Considerations on United States Navy Infrastructure Readiness

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative grounded theory study was to examine the definition of infrastructure readiness in terms of Navy laboratories, and to define the best criteria or approach for effectively managing readiness to meet changing technical mission requirements. Through semi structured interviews with leadership about their perceived definition of infrastructure readiness and perceived adequacy of the current model, clarity emerged on the criteria for adequately defining, measuring, and assessing Navy laboratory infrastructure readiness. This will allow further evaluation of the existing system and identification of any gaps or risks. The primary goal of this study was to create an accurate definition of Navy laboratory infrastructure readiness, and subsequently, the key attributes to that readiness. The second goal of the study was to research other readiness systems to assess their readiness elements, and measures to determine the applicability to Navy laboratories and the feasibility of adaption of their systems for Navy laboratory use. The third and the final goal of the study was to further research on how to utilize existing models and systems in other areas to apply to any gaps identified through the interview process of the qualitative study. The study found that infrastructure readiness is viewed holistically as an environment to perform work, and includes items outside the technical definition of infrastructure, to include items like space, laboratory equipment, and processes, and that there are significant gaps in the existing Navy infrastructure readiness systems to manage many of these areas. In addition, two management system approaches emerged, tactical and strategic. Tactical management is focused on real-time management of systems to ensure a readiness state, while strategic management is more of a capacity management system to ensure adequate capacity when needed.