On Open and Collaborative Software Development in the DoD

The U.S. Department of Defense (specifically, but not limited to, the DoD CIO's Clarifying Guidance Regarding Open Source Software, DISA's launch of Forge.mil and OSD's Open Technology Development Roadmap Plan) has called for the increased use of open source software and the adoption of best practices from the free/open source software (F/OSS) community to foster greater reuse and innovation among programs in the DoD. In this paper, the authors examine some key aspects of open and collaborative software development inspired by the success of the F/OSS movement as it might manifest itself within the U.S. DoD. The examination is made from two perspectives: the reuse potential among DoD programs sharing software and the incentives, strategies, and policies that will be required to foster a culture of collaboration needed to achieve the benefits indicative of F/OSS. To achieve predictable and expected reuse two things are needed: technical infrastructures, and a shift to business practices in the software development and delivery patterns of the traditional acquisition life cycle. Thus, there is potential to overcome the challenges discussed in this paper and engender a culture of openness and community collaboration to support the DoD mission. The presentation includes 17 briefing charts. Published in the Proceedings of the Seventh Annual Acquisition Research Symposium, Acquisition Research: Creating Synergy for Informed Change, v1 p219-235, 30 April 2010. Presented at the Annual Acquisition Research Symposium (7th), Acquisition Research: Creating Synergy for Informed Change, held in Monterey, CA on 12-13 May 2010. U.S. Government or Federal Rights License. The original document contains color images.