Increasingly, the U.S. Army and the Department of Defense as a whole are developing families of systems built around common components. To inform the Army's decision-making process surrounding commonality, RAND Arroyo Center was asked to assess the advantages and disadvantages of commonality and how to best manage their trade-offs. To do so, this report uses historical analysis, literature analyses, and case studies of commercial and military efforts to exploit commonality. It presents analyses of the effects of commonality on costs, capabilities, and training and offers a decision-making aid that designers, developers, and procurers, in particular, could use to inform their decisions about commonality. It concludes with recommendations for the Army.

"Prepared for the United States Army." "MG-719-A"--P. [4] of cover. "MG-719-A"--Page 4 of cover.

Introduction -- The effects of commonality on operations -- The cost effects of commonality -- The effects of commonality on logistics -- An aid to commonality decisionmaking -- Recommendations.