Abstract
It has long been recognized by the DoD acquisition community that effective translation of capability needs into stable, affordable, and well-managed acquisition programs requires proper management of technology maturity. The Technology Readiness Level (TRL) process has proven to be the tool of choice for assessing the maturity of developing technologies from the laboratory to deployment. However, TRLs are not designed for ensuring human capabilities are factored into the evolution of developing technologies. This paper discusses the steps necessary to bring human systems integration (HSI) maturity assessment to the level of technology readiness assessment in the Air Force's rapid acquisition programs. The incorporation of Human Readiness Levels that emphasize system design in terms of human capabilities and limitations into the technology maturity assessment process will reap benefits of risk mitigation, improved system performance, and reduced life-cycle costs when the technology is ultimately deployed to the warfighter.
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