Personnel Needs for Department of the Air Force Digital Talent: A Case Study of Software Factories

Abstract

In the fiscal year (FY) 2020 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), Congress directs the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) "to promote and maintain digital expertise and software development as core competencies of civilian and military workforces of the Department, and as a capability to support the National Defense Strategy" (Pub. L. 116-92, 2019). To help meet this mandate, the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF) established a Digital Talent Taskforce in FY 2020 to help define DAF digital talent needs, including developing requirements and competencies for digital talent. To support the taskforce's efforts, RAND Project AIR FORCE was asked to conduct a case study to identify digital talent needs in the area of software development by exploring DAF software factories that use modern and agile software development practices. As of FY 2020, DAF software factories were newer organizations that were quickly growing in number and size, such that they presented a challenge for workforce planning.The motivation for this case study stemmed, in part, from discussions that the RAND Corporation team held with DAF digital talent stakeholders, including senior leaders, on what they considered to be the need for digital talent across the DAF. During a broader FY 2020 study on digital talent, DAF stakeholders could articulate the value of digital talent across different digital domains (e.g., data science) and expressed the need for the DAF to have different levels or tiers of proficiency (e.g., basic data literacy across the force). However, actual digital talent personnel requirements were unclear, including where specific digital knowledge and skills would be needed across the DAF and how many personnel at different proficiency levels would be required to meet those needs. Software factories were cited as one type of entity within the DAF where specific types and levels of digital talent would likely be needed, but the specific requirements had still not been identified. In contrast to traditional software acquisition efforts in DoD that use contractors to deliver a product, software factories represent a growing DAF effort to provide organic software development capabilities. According to our review, most DAF software factories were still in their start-up phases as of FY 2020, with additional software factories continuing to emerge across the DAF.In this short report, we provide an overview of DAF software factories as of FY 2020, including software factory missions, oversight structures, and current and desired digital talent. The infor-