ADAPT hosted the Agile in Defense Fall Workshop at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City on November 28, 2012. 

The workshop was intended to promote understanding of the implications and impacts of agile methods, identify obstacles to their incorporation in DoD acquisition, and discuss examples of best practices of successful implementation.

The agenda was composed of several presentations by leaders from the Federal Government and a series of Café Sessions led by facilitators from ADAPT.  These sessions focused on the following topics: 

- Contracting and Acquisition
- Project Management
- Testing and Integration
- Systems Considerations
- Changing Culture

Download the Proceedings document here or by clicking on the above image.

Executive Summary

Defense acquisition is, in quite a few respects, unlike any other Government activity or commercial practice.  There are unique, mission-driven aspects that require specific processes to assure they are properly accomplished.  Nevertheless, DoD must seek to be both flexible in what it buys and efficient with taxpayer dollars.  It is now a well-documented fact that traditional waterfall acquisition processes are not, in most cases, good IT acquisition practices.

Agile methods offer DoD the opportunity to increase both efficiency of SW development and its effectiveness, as shown in the AFEI report, The Business Case for Agile Methods.   We recognize that there is no “one size fits all” approach that is workable across DoD.  As pointed out in SEI Technical Note, Considerations for Using Agile in DoD, “implementation of Agile must be tailored to fit the situation and context.” 

The purpose of the Agile in Defense Fall Workshop was to identify the major impediments to adoption of Agile methods in DoD.  Agile methods represent a different approach and mind-set than a traditional acquisition process.  As experience is showing us, gaining the benefits of Agile methods requires adopting new processes and behaviors, some of which are quite foreign to our traditional way of doing things.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Promulgate appropriate Policies and Procedures necessary to support a consistent approach to implementing Agile methods in Defense acquisition programs. 

Policy is needed to remove some Acquisition constraints that adversely impact the adoption of Agile methods.  DOD Capabilities Development, Program Management, DT/OT, Security and Interoperability communities are generally stove-piped organizations.  Agile concepts like integrated test teams, continuous integration frameworks and Agile T&E are new concepts.  There is some policy, and DISA/JITC have made some progress, but overarching Department policy is needed before we will really see it done in practice.

Establish training and certification programs for Acquisition, Program Management and Program Oversight/Governance professionals.

Agile methods affect the entire acquisition process.  Various degrees of training and certification are needed to give the acquisition workforce the skills necessary to contract for and manage developments using Agile methods.  Training and coaching for Contracting Officers, COTRs, Program Managers, T&E Managers, and Program Executive Officers will enable effective contracting, management and oversight to assure the benefits of Agile methods are realized within the necessary constraints of Government acquisition. 

Accelerate the development of continuous delivery, integration, testing and C&A.

To come close to attaining the “frictionless” environment Mr. Schwartz spoke of the Department must develop policy and infrastructure that provides the ability, when necessary, for testing and delivery of capability in operational contexts and architectures.  The OT&E Community is routinely sequestered from the development, testing and integration process and policy is needed to allow operational testing to be accomplished in a more integrated manner.  Moreover, there is synergy between the Cyber Ranges of the Department and the need for an environment that closely mimics the real world in which continuous testing and integration can take place.

Key Points

Contracting and Acquisition

• Overall, the discussions called out for greater training and coaching for COs, COTRs, and governance folks on Agile and integration of contracts and acquisitions with Agile. 
• The importance of strong stakeholder engagement was deemed as a critical component in the collaboration process with the product team and management. 
• A clear roadmap could be created on Agile programs but this roadmap needs to be at a level that can adapt to changes that might occur over the defined time-frame.  At the same time, this brought about the importance of an Integration product team to include regular collaboration with the PM and Contract Officer.
• There remains a great challenge in contracting and the emphasis on fixed cost, fixed schedule, and fixed scope

Testing and Integration

• DOD T&E Community needs to be educated with respect to Agile/Integrated Test, Evaluation, Certification and Integration
• Modular: Early engagement of the DT&E, OT&E, Security C&A and Interoperability Test Certification Stakeholders with Business Units, Users and Developers early in Acquisition.
• Lean: Exploit available DOD environments/tools

Scalability and Systems Considerations

• Agile must become compatible with full systems and hardware
  Continuous Integration with complex architectures/COTS/GOTS

Changing Culture

• All oversight processes are, by their nature, risk averse (i.e. protect the boss).  How do we change that?  Cost is NOT a factor in the oversight organizations
• Communicating and reviewing program progress with higher level management who are a “Program Review Authority” and follow gate reviews and more traditional waterfall methods

Summary

The principle recommendation offered in the 2009 Defense Science Board report on acquisition of Information Technology was that DoD needed a new acquisition system specifically for information technology.   The 2010 National Defense Authorization Act directed DoD to develop a new acquisition process for information technology systems.  In May 2010 an Industry Task Force sponsored by AFEI published a report, Industry Perspectives on the Future of DoD IT Acquisition, that addressed the Section 804 requirements of the FY2010 NDAA.  The over-arching recommendation of that report was for DoD to institute continuous, iterative, development, test, and certification processes.   Pursuant to the FY 2010 NDAA the Department created a task force whose objective was to create a “comprehensive new process to acquire and deliver IT capabilities”, and in November 2010 sent its report to Congress. 

Fast-forward to November 2012.  The draft DoD Agile IT Handbook, which ADAPT contributed comments to, has not yet been formally published.  Budgetary pressure is building rapidly to reduce spending on IT, and the new IT acquisition system is not yet in place. 

Progress is being made on multiple fronts.  A good example is the JCIDS IT Box referred to by Mr. Pontius in his presentation (see page 4).  The Test Resource Management Center (TRMC) has invested in the Joint Mission Environment Test Capability (JMETC) and Test and Evaluation of Enabling Network (TENA) to facilitate interoperability testing.  TRMC is also investing in Cybersecurity T&E Tools and managing the National Cyber Range (NCR), and there are also other resources including the Joint Information Operations Range (JIOR), and DOD Information Assurance Range.

Putting into place evolutionary changes in a process as institutionalized as Defense acquisition is, as we have seen in many past acquisition reform efforts, a difficult challenge.   But today the picture is changed.  DoD will no longer have the level of resources needed to sustain traditional acquisition approaches to IT.  Progress is being made, but more can be, and clearly needs to be done before a cohesive picture of a new acquisition capability for information technology can emerge.  Institutionalizing agile methods, where appropriate, combined with shifting many of the testing and certification efforts into earlier phases of the acquisition process are important in achieving better IT acquisition and assuring affordable interoperability and information assurance.