IT Acquisition: Expediting the Process to Deliver Business Capabilities to the DoD Enterprise

Abstract

Information technology (IT) offers inestimable capability and has been leveraged extensively in DoD business systems, as well as virtually in all weapon systems. As a proportion of both functionality and cost, information technology now represents a significant part of all acquisition programs underway today. By all indication, this proportion will only increase in the future as the DoD continues to transform its forces and business systems. The purpose of our research is to examine alternative IT acquisition processes and provide a recommended process for use in the development of DoD's business systems. We make recommendations for a new IT acquisition process, a governance structure, and risk reduction strategies.