Identifying Quantifying Critical ilities in the Acquisition of DoD Systems

Abstract

and extended, to determine what nonfunctional attributes, specified as iltiies, the two groups of systems exhibit to determine if the decision to retire a system is based on these attributes. The research applies a grounded theory approach to determine what attributes extended DoD systems exhibit and compares these findings to retired systems. Research showed that the DoD systems extended beyond their planned service life demonstrate the ilities of extensibility, flexibility, interoperability, versatility, and robustness. The research also explores the application of social network analysis tools and metrics to a network of U.S. Air Force systems to understand if these tools can quantify the ilities of interoperability and versatility. For this analysis, a data set of 136 systems provided the basis for a network of systems that examines shared resources (financial, physical, and information) as well as shared operational activities.