The development of a large-scale system or mil/aero platform, be it consumer minivan or combat helicopter, is a long-term project fraught with complexity. The penalties for a miscalculation often manifest as cost overruns, schedule delays, reliability problems, and even dangerous product failures. Every engineer and manager worries about risks like these and takes measures to avoid them.
But even in a disciplined and rigorous program, critical issues may not become apparent until the “11th hour” of a project’s life cycle. Moreover, certain realities in today’s mil/aero development ecosystem are making it even more challenging to achieve consistent quality and cost-effectiveness throughout the development life cycle, particularly at the time of system integration.
As systems become more complex, contractors who once specialized in narrow technical areas are being forced to act as systems integrators and in turn, are contracting subsystems to a global network of subcontractors. It adds up to significant potential for misunderstandings, errors, and omissions due to communication challenges across language and cultural boundaries.