The Department of War’s test and evaluation policies are not fully aligned with product development best practices, hindering its goal to rapidly deliver weapon systems to warfighters, according to a recent Government Accountability Office report.
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What Leading Practices Are Missing From DOW Policies?
The report noted that DOW is modernizing testing through digital engineering and a skilled workforce to accelerate weapon system delivery. However, the GAO found DOW policies omit four key practices used by top technology companies to bring complex systems to market efficiently—early tester involvement, iterative testing, digital twins and threads, and ongoing user feedback.
GAO also found DOW policies lack processes to implement these practices, while military departments mirror DOW-wide policies without additional enhancements. It also determined that key program documents, including acquisition and test strategies, do not reflect them.
What Are GAO’s Recommendations?
The GAO issued 13 open recommendations calling for the Department of War and military services to update their weapon system test and evaluation, digital engineering, and systems engineering, as well as acquisition policies, to better align with leading product development practices. The recommendations emphasize three primary needs across DOW:
- Requiring developmental and operational testers to participate early in shaping acquisition strategies, particularly on issues involving digital twins and digital threads
- Adopting iterative, integrated testing approaches supported by digital engineering tools to enable faster delivery of minimum viable products
- Incorporating formal end-user agreements that define how ongoing user feedback will be gathered during system development and testing
These recommendations apply to the Office of the Secretary of Defense as well as the Air Force, Army and Navy.
