Software Agents and the Defense Information Infrastructure: Reengineering the Acquisition Process
Abstract
Process innovation within the Department of Defense (DoD) procurement system ultimately translates into flexibility, combat effectiveness and technological advantage on the modern battlefield. A critical enabler of process innovation is the effective use of advanced information technology (IT) products, such as software agents. Software agent based systems are used as an IT enabler for redesigning processes within the Defense Information Infrastructure (DII) Acquisition system. The Simplified Acquisition Procedures (SAP), a key element of acquisition reform, are used as the focus of our redesign efforts. To accomplish this task, the process is represented using a traditional process flow model, Use Case analysis to integrate the DII macro-process view and the agent technology micro-view, and using a heuristic measure of process complexity to identify processes suitable for machine verses human performance. By exploiting the inherent strengths of both software and human agents, productivity is enhanced by freeing human agents from routine tasks and enables the refocusing of human resources to high value acquisitions. The result is an agent based redesign of SAP processes where human agents and software agents share in the responsibilities for process execution.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 01, 1998
- Accession Number
- ADA352554
Entities
People
- Jerome Hudson
Organizations
- Naval Postgraduate School