The Department of the Air Force, Army, broader DoD and the defense industry have shared roles in the development and sustainment of major defense systems. The engineering and program management artifacts that define these roles have been individually transitioning to digital forms for 30+ years, while the business practices and contract boundaries have remained mostly unchanged.

The value of digital transformation over the system life cycle is gained from seamless and efficient connectivity of data and models, full lifecycle management and access to these data & models (known as authoritative sources of truth), and an overarching imperative to radically accelerate our fielding, sustainment, and modernization of warfighter capabilities.

The promise of Digital Materiel Management (DMM) will be achieved when “models replace documents, structured data replaces disparate information, and digital collaboration breaks down decision stovepipes.” (AFMC – DMM: An Accelerated Future State). The technology has been rapidly evolving, but the acquisition system has been slower to adapt. There are a number of concerns that are delaying uptake of the full DMM promise in materiel program offices. These concerns have been organized into the following focus areas: