The main focus of the panel of the naval services' top acquisition officials was improving processes and stopping the cost and schedule overruns that have plagued so many programs and eroded their support on Capitol Hill.
John Thackrah, acting assistant Navy secretary for research, development and acquisition, explained the "acquisition governance review" conducted by Navy Secretary Donald Winter. That review established a new process that involves the service leaders in reviewing requirements at the beginning of a program. That forces an early evaluation of the trade-offs between some additional level of capability and a major increase in time and risk.
