Software-Defined Warfare: Architecting the DoD's Transition to the Digital Age: By Nand Mulchandani and John N.T. "Jack" Shanahan, Center for Strategic and International Studies.

• Author: Magnuson, Stew
• Position: FURTHER READING

* The latest report on the U.S. military's infamously poor record acquiring software minces few words: "As remarkable as the [Defense] Department is in many ways, it shares with almost all other federal agencies the common trait of lagging woefully behind the commercial software industry's state of the art--in everything from automating back-office functions to providing digital warfighting services to its customers." The 27-page CSIS report acknowledges that there have been literally hundreds of articles, reports and books produced on how to change the way the department builds its weapon systems, just about all of which now have software as a crucial element.

The authors look to the commercial sector for inspiration with...