Traditional defense acquisition frameworks are often too large, complex, and slow to acquire information technology (IT) capabilities effectively. Defense acquisition organizations for years have been concerned about the lengthy IT development timelines and given the pace of change in operations and technology, it is critical to look for new strategies to acquire IT for defense systems. Over the last decade, agile software development emerged as a leading model across industry with growing adoption and success. Agile is centered on small development Teams delivering small, frequent releases of capabilities, with active user involvement. From a planning and execution viewpoint, agile emphasizes an iterative approach with each iteration informing the next. The focus is less on extensive upfront planning for entire programs and more on responsiveness to internal and external changes, such as operations, technology, and budgets. Based on US and Italian experiences, this paper discusses some of the common challenges in implementing agile practices and recommended solutions to overcome these barriers.
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