Product Supportability Through Lifecyle Modeling and Simulation

Current changes in DoD budgeting processes and in the constraints on available funding have resulted in inadequate support for our warfighter’s needs. The decision environment evolves into a key question impacting our warfighter capabilities: How should the funding be distributed to achieve the optimal balance between readiness, performance, and cost? This paper outlines the fundamentals of successful Product Life Cycle Management, a method to monitor systems towards fulfilling the operational needs at the lowest possible Total Ownership Cost (TOC). The paper discusses critical decision points in different phases of the system’s life cycle and suggests an approach to use modelling and simulation tools to answer key questions and provide the required decision support.