Operational Test in Agile Development: Vetted Capability at the Speed of Relevance

Abstract

The traditional Operational Test and Evaluation (OT&E) process and timeline are no longer sufficient to keep pace within an agile software development environment. Agile development requires OT&E to be just as agile while still ensuring the adequacy and sufficiency required to keep the Fleet’s trust in new capabilities. In order to accomplish this, we recommend five initiatives that will help the current OT&E process. Those initiatives are: The “Pulverizer,” an agile Test and Evaluation Master Plan (TEMP), universal test plan working group, an integrated operational test assessment, and a dedicated annual OT&E period. These initiatives make the bureaucratic requirements for OT&E much more streamlined and agile. They ensure an annual schedule all stakeholders can work towards and drive down many of the important OT&E decisions to the test squadron level. These recommendations have already been shown to work with positive feedback from stakeholders for the F/A-18 program. If these changes are implemented across all of naval aviation, OT&E can be become as agile as the software development.