Sec. 802. Modernizing the Department of Defense requirements process
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Not later than October 1, 2025, the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in cooperation with the Secretaries of the military departments and the commanders of the combatant commands, and in coordination with the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, shall develop and implement a streamlined Department of Defense requirements process, to include modernizing the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System, in order to improve alignment between modern warfare concepts, technologies, and system development and reduce the time to delivery of needed capabilities to Department users.
The modernization activities conducted under subsection
(a)shall include the following elements: Streamlining requirements documents, reviews, and approval processes, especially for programs below the major defense acquisition program threshold described in section 4201 of title 10, United Stated Code. Revisiting requirements management practices from a first principles perspective based on mission outcomes and assessed threats, enabling a more iterative and collaborative approach with the services to shape requirements and technology driven opportunities. Developing a capability needs and requirements framework and pathways that are aligned to the Department’s Adaptive Acquisition Framework pathways, and better aligned and integrated with the Department’s science and technology processes. Enabling the military departments to develop an enduring set of requirements according to a set of capability portfolios to provide a structure across acquisition programs and research, which shall be articulated in a concise model and document with a set of mission impact measures that capability deliveries will seek to continuously improve. Establishing a process to rapidly validate the military utility of commercial solutions to meet capability needs or opportunities in lieu of the traditional program-centric requirements definition. Retiring and replacing the Department of Defense Architecture Framework with a new structure focused on enabling interoperability through application program interfaces, enterprise architectures and platforms, and government and commercial standards. Ensuring that requirements processes for software, artificial intelligence, data, and related capability areas enable a rapid, dynamic, and iterative approach than traditional hardware systems. The implementation of streamlined requirements shall include the following elements: Collaboration with industry, traditional and non-traditional defense companies, and the science and technology community to capture their inputs and feedback on shaping the Department’s requirements processes to ensure it effectively harnesses the innovation ecosystem. Development of a formal career path, training, and structure for requirements management professionals and chief architects. Publication of new policies, guidance, and templates for the operational, requirements, and acquisition workforce in online digital formats instead of large policy documents. Not later than October 1, 2024, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the congressional defense committees an interim report on the modernization conducted by the Secretary under subsection (a), including— a description of the modernization efforts; the Department of Defense’s plans to implement, communicate, and continuously improve the modernization of the Department’s requirements processes and structure; and any additional recommendations for legislation that the Secretary determines appropriate. Not later than October 1, 2025, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Secretary of Defense and the congressional defense committees a final report describing activities carried out pursuant to subsections
(b)and (c).