support of MITRE individualized train- ing. Each proposal team was further required to summarize in its assess- ment a transition plan with a sched- ule and budget broken out by TMaF critical activities. OE-I’s PEB leveraged proposal teams’ TMaF self-assessments and transition plans as weighted selec- tion criteria. These transition maturity assessments ofered OE-I leadership and the PEB data to validate projects’ alignment to OECIF and OEPF budget activity requirements. Furthermore, the TMaF offered a standardized means to evaluate, balance, and mon- itor transition maturity across OE-I’s portfolio. The frst cohort of OE-I per- formers to use the TMaF is currently executing its projects and providing OE-I tranche leaders regular transition updates in terms of TMaF levels and critical activities. OE-I is also partnered with the Noblis Corp. to further leverage data generated through the TMaF process. OE-I and the Noblis Corp. developed the “Operational Energy Management and Innovation (OMNI) tracking tool” to capture and catalog TMaF data generated over a project’s life cycle. The OMNI platform securely provides DoD-wide, operational energy project information to key stakeholders. It is expected to be fully populated with current project data by the end of FY 2025. Amidst publication of this article, OE-I was completing its initial TMaF rollout and had gathered feedback from project teams. While much of the feedback was positive, OE-I iden- tifed areas for improvement that are being evaluated and addressed. For
example, a team developing a soft- ware-intensive capability noted that the traditional MRL methodology is incongruent with today’s modern principles of agile software develop- ment. This made it difficult for the software team to assess its capabil- ity’s production readiness and aford- ability. TMaF extensions to integrate existing software transition readiness practices are set for completion by the fall of 2025. In addition to addressing user feedback, OE-I is proactively work- ing with MITRE to develop a suite of complementary tools for further re- ducing transition barriers for technol- ogy innovators. The Tech2PEO tool, for instance, is designed to connect technology developers to relevant ac- quisition organizations by providing information and guidance on how to engage with PEOs. Tech2PEO completed the mini- mum viable product stage and is mov- ing toward the release of production version 1.0. The tool takes as user input a short description of the tech- nology along with its corresponding TMaF assessment. It then searches multiple data sources to generate a curated list of PEO contacts and po- tential funding opportunities. Another complementary resource under devel- opment is the OE-I Transition Playbook , which is a concise reference for ad- ditional guidance to help OE-I project teams execute critical activities high- lighted in the TMaF. Further enhancements to the Tech2PEO tool and the OE-I Playbook will be rolled out in the fall of 2025. Also underway is initial development of AI-enabled resources intended to
support OE-I project teams executing mission engineering and relevant re- quirements identifcation. These tools are unifed in their intention to help innovators mature their technologies
across TMaF dimensions. Outlook and Future Opportunities
The TMaF provides innovators a tool for navigating the particularly fraught transition from laboratory- proven technology to a procured, Warfighter-adopted capability. For RDT&E portfolio managers, it enables standardized, systematic assessment of transition maturity across invest- ments and project life cycles. And, to the defense acquisition ecosystem more broadly, the TMaF offers an efficient means of communicating technological maturity among stake- holders. This last point is particularly rel- evant in the current, rapidly evolv- ing defense acquisition environment. Congress’ proposed Streamlining Pro- curement for Effective Execution and Delivery (SPEED) Act , for instance, would shorten the requirements creation process to as little as 90 days. In addition, a growing push, as described in a re- cent Government Accountability Office report , would move defense acquisition from a linear to an iterative acquisition pro- cess more akin to that of the com- mercial sector. These reforms require much more frequent communication among traditional defense acquisition stakeholders as well as new entrants that the reforms will attract. New en- trants (e.g., nontraditional defense contractors, such as commercial technology startups) will beneft from
The frst cohort of OE-I performers to use the TMaF is currently executing its projects and providing OE-I tranche leaders regular transition updates in terms of TMaF levels and critical activities.
September-October 2025 | DEFENSE ACQUISITION | 17
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker