Systems/Software ICM Workshop
Acquisition and Process Issues
Working Group
Rick Selby and Rich Turner
Systems/Software ICM Workshop
July 14-17, 2008
Washington DC
Some Quotes for Context Setting
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"The only way we will have large acquisition programs on schedule,
within budget, and performing as expected, is for everyone - from
Congress down to the suppliers - to all stop lying to each other at
the same time."
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"Software's just another specialty discipline and doesn't deserve
special attention. Integrating software engineering into the
development is the job of the chief system engineer."
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"It takes so long for a program to reach deployment that we are
essentially acquiring legacy systems."
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"Spiral process is nothing more than the vee chart rolled up."
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"There is no such thing as an emergent requirement."
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"Evolutionary acquisition is just a ploy to excuse the software guys’
incompetence and let programs spiral forever without having to
deliver something."
Some Topics for Discussion: Acquisition
and Process
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Quality Factor Tradeoffs
– Integrating hardware and software quality factor evidence planning and
preparation guidelines
– Coordinating single-quality-factor IPTs
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Cost and Risk
– Budgeting for systems and software risk mitigation
– Risk-driven earned value management
– Translating shortfalls in feasibility evidence into next-increment risk management
plans
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Requirements
– Concurrently engineering vs. allocating system, hardware, software, and human
factors requirements
– Methods for dealing with requirements emergence and rapid change
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Competitive Prototyping
– Supporting value-adding continuity of prototype development and evaluation
teams
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Topic Specifics
– Synchronizing different-length hardware and software increments
– Early hardware-software integration: hardware surrogates
– Contracting for 3-team developer/V&Ver/next-increment rebaseliner incremental
development
Incremental Commitment Life Cycle Process
Stage I: Definition
©USC-CSSE
Stage II: Development and Operations
Understanding ICM Model for Software
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Reconciling the milestones
– Where are LCO/LCA/IOC and SRR/PDR/CDR?
– When are the downselects: 3 to 2, 2 to 1?
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How to drive behavior
– RFP language
– Award fee
– Large carrot (sole winner of major program)
●
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How long does the competitive phase last (ends at Milestone B, ends later,
etc)?
Create a “whole new contractor role” that gets awarded to the 2-to-1
downselect non-winner
– External evaluators come into reviews (“air dropped”) and have a high entry barrier
and limited context to achieve success
– Loss of valuable expertise in the non-winner
– Non-winner becomes the “evaluator” of evidence throughout the program
●
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What kinds of evidence/prototypes are needed for what kinds of risks?
Funding
– Who pays for pre vs post 2-to-1 downselect (what color)?
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How do you use CP to do:
– New approaches for model definition and validation
– Quality attribute trades (non-functional)