The SPEED Act (H.R. 3838) and the FORGED Act (S. 5618) are two legislative proposals aimed at reforming the Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition system to enhance efficiency, agility, and alignment with warfighter needs. Both bills address overlapping challenges in defense acquisition, such as bureaucratic inefficiencies, slow delivery of capabilities, and the need for greater integration of commercial solutions. However, they differ in scope, approach, and specific reforms.
Determining a Digital Engineering Framework
This study is a systematic review to determine a conceptual framework for digital engineering, the objective being to select what and how to digitalize Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition processes, data, and decisions. What are the best practices for Digitalization and Industry 4.0 to inform DoD acquisition programs?
Who Should Worry About Digital Engineering?
Everyone who tires of the latest trending buzzword salad might reflect before acting on the most recent ‘paradigm shifting transformational’ strategy from the Pentagon. However, if they have ever wondered why the advanced technology program office has more detailed insight on a pizza ordered online than a jet engine repair, they may withhold judgement (briefly).
What Should Be Digitally Engineered?
Digital Engineering is a relatively new term and almost exclusively used in the Department of Defense, creating a great deal of confusion about what it means. Program managers and other leaders within defense acquisition recognize the existence of a new Digital Engineering Strategy (Department of Defense, 2018) from the Pentagon, and want to comply, but may not be certain what can or ought to be digitalized.
How do you ‘digitally engineer’?
You decided that your program must comply with the recent DoD Digital Engineering Strategy. Your team identified some candidate processes, data and decisions for digitalization. How do you get on with the project without competing and awarding a contract for service support? You need a framework to understand your environment to make some strategic choices and execute.
A Conceptual Framework for Digital Engineering
A framework for executing a DE project consists of input, throughput, output, feedback and external forces. Five strategic choices must be made:
- Refine, or Innovate, or Transform?
- Process, or Product & Service?
- Data Transformation, Flow, or Resource Optimization?
- Flexibility, Real-Time, Decentralization, or Modularity?
- Limits of Digitization?