Abstract There is evidence to suggest that before military equipment ever experiences sustainment delays the equipment carries state patterns within its logistics and supply chain data history that could be leveraged for risk mitigation. Analysis of these patterns can also identify new research & development (R&D) and technology transition candidates that relate the seemingly disparate activities of R&D project management and Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) management. Relating eligible R&D activities to the DMSMS risk identification phase helps stage potential sustainment risk mitigations ahead of time on the one hand, while creating additional demand and resources to mature prototypes on the other hand. Virtually generating DMSMS-linked, R&D classifications can help throughput and productivity analysts simulate a pipeline of annual research projects, so decision makers can better understand where resource constraints reside within the project management process. The paper concludes with an application that: 1) integrates lean principles into the daily management of a government agency or business, while 2) demonstrating how the parametric orchestration of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) software tools, via model-based systems engineering (MBSE), could be the key to the lean office of the future. Introduction A model called the Sustainment Engineering Risk Assessment (SERA) is being developed at the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC) to identify Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages (DMSMS) risk in military equipment [ 1, pp. 8-10]. Second, the Army Program Office for Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected (APO MRAP) Vehicles is resolving DMSMS issues (i.e. reactive mode), using lean acquisition processes. Third, Department of Defense (DoD) research and development (R&D) organizations are advancing Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) and maturing various prototype systems that may someday render certain military equipment obsolete. The SERA and MRAP activities mostly involve engineers and logisticians, whereas the TRL advancement mostly involves R&D personnel. All three activities, however, relate to improving the military equipment sustainment situation, through DMSMS management, which demands participation across diverse job classifications and organizations. In addition, a significant amount of industrial base (IB) sustainment improvement lies in streamlining acquisition and coordinating contracting strategies, DMSMS requirements, and the pace of R&D [ 2, pp. 33, 63, 110, 120, 127, 171] [3, pp. 17, 20-24, 33] [4, pp. 12, 15] [5]. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) and visual analytics often bring diverse people together, while exploiting the allure of a picture portraying a thousand words [6, pp. 18, 33-34]. Modeling & Simulation (M&S) capitalizes on this truth. However, M&S is not used much outside the R&D organizations of TARDEC. A remedy is to deploy hybrid models, consisting of traditional M&S and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) applications used by most people in the office. Hybrid M&S solutions intermingle with the momentum of COTS applications, combining the best of both worlds, when considering availability, affordability, familiarity, compatibility, and flexibility [ 7, p. 5]. In particular, the use of visual analytics-rich hybrid models invites the contribution of a more diverse audience of subject matter experts (SMEs), who normally would not be involved in a modeling activity. When GUIs and visual analytics are properly deployed, they can even serve as education enablers, enrolling a broader population of professionals to better understand systems as a whole [8, pp. 1-3]. This promotes a healthier systems engineering atmosphere centered on cooperation and understanding [ 9, pp. 84, 90,168]. Users may even enjoy working with a GUI, if it is aesthetically balanced and stable over time,