In March 2025, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth released a memo directing all Department of Defense (DoD) components to adopt DoD Instruction 5000.87, Software Acquisition Pathway (SWP), as "the preferred pathway for all software development components of business and weapons systems." At the SEI, we have extensive knowledge and experience with sharpening software acquisition practices, including implementing the SWP, in DoD programs and their partner organizations.
Hegseth’s memo amplified the DoD’s commitment to moving programs to the next level of acquisition capability, a mission the SEI has been pursuing for years. So, we are determined to continue that mission and be instrumental in helping programs and others improve their acquisition practices.
The Software Acquisition Go Bag (or Go Bag for short) is a system of resources designed to help users (i.e., program teams, user representatives, and their industry partners) confidently make acquisition decisions, including how to implement SWP in their unique environments to achieve the desired outcomes. Essentially, Go Bag enables users to collect and tailor the resources they need to devise plans and practices for executing strategies that overcome their software acquisition challenges. Go Bag resources include tips for following modern acquisition, software development, and deployment practices—and much more.
The SWP was designed to help DoD programs follow efficient and effective practices to acquire, develop, integrate, and deliver secure software fast enough to meet the department’s dynamic mission needs. These practices enable software to be released to warfighters more quickly and with higher quality.
The SWP encourages programs to use risk-based approaches, modern software development methods, Agile and Lean techniques, and DevSecOps pipelines. It also expects programs to tailor acquisitions to their individual needs, accelerate planned software releases to at least annually, and ensure that end users are involved throughout processes.
To implement the SWP, programs must be capable of
Many programs have these capabilities and want to move to the next level. Others are familiar with these capabilities but are not sure how to implement effective processes in their program. Still others may need help "filling the gaps" to effectively adopt the SWP or implement beneficial software acquisition practices in programs on other acquisition pathways. That’s where Go Bag comes in.
Our acquisition experts at the SEI have guided hundreds of DoD programs and their product teams to implement practical and effective engineering and acquisition practices as they deliver software-enabled capabilities. We deliver a unique integration of data-driven insights, software engineering research, and acquisition science to help the DoD scale software acquisition expertise, simplify acquisition processes, and accelerate practices that deliver results. We’re packing that experience into the Software Acquisition Go Bag to put proven, beneficial practices into the hands of those who really need them.
We will continue to work with organizations to study their needs as they develop and improve their acquisition practices. That work will help us build and add more resources that programs and others can pack into their Go Bags to improve their acquisition outcomes.
When warfighters are deployed to support a mission, the first step in completing that mission depends on the gear they pack and carry on their backs. They pack both standard and context-specific gear required for that mission. They select the right gear by considering context factors such as their mission location, weather, duration, deployed infrastructure, and more. Similarly, acquisition program team members must consider their program’s unique context when "packing" the resources they need to achieve successful acquisition outcomes. A program’s unique context might determine whether it is modernizing a legacy system or considering how to meet new technology requirements, the availability of users, and how rapidly to deliver value based on real-world threats. That’s where the Software Acquisition Go Bag can help.
Software Acquisition Go Bag enables users (i.e., program teams and their partners) to visit our website, scan a list of resources to select, and combine them to build a Go Bag that meets their needs, mission, and context.
Go Bag resources can include
These resources describe proven strategies and tactics for accelerating the acquisition and delivery of software-enabled capabilities, including implementing process elements of the SWP. Each Tactical Guide contains actionable tips for collaborating with stakeholders, obtaining and leveraging the right data, managing expectations, preventing (or recovering from!) common pitfalls, measuring what matters to stay on course, and more.
We will release Go Bag resources as a series of configurable kits that contain Tactical Guides and other resources related to the same topic. The Go Bag team will expand this diverse selection of resources continuously over time, based on user and community feedback, so that users can choose the right ones for their mission context.
Go Bag is intended help anyone in software acquisition, including decision authorities, sponsors, organizational leaders, program managers, end users, and those with roles in software development, contracts, costing, logistics, testing, and sustainment.
With Software Acquisition Go Bag, the SEI is committed to strengthening U.S. acquisition processes and practices to build needed capabilities. We expect Go Bag resources to evolve and grow as we learn more about user needs, domain-specific needs, trends, and new DoD policy.
Over the coming months, we will be hosting live webinars and using other outreach channels in the software acquisition community to get feedback from Go Bag users and help us prioritize the development of future Go Bag resources.
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