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Outreach

US/UK/AUS Trilateral Software Intensive Systems Acquisition Improvement Group (SISAIG)

The United States/United Kingdom/Australia (US/UK/AUS) Trilateral Software Intensive Systems Acquisition Improvement Group (SISAIG) is focused on working together to improve the acquisition of software intensive systems (SIS). As described in the Framework for Activities [PDF, 474KB], the SISAIG provides a focus for working common issues within a joint forum to enrich and amplify the US/UK/AUS national software acquisition improvement efforts. The SISAIG is aimed at pursuing activities that deliver:

  • Improved acquisition processes;
  • Practical products;
  • Reduced risk exposure of defence SIS projects and programmes.

The group identified the following as key issues in SIS acquisition common to all three countries:

  • Policy & procedures
  • Requirement determination and documentation
  • Evolutionary acquisition and spiral development
  • Testing and integration lading to successful IOT&E
  • Software performance measures—metrics for management/oversight
  • Process maturity and improvement
  • Contracts—Intellectual property rights, incentives, past performance criteria
  • Information Assurance (IA)
  • Software cost estimating
  • Collecting, disseminating, and using Best Practices
  • Software skills of acquisition workforce, shortage of SW engineers
  • Strengthening and stabilizing the technology base
  • Industry participation forum
  • Software Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs)/software product maturity and software risk assessment
  • Architecture
  • Independent Expert Programme Reviews & Assessments

Descriptions of the the SISAIG's work can be found in the SISAIG 2006 Meeting Report. View the April 2008 DoD Software Engineering and System Assurance briefings from the annual meeting held in Australia: