The New Joint Capabilities Integration Development System (JCIDS) and Its Potential Impacts Upon Defense Program Managers

The June 2003 release of the radically-revised CJCSI 3170.01C and CJCSM 3170.01 promulgating the new Joint Capabilities Integration Development System (JCIDS) literally turned the legacy Service-initiated Requirements Generation System (RGS) upside down. The decades-old threat-driven," bottom-up" development process of warfare-materiel requirements was summarily replaced by a "revolutionary," capabilities-driven," top-down" process. The author provides an analysis, from a Program Manager's (PM) perspective, of the potential impacts of these changes upon the acquisition community in four distinct areas: Continuity with Service legacy requirements generation expertise, PM management challenges when other PMs are responsible for supplying critical subsystems and components that will enable satisfaction of Key Performance Parameters, Total Ownership Cost implications of deploying multiple, low-density materiel configurations, and potential disconnections between Presidential Budget Requests and Congressional enactment.