Agile Methods in Air Force Sustainment: Status and Outlook

Abstract : This paper examines using Agile techniques in the software sustainment arena--specifically Air Force programs. The Software Engineering Institute has researched the viability of Agile software development methods within Department of Defense programs and barriers to the adoption of those methods for several years. How software sustainers leverage Agile methods and avoid barriers to using Agile methods are addressed in this paper. In addition, the potential use of a construct called DevOps is discussed. DevOps is a blending of development and operations.