Witnesses: shift to iterative development and portfolio management to speed capability delivery
Summary
Panelists recommended contracting changes that favor iterative development, modular designs and portfolio‑level choices rather than single platform obsession to deliver usable capabilities faster and avoid costly retrofits.
Multiple witnesses told the committee that acquisition strategy should prioritize delivering a minimum‑viable capability quickly and then iterating, rather than locking into decades‑long platform programs. Shelby Oakley (GAO) and Julia Gledhill (Stimson Center) emphasized modular open systems architectures and digital engineering as enablers that let programs "iterate" and open competition for subsystems.
Sean Kennedy (Citizens Against Government Waste) urged DOD to leverage private sector technologies where appropriate and avoid sole‑source arrangements that create dependency on proprietary spares and services. Witnesses said contracting tools for iterative work require different guardrails — smaller funding tranches tied to demonstrated progress, clear interface standards for modules, and better data rights to avoid perpetual vendor lock‑in.
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