Software Engineering Institute (SEI)
Abstract
Software is key to meeting the DoD’s increasing demand for high-quality, affordable, and timely national defense systems. Systemic software issues are significant contributors to poor program execution, and reliance on software-intensive mobile and net based products and systems has been increasing (e.g., Joint Tactical Radio System, DDG-1000, Joint Strike Fighter, F-22, and Army Modernization). As stated in the 2010 National Research Council of the National Academy of Sciences report entitled Critical Code, “It is dangerous to conclude that we are reaching a plateau in capability and technology for software producibility.” The report notes that software is “…unconstrained by traditional physical engineering limitations…” and what we can accomplish is derived “…from [the] human intellectual capacity to conceptualize and understand systems….” With growing global parity in software engineering, the DoD must maintain leadership to avoid strategic surprise. The Software Engineering Institute (SEI) Program Element (PE) addresses the critical need to research, develop, and rapidly transition state-of-the-art software technology, tools, development environments, and best practices to improve the engineering, management, fielding, evolution, acquisition, and sustainment of software-intensive DoD systems. The SEI PE’s program of work seeks to coordinate across the Department and the Services and leverages expertise in industry and academia to enable the development of joint capabilities. Software is more pervasive than ever and computer programs are growing in size and complexity. Designing, managing, and securing integrated, complex, and large-scale mission-critical systems are abilities that the DoD and Defense Industrial Base (DIB) have not yet mastered. To address this, the P781 project within this PE funds research and development within the SEI Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC) and, to access particular expertise, in the Services, industry, and academia. The SEI FFRDC is the DoD’s dedicated source for software research and development. It is an institute which enables the exploitation of emerging software technology by bringing engineering, management, and security discipline to software acquisition, development, and evolution. The SEI FFRDC focuses on software technology areas judged to be of the highest payoff in meeting defense needs. To ensure that the DoD retains a differential advantage over potential adversaries, funding at the SEI FFRDC will include a new Budget Activity 2 funding line beginning in FY 2014. The reduction in P781 in this line beginning in FY 2014 is offset by the creation of the new line, the SEI Applied Research PE. The creation of this new line represents a pivot toward more fundamental research that will enable the DoD to address longer-term challenges in software technology and engineering. The SEI Applied Research PE will also increase the collaboration opportunities for the SEI FFRDC with academia and attract top research talent to the SEI. Private sector investment has created rapid advances in information technologies, but the pace of transition to DoD applications is often very slow or the commercial applications do not meet DoD unique needs, e.g., high assurance software or large-scale integrated systems. The DoD needs to create opportunities to discover emerging technologies, to evaluate their potential to fit DoD needs, and where appropriate, conduct critical tests of the technologies under DoD conditions. The P783 project within this PE funds the Software Producibility Initiative. The Software Producibility Initiative works across the Services, industry, and academia to research and transition software science and tools that address the capacity to design, produce, assure, and evolve software-intensive systems in a predictable manner while effectively managing risk, cost, schedule, quality, and complexity.
Document Details
- Document Type
- R2 Budgetary Justification
- Publication Date
- Oct 01, 2015
- Source ID
- 0603781D8Z_3_0400_PB_2015
- Change Summary Explanation
- The reduction is a strategic efficiency approach to reduce funding and staffing. As a result, we provide a better alignment of funding and provide support to a smaller military force.
- Service Agency Name
- Office of Secretary Of Defense
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- Child Project: Software Producibility Initiative
- Child Accomplishment: SOFTWARE PRODUCIBILITY INITIATIVE