The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Defense ensure that policy updates and new guidance incorporate details on when major defense acquisition programs using a modular open systems approach should complete verification testing and how they should document plans for conducting that testing.
MOSA enables DOD’s weapons programs to easily integrate, replace or remove components throughout the platform’s lifecycle to help warfighters better respond to evolving threats, GAO said in a report published Thursday.
“Ensuring that any new guidance and updates to relevant policies address when programs should conduct verification testing and document planning could help DOD ensure its systems can incorporate innovative technologies over time to remain responsive to emerging threats,” the GAO report states.
According to the report, defense acquisition programs that report use of modern software development processes rose from 73 percent to 78 percent in the past year.
Despite the increase, such initiatives reported limited adoption of the Defense Science Board’s recommended practices to speed up software development.
Out of 45 programs, only five initiatives developed a software factory as a key criterion for source selection, nine programs adopted a software factory and only a dozen conducted iterative development training for program managers and personnel.
The congressional watchdog said a majority of the programs conducted continuous iterative development practices.
