Senator Roger Wicker’s proposed FoRGED Act (Fostering Reform and Government Efficiency in Defense) is a refreshing recognition that the U.S. defense enterprise is in need of transformation. The FoRGED Act places important emphasis on the need to streamline bureaucracy, increase oversight, and reform outdated acquisition practices to vault us forward into an innovative, technologically advanced and effective system. While this is commendable, this isn’t a forging moment, but a pivotal one in the evolution of our national defense infrastructure. As a leader in digital transformation, Agile methodologies, and DevSecOps practices, Digital Transformation (www.digitaltransformations.com) applauds the extraordinary implications of this legislative initiative.
At Digital Transformations, our team of experts have spent decades leading Agile, DevSecOps, and full-spectrum multi-team collaboration and modernization efforts across public and private sectors. We’ve advised and led dozens of initiatives including for the military, we’ve deployed MVPs in live operational environments, and watched innovation and transformation of organizations and corporations have success or fail directly based on leadership, agility and their adaptation or lack thereof to change. The FoRGED Act gives us a unique opportunity to change that trajectory.
The fact is the U.S. Department of Defense doesn’t suffer from a lack of innovation, excellent employees or brilliant minds. It suffers due to the structural rigidity and lack of agility that is the core of the defense acquisition system. The system is dominated and slowed down by inflated timelines, waterfall development cycles, disconnected stakeholders, and compliance issues that dismiss iteration. At the same time, Communist China’s PLA has vertically integrated its military, government, and private-sector development under a single strategic umbrella, and are now delivering operational capability at a fraction of the time. Rather than calling for the unenvious task of complete reform, we must work within the confines of the current system and work in unison to carve out an agile, joint, and strategically aligned vertical slice to retain dominance.
To maintain and ensure our goal of superiority via projection of power through military, strategic and operational dominance, we can not afford to lose the timeline. By embracing Lean | Agile principles, the U.S. can maintain a strategic advantage which delivers solutions with speed and effectiveness. Agile emphasizes flexibility and continuous value delivery developed to outlearn and outperform adversaries through rapid iteration, real-time feedback, and cross-functional team collaboration. One of the cores of Lean | Agility is Vertical Slicing, a successful Agile technique that develops a fully functional capability in short iterative cycles.
True transformation embraces agility, adaptability and flexibility.
Vertical Integration Is Mission-Critical
Innovating in silo is counter intuitive. To be successful, speed up processes and improve transparency, all stakeholders, teams and and policymakers must be recognizing issues and determining solutions in real-time, not working independently on separate timelines with a spectrum of differing incentives. Projects must incorporate constant user feedback loops with fewer PowerPoint briefings. Digital Transformations has a proven track record of implementing vertical sliced, user-centric delivery models in high stake landscapes including defense and commercial sectors, from US Bank and T-Mobile in the private sector to ATLAS and MILSATCOM PTES. You can even see additional examples with SpaceX’s iterative launch process.
DevSecOps Is Essential
Security is more important now than ever and must be integrated into every phase of delivery. DevSecOps is the premier proven model for delivering resilient, scalable, and secure software at speed. In the modern technological landscape we must implement DevSecOps as the default operating system for defense IT.
Agile Authority to Operate (ATO)
The current ATO process is held down by waste. The development and maintenance of systems need to be automated and continuous, rather than be hampered by lengthy security sign offs. We need a continuous, cross functional, transparent model that reflects the current technological climate that manages risk dynamically as software evolves.
Prioritize minimum viable products MVP
The defense acquisition model must adopt agile techniques and methods to solve modern problems. We must prioritize MVPs to solve problems with speed. Projects should incorporate cross-functional teams, transparency and testing to allow products to fail fast, improve and succeed faster. Iterate and scale. The private sector succeeds with agile and lean by building what works.
Culture over Policy
It is important to recognize that in order for legislation to succeed, there needs to be a change in the culture. The defense establishment must adjust their approach from risk-averse to risk-smart,and focus on mission-based results, and delivery of capabilities. Becoming lean and agile is not a process that you add on, it’s a mindset and a model for all processes to improve successes in all facets.
Senator’s Wicker’s FoRGED Act is more than another legislative proposal, it is a forward thinking, essential strategic blueprint for modernizing the US national defense. With the prioritization of efficiency, innovation, and cross-sector collaboration, the FoRGED Act sets up the foundation for an infrastructure that is lean, agile, collaborative, fast and effective while being transparent, and forward thinking. Aligning policy with proven industry best practices is not only prudent, it is essential in a time of rapid technological change and ever evolving global threats.
Digital Transformations, under the leadership of Heath Dorn, stands ready to lead this transformation, bringing decades of experience building scalable frameworks across the private and public sectors, trusted government and military leadership relationships, and an unwavering commitment to serving our country and ensuring our national readiness in the face of our adversaries.
We would do well to embrace the FoRGED Act. To follow strong leadership, and embrace agility, flexibility, speed, joint integration, and agile delivery. To signal to the world that the United States is ready for transformative change in doing so, will set the standard for defense that matches the urgency of the moment.