Unlike most other programs at the SEI, the Acquisition Support Program (ASP) is not primarily a research unit. But it is deeply involved with the SEI's research mission and the acquisition community's thirst for new ideas—better ideas—for solving 21st century acquisition problems.

ASP bridges the gap between the SEI's many research programs and the men and women who practice their acquisition skills every day on behalf of the Department of Defense (DoD) and other government organizations. We help put research into practice, help keep research teams in tune with how the SEI's technologies are being applied, and are on the watch for new needs and ideas that are bubbling up among those we serve.

Adoption of Agile Methods in DoD: Opportunities, Risks, Barriers, and Enablers

As part of our mission to provide practical guidance to working software acquisition professionals, ASP investigates acquisition and development approaches that are coming in to use in the DoD. Since 2009,our Agile Adoption project has been studying the use of Agile software development approaches, common now in industry, within the DoD and other regulated environments. These are methods characterized by close collaboration between customers and developers, frequent incremental deliveries of software, and evolution of requirements and designs as more is learned about the system and its intended use.

We have published several technical notes that address different topics of interest to acquisition professionals that are contemplating or are currently using Agile methods as part of their acquisition.  We have also developed a model and analysis approach  for understanding the likely adoption risks for a DoD organization involved in adopting Agile methods.  We provide podcasts  and blog entries  on smaller topics (e.g. the expression of each of the 12 Agile principles in DoD settings).  And we stay close to the practitioner community by presenting at Agile conferences, participating in DoD-centric adoption support groups, and sponsoring and coordinating the SEI Agile Collaboration Group. It is  composed of government and industry professionals who give us feedback on our work and periodically meet to discuss various topics related to Agile adoption in the DoD and federal organizations. (To apply to join our Agile Collaboration Group, please send email to Mary Ann Lapham, mlapham@sei.cmu.edu)

Technical Notes on Agile Adoption topics authored by ASP:

Considerations for Using Agile in DoD Acquisition

Agile Methods: Selected DoD Management and Acquisition Concerns

A Closer Look at 804: A Summary of Considerations for DoD Program Managers

DoD Agile Adoption: Necessary Considerations, Concerns, and Changes

DoD Information Assurance and Agile:Challenges and Recommendations Gathered Through Interviews with Agile Program Managers and DoD Accreditation Reviewers

Patterns of Failure: Systems Thinking in Software Acquisition

Currently, we're developing new ways of applying systems thinking to some of the stickiest and most persistent problems in acquisition.

We call this program Patterns of Failure: Systems Thinking in Software Acquisition. So far, it has yielded nearly a dozen two-page monographs — Acquisition Archetypes — that explore systems-thinking methods to dissect (and solve) some of the most commonly repeated failure scenarios in modern acquisition. Working from a recognized set of systems archetypes, the SEI has extrapolated a related set of software acquisition models, the basis for the set of Acquisition Archetypes presented here.

Risk and Opportunity Management

Through the Acquisition Support Program's affiliation with risk management activities at the SEI, we're also able to present a broad range of research in risk management, from the traditional (continuous risk management, or CRM) to the leading edge (Mission Success in Complex Environments, or MSCE).

Visit the risk research pages for more details about these programs.