U.S. military departments have not fully incorporated iterative development structures across all four pathways under the adaptive acquisition framework put forward by the Department of Defense when it revamped its acquisition policies in 2020, according to a new report by the Government Accountability Office.
Where Was Iterative Development Implemented?
GAO said Thursday that while iterative structures were fully incorporated into policies for the software acquisition pathway, the same incorporation was found to be lacking for the urgent capability, middle tier and major capability acquisition pathways.
What Are Iterative Processes?
Iterative processes are implemented by companies when making cyber-physical products, or products that combine hardware and software. Such processes, which feature continuous cycles of design modeling, validation and production, not only allow companies to deliver products to market quickly but also help them gain critical knowledge, such as whether the product’s design meets user needs.
What Other Problems Were Found?
In the case of U.S. military departments, GAO learned that in addition to partial implementation, iterative development was also understood differently across the various acquisition programs that were evaluated for the report. Critically, some officials did not consider iterative development to be applicable to or feasible for their programs.
What Did GAO Recommend?
To correct these problems, GAO recommended that the departments of the Army, Air Force and Navy update their policies and guidance to reflect iterative development practices. The government watchdog also proposed that each military department designate one or two programs as pilot efforts from which lessons could be derived regarding the use of iterative development practices.
