3 ms·
The root cause of the problem is the paradigm of Cost+ contracting where companies are rewarded for going over budget and over timetable.
by Causality1 7y ago
The root cause of the problem is the paradigm of Cost+ contracting where companies are rewarded for going over budget and over timetable.
- tlb 7y agoThe article mentions that "there are no simple answers for fixing the F-35 program, as tempting as it is to look for a single root cause for its problems." Cost+ is one of many problems. Some others are described at https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/magazine/f35-joint-strike-fighter-program.html?module=inline https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/magazine/f35-joint-strike... Cost+ does create misaligned incentives, but you also can't just expect a company to develop a project that big on a fixed-price-on-delivery contract. Nobody has $1T (or even, if you think it could be done for 1/4 the price, $1/4T) to invest in R&D before getting paid.
- Causality1 7y agoI'd have no problem with a money up front approach. It's the projects that become disgustingly over budget I take issue with. For example, the James Webb Space Telescope was sold to Congress and by extension the American taxpayer as a ten year, 500 million dollar project. It is currently a twenty-four year, ten billion dollar project.