The document discusses adopting Agile practices within the US Department of Defense (DoD) for technology acquisitions and testing. It states that the DoD is developing a new acquisition process focused on Agile testing to deliver capabilities faster. Agile approaches like incremental testing, rationalized requirements, and flexible acquisitions are needed as the traditional process is not suited for state-of-the-art technologies. Agile supports the goal of acquiring quality products that meet user needs in a timely manner at a reasonable cost. The use of Agile will help improve efficiencies for the DoD in acquiring IT products and services with quick reaction capabilities and effective methodologies.

1. Adopting Agile in the U.S.
Department of Defense
Adopting and implementing new Agile practices
within the DoD

2. The DoD is developing a comprehensive new process to acquire
and deliver IT capabilities. Central to this new process is Agile
testing.
DoD cannot hope to achieve state of the art information
capabilities using the traditional DoD acquisition process. New
approaches require new principles, such as:
Speed and Agility
Incremental Testing
Rationalized Requirements
Flexible/Tailored Acquisitions
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3. Introduction to Defense Acquisition Management
“The primary objective of Defense acquisition is
to acquire quality products that satisfy user
needs with measurable improvements to
mission capability and operational support, in a
timely manner, and at a fair and reasonable
price.” 1
Agile methods fully support the primary objective of Defense acquisition.
Customer value, timeliness, and investor satisfaction are all major Agile
values.
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4. Agile and the U.S. Department of Defense
What is Agile? What role will Agile play in the DoD?
A highly-collaborative, The use of Agile will help improve
incremental and iterative new efficiencies in DoD's acquisition of
approach to testing. IT products and services.
Agile provides the DoD with:
Agile involves:
• Quick-reaction capability
• Early and regular delivery of tasks
• Effective methodology for many
• Focus on team communications Web applications
• Centered around close interaction • Source of potential innovation for
with the users Defense needs
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5. Motivation for Changing to Agile
The two biggest reasons we have seen within DoD for moving to
Agile are:
1. a burning platform: If we do not change our current
practices to improve outcomes, programs are likely to
be cancelled
2. urgency of delivery: An operational need that cannot
wait for traditional delivery times is mission-critical
enough to warrant a different acquisition approach
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6. Moving to Agile
Other common themes that characterize the motivation for
change are:
– a sense of true accomplishment when they deliver what they know the end
user needed
– a short time span for seeing the differences their work made to their end users
– encouraging (often laudatory) user feedback that clearly communicated the
value of their approach
– consistent ability to meet or exceed user expectations
– previous inability to deliver value within agreed time spans and costs
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7. An Agile culture runs counter to the traditional DoD
acquisition culture in many ways, from
oversight and team structure to end-user
interaction throughout testing.
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8. Agile vs. Traditional DoD Culture
Organizational Structure
Agile DoD Traditional DoD
Flexible and Formal structures
adaptive structures that are difficult to
change
Self-organizing Hierarchal,
teams command-and-
control based teams
Collocated teams or Integrated product
strong teams that have
communication formal
mechanisms when responsibilities
teams are
distributed
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9. Agile vs. Traditional DoD Culture
Reward System
Agile DoD Traditional DoD
Team is focus of Individual is focus of
reward systems the reward system
Sometimes team
itself recognizes
individuals
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10. Agile vs. Traditional DoD Culture
Communications & Decision Making
Agile DoD Traditional DoD
Daily stand-up meetings Top-down communication structures dominate
Frequent retrospectives to improve practices External regulations, policies and procedures drive the
focus of work
Information radiators to communicate critical project Indirect communications, like documented activities
information and processes, dominate over face-to-face dialogue
Evocative documents to feed conversation Traditional, representational documents used by the
PMO throughout the life cycle to oversee the progress
of the tester
“Just enough” documentation, highly dependent on PMO oversight tools focused on demonstrating
product context compliance vs. achieving insight into progress
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11. Agile vs. Traditional DoD Culture
Staffing Model Leadership Style
Agile DoD Traditional DoD Agile DoD Traditional DoD
Cross-functional Uses traditional life- Facilitative Leader as keeper of
teams including all cycle model with leadership vision
roles across the life separate teams
cycle throughout the
Leader as champion Leader as primary
lifespan of the
and team advocate source of authority
project
to act
Includes an Agile Different roles are
advocate or coach active at different
who explicitly defined points in the
attends to the life cycle and are not
team’s process substantively
involved except at
those times
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12. Summary
The new acquisition process includes:
• Early and continual involvement of the user
• Multiple, rapidly executed increments or
releases of capability
• Successive prototyping to support an
evolutionary approach
• And modular, open-systems
These attributes generally describe Agile testing; which is collaborative,
iterative, and more spiral in nature. Agile aligns well with the new DoD IT
acquisition process, offering a viable alternative to traditional processes.
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