Evolving the Software Business of the Acquisition Workforce

Abstract

Software acquisition efforts in the Department of Defense (DOD) continue to impact military services and the Acquisition Workforce (AWF). In 2020, OSD A&S released 5000.87 (Operation of The Software Acquisition Pathway), establishing key differences in the software acquisition process to include DevSecOps and Agile software development principles. This project compared legacy contract-administration software with recent modernization efforts and highlights where progress has been made and where challenges continue to impact effective oversight, cultural norms, and AWF capabilities. Research methods and findings were conducted primarily from the perspective of a DCMA Contract Administrator (CA) and Administrative Contracting Officer (ACO). Based on the results of this study, evidence exists that the DOD is making progress in software acquisition decisions and work force resources. However, current literature is limited on legacy systems such as MOCAS (Mechanization of Contract Administration Services) and why previous DCMA software modernization efforts were compromised by traditional waterfall models. Findings also suggested that the DOD’s pursuit of a comprehensive audit may complicate the speed and messaging required to modernize the DOD and AWF.