The focus of acquisition reform is not only to obtain a better product for the Department of Defense (DoD), but also to improve or innovate the actual process of acquiring defense systems and services. This thesis critically analyzes the DoD service contracting process with a focus on innovation through alpha contracting as a redesign enabler. Service contracting is increasingly important as the DOD shifts to contractor support with the many unique characteristics requiring special attention that service contracting entails. Data gathered from field research and interviews are employed to support comparative process analysis of eight service contracting process flows. Innovation analysis of these eight processes is employed to redesign the service contracting process through alpha contracting. Both positive implications and potential inhibitors to alpha contracting are discussed, as well as mechanisms to overcome the inhibitors. To generalize the results of this research, a decision model is developed to assist acquisition managers in assessing the likelihood of alpha contracting success. The thesis concludes that alpha contracting can innovate the service contracting process and offers suggestions for future research along these lines.