Software Engineering Institute (SEI)

Abstract

Software is a key to meeting the Department of Defense's (DoD’s) increasing demand for high-quality, affordable, and timely national defense systems. Systemic software issues are significant contributors to poor program execution. Reliance on software-intensive mobile and net-based products and systems has increased (e.g., Joint Tactical Radio System, USS ZUMWALT (DDG-1000), Joint Strike Fighter, F-22, and Army Modernization). As stated in the January 2017 Defense Science Board Report, “Defense Research Enterprise Assessment,” software, autonomy, and cyber are today’s core challenges. 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’s program of work coordinates across the DoD through Reliance 21, the overarching framework of the DoD’s Science and Technology (S&T) joint planning and coordination process. This PE benefits every Community of Interest (COI) to some degree due to the ubiquitous nature of software, but particularly benefits: Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence (C4I) which includes a computing and software sub-panel; Autonomy; Cyber; and Engineered Resilient Systems. 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 the Defense Industrial Base (DIB) have not yet mastered. To address this, the PE funds research and development within the SEI Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). The SEI FFRDC is the DoD’s primary 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.

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Document Details

Document Type
R2 Budgetary Justification
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2018
Source ID
0603781D8Z_3_0400_PB_2018
Change Summary Explanation
Service Agency Name
Office of the Secretary Of Defense

Entities

Organizations

  • Office of the Secretary of Defense

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Autonomy
  • C4I
  • Cyber

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Autonomous Systems
  • Computer Programs
  • Computers
  • Control Systems
  • Cyberattacks
  • Defense Systems
  • Engineering
  • Information Assurance
  • Radio Equipment
  • Reliability
  • Software Assurance
  • Software Design
  • Software Development
  • Systems Engineering
  • Uss Zumwalt
  • Vulnerability

Fields of Study

  • Computer science
  • Engineering

Readers

  • Defense Technology Research and Development.
  • Military Science and Technology Research and Modernization.
  • Software Engineering.

Technology Areas

  • Cyber
  • Fully Networked C3
  • Fully Networked C3 - Command and Control

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