Agile Software Development for an Agile Force
John S. Willison · 2004
It is necessary to provide a characterization of the current U.S. Army business environment to set the context for the recommended components for good business. Historically, the Army acquisition and development processes have been driven by the attempt to institutionalize success and avoid failure. The Army management and acquisition processes are based primarily on hardware models that, in turn, are based on the value-added discipline of risk management. With hardware, it is critical to mitigate risk and get it right the first time, particularly prior to entering any stage that involves significant expense such as production. The Army has evolved into using a rigid approach where requirements are defined and then used as the basis for development, testing, and determining success. Further, as development and hardware sustainment are different activities, the Army has defined different processes and funding strategies for these distinct activities. With software, the processes and investment strategies are different than hardware; the risks are also different, and yet we attempt to manage them the same way. Software sustainment to a large degree is simply doing more development; however, development and sustainment are often managed by different organizations and funded differently. The risks associated with software are different as well; and yet, we attempt to manage them the same as we work through a sequential series of milestones. The real risks with software are in taking too long before giving the user something that knowingly will evolve over time, and in measuring success as meeting predefined requirements as opposed to getting the user something he or she wants and likes.