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What's New

  • DoD Releases Revised Acquisition Policy (Posted Dec 2008)

    The Honorable John Young, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics USD (AT&L) approved a major revision to the DoD Acquisition System (DoD Instruction 5000.02 Operation of the Defense Acquisition System). This revision, the first major change to acquisition policy in over 5 years, reflects the department's determination to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its enterprise-wide acquisition business processes so it can continue to provide warfighters with the best weapons systems and support in the world. New enclosures are included covering Systems Engineering and Human Systems Integration. Read the entire announcement DoDI 5000 02 Public Release 12-2-2008. This graphic provides highlights of the policy changes. The new Integrated Framework Charts are also available for review: front | back. The interactive IFC is under development and will be deployed after the new links and URLs have been created.

  • Proposed Graduate Software Engineering Reference Curriculum Released for Global Comment (Posted Nov 2008)

    The iSSEc (integrated Software and Systems Engineering curriculum) Project, sponsored by Mrs. Kristen Baldwin, Deputy Director, Software Engineering and Systems Assurance, has released version 0.5 of the Graduate Software Engineering Reference Curriculum (GSwERC) for global comment. The iSSEc project was created in Spring 2007 to develop the GSwERC—a new reference graduate SwE curriculum that reflects the latest in how to build software; how software engineering depends on systems engineering; and how software engineering education is influenced by specific technological domains, such as telecommunications and defense systems. GSwERC is intended for university-level education leading to a Masters Degree in Software Engineering (SwE). The curriculum author team is led by Stevens Institute of Technology and includes dozens of experts from interested universities, industry, government, and professional societies. This latest release builds on a previous version released in February 2008 and reviewed by 150 invited members of the SwE and systems engineering communities.

  • SSE Releases Improved DAPS Methodology (Posted Nov 2008)

    Systems and Software Engineering updated its Defense Acquisition Program Support (DAPS) Methodology incorporating lessons learned from 4 years of acquisition program assessments. The Director, SSE established the Program Support Review (PSR) process in early 2004 to provide a standardized approach for reviewing all ACAT ID programs for which the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics is the Milestone Decision Authority. These reviews focus on systems engineering, but are broader in scope to consider all aspects of acquisition management including resource planning, management methods and tools, earned value management, logistics, and other areas. This updated DAPS) Methodology provides the tailorable framework for conducting PSRs to assist program managers and DoD decision makers in preparation for milestone decision reviews. The methodology is composed of a robust listing of programmatic and technical areas, sub-areas, and factors, developed to be both broad in scope and detailed enough to enable application to programs of all types. It contains new content in areas such as environmental safety and occupational health, human systems integration, earned value management, corrosion, spectrum management, technical baselines, and expanded software coverage.

    The methodology also has enabled the creation of a database of program issues and root causes. The database allows systemic analysis that can be used to effect improvements to the acquisition process (e.g., policies, tools, and education) and to identify best practices. This version of the methodology is the first update to the original publication of October 2004.

  • Gordon M. Kranz Appointed Director, Systems and Software Engineering (Posted Oct 2008)

    The Honorable John J. Young, Jr., Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics appointed Gordon M. Kranz Director, Systems and Software Engineering (SSE) on October 14th. In this role, Mr. Kranz is responsible for formulating systems engineering policy and guidance, developmental test and evaluation policy, program assessments and support, and weapons systems software policy. Mr. Kranz comes to OSD from General Dynamics. He has a proven management and technical leadership track record of success on a long list of DoD programs with the Army, Air Force, and DARPA. He has served our country previously as an Air Force officer and brings in-depth expertise in DoD acquisition, technology, and logistics to his new position.

  • NDIA Releases New Guide: Engineering for System Assurance (Posted Oct 2008)

    The Department of Defense and the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) System Assurance Committee announce availability of the Engineering for System Assurance guide. This guidebook provides process and technology guidance to increase the level of system assurance. The guide is intended primarily to aid program managers (PMs) and systems engineers (SEs) who are seeking guidance on how to incorporate assurance measures into their system life cycles. This guide reflects a six month iterative editorial effort dedicated to listening to the community, gathering and responding to the 1,479 thoughtful and substantive inputs received.

  • RIWG Delivers Final Report on Reliability Improvement Efforts Across DoD (Posted Sep 2008)

    The Reliability Improvement Working Group (RIWG) was chartered by the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation and the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Acquisition and Technology), in February 2008, to implement recommendations by the Defense Science Board (DSB) documented in their report on Developmental Test and Evaluation (T&E) of May 2008. This report summarizes the achievements during this period, and what remains to be done in order to fully realize the DSB recommendations.

  • OSD Releases Systems Engineering Guide for Systems of Systems (Posted Sep 2008)

    This Systems Engineering Guide for Systems of Systems addresses SE considerations to meet capability needs through integrating independently useful systems into a larger system that delivers unique capabilities—a system of systems (SoS)—within the Department of Defense (DoD). Drawing from the lessons of current SoS SE practitioners, the guide is intended to provide a resource for systems engineers who are supporting SoS work, particularly as part of an SE team for an SoS.

    Following development of the initial draft in 2006, a pilot phase was conducted to solicit input from practitioners across DoD on the approaches employed by their teams to conduct SE in their SoS environments. Data from these reviews, along with information from case studies conducted as part of the initial draft of the guide, provide the basis for this document. In addition, research teams active in areas related to SoS SE provided input to this version of the guide. These teams provided feedback on the draft guide and input based on the results of their research as it applies to the guide's contents. Finally, several panels were held with the International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE), and a workshop was held with industry representatives under the auspices of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA) SE Division. Other industry representatives, including Aerospace Industries Association (AIA), participated in the guide review process.

    The results and experiences of SE practitioners were emphasized in this version of the guide since they most closely represent the perspective, circumstances, and concerns of the guide's primary target audience. The views of the research community and industry have been critically important in understanding the limits of this version with respect to the broader areas of SoS SE and in assessing the alignment of views between SoS SE practitioners and researchers.

  • DoD Collaborates with INCOSE on New Certification Program for Systems Engineers Working on DoD Acquisition Programs (Posted Jul 2008)

    The International Council on Systems Engineering (INCOSE) released an extension of its Systems Engineering Professional Certification program that targets systems engineers who work in or support the US Department of Defense acquisition environment. This effort was a collaboration between INCOSE and the ODUSD(A&T) Systems and Software Engineering Directorate. Dr. Don Gelosh, an industry member of the SSE team, led and facilitated a team of experts that included Bob Skalamera (former Deputy Director, Enterprise Development), and Dr. Karen Richter, a well-known and respected consultant from the Institute for Defense Analyses. This team worked with INCOSE representatives over several months to develop the acquisition exam and helped proctor a beta-test at the Defense Acquisition University in February.

    The new certification program is referred to as the Certified Systems Engineering Professional with US Department of Defense Acquisition (CSEP-Acquisition or CSEP-Acq). In addition to the core CSEP examination, which is based on the INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook (SEH), Version 3.1, the CSEP-Acq has additional questions based on the Defense Acquisition Guidebook, Chapter 4, Systems Engineering. The INCOSE SEH is available on the international systems engineering standard, INCOSE website. Version 3.1 is based on ISO/IEC 15288:Systems and Software Engineering-Systems Life Cycle Processes. INCOSE also has launched a new Associate Systems Engineering Professional (ASEP) certification that targets junior systems engineers with less than the five years of experience required for CSEP. ASEP uses the same core examination as CSEP. Visit INCOSE's updated certification website to learn more about these exciting new certification opportunities.

  • CMMI for Acquisition Primer, Version 1.2 Available (Posted May 2008)

    The CMMI-ACQ Primer is a stand-alone guide that prepares users for implementing the CMMI-ACQ model for process improvement. The primer focuses on efficient and effective acquisition processes and practices that are implemented by first-level acquisition projects.

  • DoD Acquisition Best Practices Clearinghouse Now Live (Posted Feb 2008)

    Many government organizations have attempted to develop systems to capture best practices or lessons learned, but have fallen short of success because guidance based on experience is missing, and the gap between "what is a best practice?" and "how do I implement it?" often isn't addressed. DAU has partnered with elements of the Office of the Secretary of Defense to carefully design and implement the DoD Acquisition Best Practices Clearinghouse (BPCh) — accessible at https://bpch.dau.mil — to provide an integrated set of processes and resources enabling users to share experiences and identify practices through evidence of practice effectiveness in environments like their own. Using this evidence-based approach, users can quickly browse, filter and search stored evidence in a contextual manner that leads them to lessons and practices relevant to their particular program or issues. Note: Initial content areas include SEP, Software Acquisition Management, and the CMMI-Acquisition Module. Best practices are also cross referenced to career fields (job functions) for easy reference.