DoD Software Systems

 Characteristics of DoD S/W Development  Evolution of DoD S/W Development  Learning from the Commercial World  Additional Technologies  Approach and Implementation

Characteristics of DoD S/W Development  It’s a Government Acquisition Competitive bidding, development specification part of RFP Awarded to and, designed and implemented by civilian contractor(s) Contractor has personnel requirements Contractor has procurement and reporting rules And adherence to DoD and military standards RFP: Request for Proposal

Characteristics of DoD S/W Development  Approach and Implementation Extensive planning Long delivery schedule (IOC) Process driven Formal project management Rigorous quality control Oversight/formal reviews Documentation intensive  Sequenced Activities Defined by DoD or military standard Interim design reviews Verification activities IOC: Initial Operating Capability

Characteristics of DoD S/W Development  In Most Cases it’s Requirements Driven  Requirements Can Get to be Volatile Long delivery cycles means folks have time to think Risk management activities are key to managing requirements  Development Requires Focus on Minimizing Volatility Risk

Military Flight Simulator Depicted: Cockpit w/ Yoke, Throttle & Rudders Instrument Panel w/ Heads Up Display (HUD) and Multifunction Displays (MFDs) Instructor Operator Station (IOS) Simultec Full Mission Simulator

Military Flight Simulator

It’s the Software That Makes it all Work! Software Behind the Scenes …This is what the trainer looks like.

Evolution of DoD S/W Development  Moore’s Law Helps Explain the Advancement of Technology Which Benefits Processing speed Disk capacity Memory capacity  Working with the Hardware Initially programming the hardware required intimate knowledge of the target H/W From machine code/assembly language Towards independence from target H/W And to the mature complier tools we use today Moore’s Law: The number of components in an integrated circuit doubles approximately every two years.

Evolution of DoD S/W Development  Evolution of Languages Languages used to develop DoD applications numbered over 400 Different languages for different problems Focus now is more of extensions to the more recent languages; C++  Language Standardization/Extensions Wrappers/Plug-ins Math Libraries/Special Functions/Reuse Reusable standards/components  Maintenance on Legacy Systems Still Biggest Cost; Fortran, Pascal, Jovial, Ada…

Evolution of DoD S/W Development  Process Models Originally ads-hoc development Adoption of disciplined approach introduce less defects, meaning less rework SEI’s CMMI establishes levels of maturity ISO 9001 establishes quality standards for software products  Variation of Approaches have Evolved Waterfall Evolutionary (incremental, spiral, agile…)

Evolution of DoD S/W Development  Moving Towards Adopting Commercial Practices Tailor processes to developer’s best practices Leverage on evolving and maturing development standards and methods Application under development determines the approach  Development Methods have Evolved Structured Analysis / Structured Design Object Oriented Agile  It’s iPhone vs Space Shuttle

Learning from the Commercial World  Development Flexibility Agile vs disciplined balanced development approach Tailored engineering work products Reduced documentation Testing approaches  Scaling is Key Scope Team Time

Additional Technologies  Information Assurance / Cyber Security  Architectures  Maintenance  Configuration Management  Logistics

Architecture Models for Integrating S/W

Can’t Do It Without A Team  It’s a team effort that goes into the success of the software design/development and  It’s the individual talent within the team that ensures the team’s success

Personnel/Team Capability Trumps All

References  Cook, David A., CrossTalk Journal of Defense Software Engineering, CrossTalk and Software – Past, Present and Future.  Hinchcliffe, Dion, Architectures,  Boehm, Barry, Software Engineering Economics.  Jones, Capers, CrossTalk Journal of Defense Software Engineering, Defense Software Development in Evolution.  Kennedy, Matthew, CrossTalk Journal of Defense Software Engineering, An Agile Systems Engineering Process.  Cook, David A., CrossTalk Journal of Defense Software Engineering, Evolutionary Trends in Programming Languages.