Test and Evaluation for Agile Information Technologies

摘要

Section 804 of the FY2010 National Defense Authorization Act directed the secretary of defense to develop and implement a new acquisition process for information technology (IT) systems. The law requires the Department of Defense (DoD) to base the new acquisition process on recommendations of the March 2009 Defense Science Board (DSB) Report on DoD Policies and Procedures for the Acquisition of Information Technology. The DSB recommended an agile model for acquiring IT similar to successful commercial practices. Agile software development is a high optempo process that delivers working software at 'speed of need.' It is highly collaborative, documentation light, and change resilient. Agile focuses short development iterations on priority needs of the customer; in the DoD, the customer is the warfighter. In this model, an iteration is typically 8 weeks or less in duration. This article proposes a means to adopt the DoD IT test, evaluation, and certification (TE&C) process to an Agile model that will ensure TE&C continues to be an enabler of rapid acquisition of enhanced IT for the warfighter.