JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. –
The Defense Acquisition University Alumni Association (DAUAA) has announced the winners of the 2019 Edward Hirsch Acquisition Writing Competition. Jeremy Kramer, Operations Research Analyst for the Air Mobility Command Test and Evaluation Squadron located at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, has won second place for his manuscript entitled Developmental Test and Requirements Best Practices of Successful Information Systems Efforts Using Agile Methods. The paper was co-authored with Lt. Col. Torrey Wagner of the Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, who provided valuable insights towards scoping the paper for the competition.
“This research is the culmination of a 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) initiative conducted by several federally funded research agencies to illustrate effective industry practices for information technology development,” said Kramer.
Kramer and Wagner will present their findings at the DAU Acquisition Community Training Symposium, April 3, at the DAU Fort Belvoir Campus in Virginia.
“A series of studies was commissioned by Chris DeLuca, Director of Space, Cyber, and Information Systems, to address questions raised by the new defense business system policy outlined in the 2018 NDAA,” said Kramer, explaining the topic selection for his submission.
While on rotational assignment with the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Developmental Test and Evaluation in Washington, D.C., from April to Sept. 2018, Kramer collected much of the data for his paper through surveys and interviews conducted to address the study.
“In its basic form, agile systems development is taking [software development] in smaller chunks, and in shorter increments,” Kramer said. “It is looking at academic research ideas on ‘how it should be done’ vs. ‘how it is being done’.”
This year’s DAU competition focused on areas of the National Defense Strategy that advance “acquisition at the speed of relevance.” A panel selected by the DAUAA Board of Directors and the DAU Director of Research evaluated all submissions, and final papers will be published in the April 2019 edition of the Defense Acquisition Research Journal, a scholarly peer-reviewed journal published by the DAU.
The 2018 NDAA calls for increased emphasis on agile development throughout the Department of Defense, which DAU defines as rapid and iterative methods and practices in response to evolving requirements. These practices may include valuing individuals and interactions over processes and tools, valuing working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and rapid response to change over following a plan. Kramer and Wagner’s paper speaks to the ‘best practices’ within developmental testing for acquisition software development.
A native of California, Kramer began his civilian federal career at the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, leading the operational test and evaluation of Joint Medical IT Systems. He then transitioned to the Air Force AMC Test and Evaluation Squadron here, the operational test organization of AMC, whose function is to provide objective testing of systems, software, and tactics in operationally representative environments that directly affect the warfighter. Kramer’s analyst function enables Test Directors to develop test parameters that provide meaningful data and analysis. Test results and AMCTES test recommendations inform funding decisions for upgrades to existing AF and AMC projects and future procurements.