Emerging Issues in the Acquisition of Open Source Software Within the US Department of Defense

Abstract

In the past five or so years, it has become clear that the US Air Force, Army, and Navy have all committed to a strategy of acquiring software-intensive systems that require or utilize an open architecture (OA) and open technology (OT) that may incorporate OSS technology or OSS development processes. There are many perceived benefits and anticipated cost savings associated with an OA strategy. However, the challenge for acquisition program managers is how to realize the savings and benefits through requirements that can be brought into system development practice. As such, the central problem we examine in this paper is to identify principles of software architecture and OSS copyright licenses that facilitate or inhibit the success of an OA strategy when OSS and open APIs are required or otherwise employed. By examining and analyzing this problem, we can begin to identify additional requirements that may be needed to fulfill an OA strategy during program acquisition.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 23, 2008
Accession Number
ADA493987

Entities

People

  • Thomas A. Alspaugh
  • Walt Scacchi

Organizations

  • University of California, Irvine

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • C4I
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acquisition
  • Application Software
  • Computer Program Documentation
  • Computer Program Reliability
  • Computer Programming
  • Computer Programs
  • Computer Science
  • Computers
  • Database Management Systems
  • Department Of Defense
  • Information Systems
  • Intellectual Property
  • Open Source Software
  • Software Design
  • Software Development
  • Web Browsers
  • Word Processors

Fields of Study

  • Computer science

Readers

  • Database Systems and Applications
  • Defense Acquisition Program Management
  • Neurotrauma and Rehabilitation Medicine.