Increasingly, the Department of Defense (DoD) and federal agencies acquire software-intensive systems instead of building them with internal resources. However, acquisition programs frequently have difficulty meeting aggressive cost, schedule, and technical objectives.

Through the Acquisition Support Program (ASP), the SEI works directly with key acquisition programs to help them achieve their objectives. Teams of SEI technical experts work in actual acquisition environments in the Army, Navy, and Air Force, as well as other DoD and civil agencies, applying SEI products and services in specific contexts.

The ASP vision is to facilitate the rapid establishment of agile teams composed of acquirers, developers, and operators using SEI technologies to provide evolutionary, high-quality, cutting-edge software-intensive capabilities to the warfighter.

Acquisition program managers are challenged not only to grasp practical business concerns, but also to understand topics as diverse as risk identification and mitigation, selection and integration of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components, process capability, program management, architecture, survivability, interoperability, source selection, and contract monitoring. The SEI has spent more than two decades compiling a body of knowledge and developing solutions for these topics.

Our Mission

The ASP mission is to help DoD and other government acquirers make evolutionary and revolutionary improvements in the acquisition of software-intensive systems, and to provide opportunities for SEI programs to create, apply, and amplify new technologies. ASP creates mechanisms to gather, analyze and characterize the state of practice for acquiring software-intensive systems, apply SEI and other technologies and practices to improving the state of practice in acquisition programs, and amplify and transition results to the acquisition community.

ASP is focused on direct interaction with the defense community by

• transitioning technologies and practices to improve DoD software-intensive systems
  
• performing diagnostics such as Independent Technical Assessments (ITAs) and Independent Expert Program Reviews (IEPRs)
• helping with RFP preparation
• helping with technical evaluations of proposals and deliverables
• collaboratively developing acquisition technologies and practices
• transitioning technologies and practices to the DoD acquisition community's collaborators
• reviewing and advising the DoD on acquisition policy related to software-intensive systems

We Can Help

ASP is a technical program focused on delivery, support, and integration of software-intensive systems acquisition practices to help acquisition program offices. With ASP, the SEI is positioning itself as a facilitator and leader of a community of practice for the acquisition of software-intensive systems.

ASP works closely with the other SEI programs to provide support to acquisition customers via Integrated Product Teams (IPTs) comprising members from all of the SEI technical programs and other technical staff (such as visiting scientists and affiliates). ASP also provides the technical programs with acquisition expertise in support of their technical initiatives.