In a communications challenge, for example, a typical test team deliberately consisted of experts in many different specialties, each with their own specialized vocabularies. The management challenge was to oversee development of the components and integrate them into an effective tactical missile defense capability. Immediate responsibility for integration was vested in a special Assistant Program Manager who interfaced with the three project officers and was able to allocate development funds for the three components. The main organizational challenge involved continuity of experience. Service personnel seldom get to carry the experience of one test program into another one.
Contractors have a similar problem with perspective and experience.
Although their staff members tend to have continuity of experience from program to program, they usually work in highly specialized areas of knowledge and tend not to gain a broader system perspective. People from many different organizations, including the government and private industry, had different opinions and different approaches. Some two dozen organizations were involved. We had to resolve our differences and work cooperatively as a team. This test program re-confirms lessons that were especially critical to this effort.