The Expeditionary Effect on Contract Management Process Maturity in Army Contracting Support Brigades

Abstract

"This research investigates the impact of expeditionary environments on contract management process maturity in U.S. Army Contracting Support Brigades (CSBs), specifically focusing on the 409th, 411th, and 414th CSBs. This research hypothesizes that the transition from a garrison to expeditionary setting will negatively affect contract management process maturity and measures this by using the Contract Management Maturity Model (CMMM) to assess variations in process maturity levels between garrison and expeditionary contexts through a comprehensive survey of contracting personnel. By analyzing self-assessments of process maturity, the study aims to provide actionable recommendations for enhancing operational effectiveness and ensuring mission success in complex environments. The findings indicate varying levels of process maturity across the 409th and 411th CSBs, but there were not enough qualified responses from the 414th to measure their process maturity. The two CSBs that were able to be measured both had relative weaknesses in areas of contract administration and contract closeout and a strong correlation was identified between management support and the process maturity of these CSBs in each phase. Not enough expeditionary data were obtained to measure process maturity expeditionary operations, so the hypothesis regarding the effect of the expeditionary environment was unable to be adequately tested."