"To wage information-age warfare, we need business processes
that allow us to evolve faster than our adversaries. The problem is
that DoD software is acquired with the same industrial-age business
processes used to acquire ships, tanks and other physical
machinery. Unlike planes or tanks, which require factories to make
multiple copies, software can be copied perfectly and modified on
the fly to change its characteristics. Software created today can
be deployed in weeks versus years for physical systems. So why are
we buying lines of code the way we buy ordnance?
"Any new acquisition model for software must account for a more
rapid cycling of ideas and requirements, and allow commanders and
program managers to leverage IT investments across services and
agencies. We can learn from the open source software development
model in the private sector.
