DoD Tackling Software Development Challenges.

• Author: Tadjdeh, Yasmin
• Position: Algorithmic Warfare

The Pentagon is overhauling its acquisition of critical software as it increasingly relies on new systems for automation and decision making, officials say.

"Delivering a more lethal force requires the ability to evolve faster and be more adaptable than our adversaries," said Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks in a February memo. "The department's adaptability increasingly relies on software, and the ability to securely and rapidly deliver resilient software capability is a competitive advantage that will define future conflicts."

In the memo, Hicks signed off on a new modernization strategy aimed at accelerating software delivery schedules.

"Transforming software delivery times from years to minutes will require significant change to our processes, policies, workforce and technology," she said.

The strategy will support Pentagon priorities such as the development of joint all-domain command and control and artificial intelligence platforms.

"The approach is practical--unify efforts across DoD and partner with industry-leading software institutions to produce a portfolio of best-in-class software capabilities enabled by DoD processes," according to the document. "These capabilities must augment and integrate with other infrastructure components to include zero-trust architectures, electromagnetic spectrum capabilities and a growing inventory of connected military devices."

Implementation will be led by a software modernization senior steering group, according to Hicks. The group has been instructed to deliver an implementation plan within 180 days of the release of the memo.

Software delivery is "not a one-and-done activity" and approaching the development of the technology in that way is harmful, the strategy said. Instead, the document lays out a modernization framework that includes a minimum set of technical enablers and processes that must be addressed.

The framework "serves as a common lexicon and organizing construct for discussing and coordinating software modernization activities," the strategy said. "It is not intended to be all-inclusive or final but instead serves as a guardrail to focus implementation."

Danielle Metz, the Defense Department's deputy chief information officer for information enterprise, said the Pentagon is considering how it can transform business processes to ensure agility is baked into every step of software procurement, including contracting, acquisition, testing, evaluation and delivery.

The...