the most desirable technologies, and prioritize resources. (2) Gated management reviews: A rigorous process is used to ensure a technology's relevancy and feasibility and enlist product line commitment to use the technologies once the labs are finished maturing them. (3)Corroborating tools: To secure commitment, technology transition agreements solidify and document specific cost, schedule, and performance metrics labs need to meet for transition to occur. Relationship managers address transition issues within the labs and product line teams and across both communities. Meaningful metrics gauge project progress and process effectiveness. Not only does DOD lack the breadth and depth of these techniques, the department routinely accepts high levels of technology risk at the start of major weapon acquisition programs. The acquisition community works with technologies before they are ready to be transitioned and takes on responsibility for technology development and product development concurrently. A defined phase for technology transition is not evident. These shortcomings contribute significantly to DOD's poor cost and schedule outcomes. A stark contrast exists between DOD's and private industry's environments for developing technology. The numerous examples of DOD programs that have incurred cost overruns, schedule delays, and reduced performance serve as reminders that inserting a few best practices and changing the mechanics of technology transition processes without changing the environment that determines incentives may not produce better outcomes.