> How much do you want to bet that a big company like Lockhead Martin is really good at using its political leverage to make sure the FAA doesn't impose fines in the contracts when projects don't perform up to key metrics?
Ding ding ding!
I watched Northrop do exactly that on a system. They used their clout to persuade the program office on a system to rate them more favorably than they deserved (truly, they were consistently delivering late but ended up with positive marks across the board). Fortunately, this resulted in a big shakeup once it was discovered and reported. Unfortunately, NG continued to hold the contract (no one else could, practically speaking) and all that really changed was the personnel in the program office. I was gone by the time thing got "fixed" so I have no idea if it's actually improved on that particular project.
Ding ding ding!
I watched Northrop do exactly that on a system. They used their clout to persuade the program office on a system to rate them more favorably than they deserved (truly, they were consistently delivering late but ended up with positive marks across the board). Fortunately, this resulted in a big shakeup once it was discovered and reported. Unfortunately, NG continued to hold the contract (no one else could, practically speaking) and all that really changed was the personnel in the program office. I was gone by the time thing got "fixed" so I have no idea if it's actually improved on that particular project.