The Defense Innovation Board issued a report assessing the Pentagon’s software acquisition practices, the Department of Defense website reported Friday.
The report focuses on three basic themes. The first suggests that cycle time and speed are the most essential metrics in software management. The second highlights the need to attract, retain and promote digital talent since “software is made by people and for people.†The third team emphasizes the difference between software and hardware. The board also suggests four main lines of effort in the report and one of those is the need for DoD and Congress to refactor regulations, statutes and processes related to software.
Ellen Lord, defense undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment and a 2019 Wash100 winner, said during a news conference Friday that DoD is starting to recognize the difference between software acquisition and hardware procurement. Lord noted that she sought permission through the fiscal 2020 budget request to conduct pilot programs to cover major defense weapons systems and provide DoD the flexibility to shift funds in order to accelerate software development, acquisition and deployment.
