The Profession of IT The Myth of the Elevator Pitch

Instead of pitching, listen and offer.The article of record as published may be found at http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2184319.218433

Interactive Synthetic Environment (ISE) to Evaluate Zero-Carbon UAS Launch Platforms in the Arctic

A Quad, describing CRUSER Seed Research Program funded research.CRUSER Funded ResearchFY22 Funded Research ProposalConsortium for Robotics and Unmanned Systems Education and Research (CRUSER

The Evolving Private Military Sector: A Survey

Proceedings Paper (for Acquisition Research Program)The purpose of this research is to help the US Department of Defense and other government security communities better understand the evolving PM (private military) sector (Avant, 2005; Jager & Kummel, 2007; Singer, 2003). We anticipate our readers will be government agents, members of the international community, or others who wish to make informed decisions regarding the use of PMFs. This report discusses a beginning step in establishing a long-term program of research on the PM sector at NPS. It is expected that knowledge about the sector will be built incrementally through a series of individual studies; no one study will provide a complete picture of the relevant features of the sector. However, we believe a good starting point is to develop quantitative data about the industry, which this report attempts to do. We suggest three reasons why this is an appropriate place to begin.Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research ProgramApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Market Niches in the Private Military Sector: An Initial Look

Sponsored Report (for Acquisition Research Program)This report presents data drawn from two studies of US-based private military contractors (PMCs), including what we believe is the largest independent survey yet conducted on the Private Military industry. Results from the first study (a structured interview) include the identification of key variables industry managers use to differentiate between firms in the industry, and a simple cognitive model industry participants use to orient themselves in the industry landscape. Key results from the second study include the identification of several important differences between large and small competitors in the industry and identification of the key variables industry managers use when evaluating the qualities of firms with whom they sub-contract. Overall, this study will help professionals who do business with PMCs better understand the nature of the industry.Naval Postgraduate School Acquisition Research ProgramApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Special E-Week Offering: Innovation by Design

Special E­-Week Offering, Innovation by Design Tue, Mar 25, 2014 8:45-­‐4:00 WA 275-28

Behavioral Biases within Defense Acquisition

This paper contributes to the process of building knowledge about what we term as behavioral acquisition, which explores defense acquisition from a behavioral standpoint, including the impact of psychology, organizational behavior, and politics. Behavioral acquisition studies the decisions acquisition professionals make in Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition programs. The paper focuses on one aspect of these decision processes in the defense acquisition environment: behavioral biases. In three defense acquisition programs studied, we find strong evidence that planning fallacy, difficulty in making trade-offs, over-optimism, and recency bias affected the management and decision-making within these programs. This research helps us better understand and predict how acquisition professionals and senior leaders think and make decisions about program strategy, managing resources, and leading people. A key element in this perspective is that important insights into these decisions derive from models in which agents are not fully rational. Behavioral acquisition is analogous to behavioral finance, which has successfully applied social science theories—especially from psychology—to improve the accuracy of predictions about the behavior of actors across the entire financial landscape.Prepared for the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 93943.Naval Postgraduate SchoolApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Behavioral Biases within Defense Acquisition [video]

A video presentation with accompanying slides.This paper contributes to the process of building knowledge about what we term as behavioral acquisition, which explores defense acquisition from a behavioral standpoint, including the impact of psychology, organizational behavior, and politics. Behavioral acquisition studies the decisions acquisition professionals make in Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition programs. The paper focuses on one aspect of these decision processes in the defense acquisition environment: behavioral biases. In three defense acquisition programs studied, we find strong evidence that planning fallacy, difficulty in making trade-offs, over-optimism, and recency bias affected the management and decision-making within these programs. This research helps us better understand and predict how acquisition professionals and senior leaders think and make decisions about program strategy, managing resources, and leading people. A key element in this perspective is that important insights into these decisions derive from models in which agents are not fully rational. Behavioral acquisition is analogous to behavioral finance, which has successfully applied social science theories—especially from psychology—to improve the accuracy of predictions about the behavior of actors across the entire financial landscape.Prepared for the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 93943.Naval Postgraduate SchoolApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited