I have to disagree with some of the earlier posts. Rather than mocking those who 'commission large industrial plant and machinery', perhaps the RAF could learn a lot from them.
Frequently there are significant safety issues affecting installation, operation and quality of product. Management of the change process can be extremely complex with regard to training, maintenance, keeping the show on the road etc. Time is normally of the essence for a whole range of reasons, not least because there is always a finite budget within which manufacturers and purchasers of such industrial plant are required to operate.
In the commercial world they have to know that plant and machinery does what it says on the tin [nothing signed up until such surety exists]. that the specification will not continue to change during manufacture and installation; that the price will not escalate beyond imagination during the process by virtue of the manufacturer writing its own cheques etc!
In the commercial world the management are accountable to the shareholders for business efficiency. In the RAF the management are here today and gone tomorrow [as Robin Day once said to John Nott] and the politicians, as well as being here today and gone tomorrow, haven't got a clue how to ensure that the shareholders get value for money.
Yes safety is of paramount importance in aviation but aviation aint all that unique in these respects!