Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

David Gould General Manager Submarines

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

Project management metrics of

time, cost and performance

must be viewed as only part of

the longer and wider story

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

A parable of capability

development

– the rifle

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

Baker rifle was a Flintlock Rifle used by the British

Army during the Napoleonic wars. It was the 1st

standard - issue, British-made rifle accepted by the

military.

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

The Springfield Model 1861 was a percussion cap muzzle

loader used during the American Civil War and was favoured

for its range, accuracy, and reliability. Great Britain exported

nearly one million of the guns to America during the conflict

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

The Martini-Henry designed in 1870, with a single-shot action

was the first gun built from the ground up as a breech loading

rifle. Production began in Great Britain in 1871, and remained in

service with the British military for nearly 30 years.

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

The Lee-Enfield bolt-action, magazine fed, repeating rifle was the

main firearm used by the military forces of the British Empire

(from 1895 until 1957) and the and Commonwealth during the first

half of the 20th century.

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

The technology line of

development confers a transient

capability edge.

But getting it wrong can be

catastrophic.

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

An ambition for leading-edge

technology is not compatible

with an expectation of certainty

in terms of performance, time

and cost

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

This binary, absolutist notion of

“success” or “failure” is

problematic, as a project that is

late or over-budget is not

necessarily a failure in terms of

capabilities generated.

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

Consider 3 projects from different walks of life and over eras –

St Paul’s Cathedral, The Houses of Parliament and the C-17

aircraft

all late and over-budget but now considered a significant

functional success

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

Time

Edge

Risk

Affordability

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

For technologically–demanding

requirements, all stakeholders,

including parliamentarians

should recognise a readiness to

tolerate significant

technological and managerial

risk

Equip and Sustain the Australian Defence Force

Known Unknowns

“There are known

unknowns. These are

things that we know.

There are known

unknowns. That is to say,

there are things that we

know we don’t know. But

there are also unknown

unknowns. These are

things we don’t know we

don’t know”.

Donald Rumsfeld