Leading Practices: Agile Portfolio Management and Iterative Business Cases Drive Innovative Product Development

Abstract

This report (GAO-25-107130) is the third of a series on product development leading practices that are instructive for improvements to the Department of Defense's acquisition processes. The Government Accountability Office's (GAO) recent work has emphasized the importance of structuring defense acquisition programs around iterative development--a technical process crucial to how leading companies develop innovative, value-added products on timelines responsive to users' needs. GAO's work has found that leading companies employ equally robust business processes to the management of individual product developments as well as the overall product mix, or portfolio. Understanding how leading companies decide on their product development investments and how they use business cases--justifications for undertaking a product development--to support their decisions can inform ongoing acquisition reform efforts. GAO identified eight leading companies based on rankings in well-recognized lists, interviewed, company representatives, and analyzed documentation.