Software Acquisition and Practices (SWAP) Study

The FY18 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), §872 directed the Secretary of Defense to task the Defense Innovation Board "to undertake a study on streamlining software development and acquisition regulations."

The Defense Innovation Board submitted their final SWAP report to Congress on 3 May 2019, which included 10 primary recommendations and 16 additional recommendations to address the most critical statutory, regulatory, and cultural hurdles facing the Department of Defense when modernizing software acquisitions. Shortly thereafter, the Department transitioned into the implementation phase of the top ten recommendations highlighted by the DIB.

The implementation of several of the SWAP recommendations such as the Software Acquisition Pathway Interim Policy and Procedures, with rewrites to DoDI 5000 series and an ongoing pilot program, the Software Acquisition Policy Training, Policy on Digital Talent, to include the DIB’s interim and final assessment of the report to Congress, (2020 NDAA, §862), on the progress established by the Department, as well as the Comptroller General’s report to Congress, (2021 NDAA, §832) on the implementation of software acquisition reforms, these and other efforts are continuing throughout the Department.

To illustrate the amount of support from within the Department, Services and support agencies, regarding these recommendations, a series of roundtable discussions with members of the Services, Senior Leaders, Program Office representatives, and industry were conducted in early 2020:

The New Software Acquisition Pathway

The Expanded use of Specialized Training Programs

The Authority to Operate (ATO) Reciprocity between Programs, the Services, and Agencies

Access to Source Code, Software Frameworks, and Development Tools

Final Report (May 2019)

Report Materials: