Program Management THROUGH DIGITAL ENGINEERING Updated by PAUL SOLOMON
and the need to use automated tools for requirements traceability and tracking. Per Software Engineering (SWE), requirements are unambigu- ous, testable, consistent, and precise. Also, SWE provides guidance to track and prioritize requirements (Product Backlog) using automated tools that integrate with the development pipe- line to provide traceability. The following are best practices regarding requirements traceability and metric SWE: • Develop a product roadmap that is traceable to the product vision, required capabilities, and to the product backlog. • Define epics and features for the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) or upcoming release. • Incorporate requirements as test cases into automated test suites.
• Map all test procedures to require- ments. • Develop software metrics that are consequential (connected to a pro- gram, project, or software develop- ment outcome). • Develop technical measures of mission effectiveness to augment the software process metrics. • Use function-related metrics in- volving function points (not story points). Test and Evaluation The Office of the Director of Test and Evaluation (OT&E) issued DoDI 5000.98 OT&E and Live Fire T&E, Dec. 9, 2024, requiring that the PM lever- age mission engineering, DE, digital twins, and SMART (in a digital format, as defined later in this article.). The PM is also required to participate in
developing system requirements con- firmed as measurable, testable, justifi- able, achievable, and relevant to the operational mission. On Dec. 9, 2024, OT&E also issued DoD Manual 5000.100 T&E Master Plans and T&E Strategies (5000.100) covering the Acquisition Program Baseline, a de- scription of both the hardware and software-enabled features, technical performance requirements, and time- lines related to delivery of test assets and development (Verification, Vali- dation and Accreditation) [VV&A]) of critical test enablers). Excerpts are in Table 1. SMART. The Project Manage- ment Institute’s Project Manage- ment Body of Knowledge—Seventh Edi- tion (PMBOK®) provides additional information on “SMART.” Per PMBOK®, characteristics of SMART criteria
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