Yes, there is much wrong with the acquisition system (not just the procurement part).
The bureaucracy is mind-numbing, but the bit that really grips my **** is the approvals process. Take a simple Business Case to attain Initial or Main Gate.
Ah, the Gates. A euphemism for savings measure, as you automatically have to add at least 6 - 9 months to the project plan as there are so many doorways to go through, and extensive gardens you must cross without treading on them, to get to the Gate Guardian in the first place; whose job it is to prevent you from doing yours.
When we called the Business Case a Board Submission, it was prepared by a civil servant at the grade below that of the most junior PE project manager (PTO 3 or PTO in old money). It was a basic competence you had to acquire before promotion into PE. Anything up to around £20M signed off by your boss (I’ve chosen that old Cat D level as the vast majority of projects are minor – I accept larger ones need higher approvals, but the principles remain the same).
The same Business Case today is meant to be “owned” by DEC, but their input in minimal, and very often worthless. So a CS prepares it, but the problem is he no longer has to have demonstrated this basic competence at a lower grade (most have no longer served at this lower grade). So, it takes longer.
Quite the worst and most inefficient part is the BC having to be reviewed and approved by “Peers” or the ludicrous IPT “Management Board”; usually both.
The last time I prepared a Main Gate Business Case, the IPT MB numbered 15 (out of 39 total in the IPT). The subject was existing technology, but a new application. The requirement was URGENT (as in, required in theatre years ago, with people dying through lack of it). 14 of the MB duly reviewed it, the common comment being “I’m non-technical, don’t understand it, but it looks ok”. (In fact, only two of them were technical, including 3 (!!) Requirements Managers, who by definition must be engineers or they can’t do most of their job. None were). The nearest analogy I can think of is you, as a pilot, having your actions reviewed and approved by junior NCOs, none of whom are aircrew.
But the 15th man was on extended leave, and I (and, more importantly, the prospective Users) had to wait for his return; after which he started on his in-tray. In time, he reached my BC. His only comment? “There’s a double full-stop at the end of this sentence”. You know his background – a 5 page CV of half day seminars, never managed a project or staff in his life. Completely out of his depth, and didn’t realise it because he was better than those around him.
The only good thing that came out of this was I knew the MD of the company (who owned the IPR and were the sole supplier in the world, but the MB wanted a competition, which is why the Users had been waiting for 4 years). He offered free loan of the entire requirement so the User could deploy immediately with proper kit. Don’t tell anyone, and follow it up with a contract ASAP. Yes, suppliers still do this, but they need to trust the PM. Trust? An old-fashioned term, given the treatment suppliers receive at the hands of MoD.
But that didn’t solve the basic problem. It was a device to get round the bureaucracy and very few would chance it. Today’s PMs know that the ability to deliver on time, to cost and performance is not something their promotions depend on – in fact, it can be a hindrance as very often your boss has already had a go at the project, failed, and been promoted. So they often sit back and take years to achieve something that could be done in weeks. There are exceptions, but they are called dinosaurs.
I could write a book.