The Defense Departmentâs Deputy Chief Management Officer Elizabeth McGrath at an Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association event last Friday, said itâs a new day for defense IT acquisition.
DoD will procure capabilities in âsmaller chunks,â she said, as well as use more testing in the field, according to a report on FierceGovernmentIT.
Ultimately, DoD would like to phase out the use of milestones in IT acquisitions and replace them with an acquisition template that features more frequent reviews and decisions.
In November, Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics, proposed the use of the Business Capability Lifecycle, a template approach, for its million-dollar-plus systems.
The lifecycle follows three steps: defining the capabilities, investment management and execution. Itâs designed to provide faster delivery of business capabilities.
In her DoD role, McGrath also serves as the performance improvement officer and leads the departmentâs effort to better synchronize, integrate and coordinate DoD business operations.
McGrathâs role has become especially high-profile as the Pentagonâs bottom line has come under scrutiny with Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates continuing round of efficiencies and cost savings.