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The Defense Department needs to educate its workforce on what DevSecOps means for them, the Pentagon’s Katie Arrington says.

The Defense Department won’t see the return on investment DevSecOps systems development practices can provide without cultural and procedural shifts, according to DOD officials.

Katie Arrington, chief information security officer for DoD’s acquisition office, said DoD has more work to do on changing workforce culture within the Pentagon around DevSecOps. DevSecOps is not just the latest in a long line of buzzwords — from waterfall to agile to DevOps — but a priority, according to Arrington.

“You think about long-term sustainability, if we don’t start to really emphasize DevSecOps as we go forward and build on the good work that has been done, we’ll never see the actual return on investment in the life cycle that we need,” Arrington said at a webinar hosted by AFCEA International’s SIGNAL Magazine recently.

Arrington added the department needs to educate the workforce around what DevSecOps means for them. She wants the workforce to understand that DevSecOps is not something that will replace jobs, but enhance the work they are currently doing.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/cybersecurity/2020/10/pentagon-still-hammering-out-acquisition-strategies-needed-enable-devsecops-officials-say/169482/

“Defense acquisition is a human endeavor.”

These are familiar words to anyone who knows Frank Kendall, the Under Secretary for Defense Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, and what he sees as the heart of modernizing the DoD acquisition system.

Kendall and his staff have made notable improvements to the system in recent years, including the major focus on workforce professionalism, training and education initiatives undertaken by the Defense Acquisition University (DAU).

It’s no secret DoD has an abundance of rules and regulations. In a sequestration environment, which will be the greatest administrative challenge of the era for the Pentagon, the workforce and the people are the most important ingredient in the DoD acquisition recipe.

DoD’s Better Buying Power (BBP) mandate establishes “increased professional qualification requirements for all acquisition specialties.” With BBP 3.0 expected in a few months, Kendall reports the new version will work towards eliminating barriers to entry. He wants to build stronger relationships with the requirements, technology, warfighter and other communities. I participated in the recent Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association (AFCEA) symposium, the inaugural event to highlight DoD’s BBP acquisition initiative and its application to government, industry and academia.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.federaltimes.com/article/20140829/BLG06/308290008/Strengthening-workforce-DoD-acquisition-requirements-results

Pentagon still hammering out acquisition strategies needed to enable DevSecOps, officials say

The Defense Department needs to educate its workforce on what DevSecOps means for them, the Pentagon’s Katie Arrington says.

Strengthening the workforce: DoD acquisition, requirements and results

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