SERC TALKS: “How is T&E Transforming to Adequately Assess DOD Systems in Complex Operating Environments?”
This was the final Talk of the three-part series on “Test and Evaluation” curated and moderated by: Dr. Laura Freeman, SERC Research Council Member, Director of the Hume Center’s Intelligent Systems Lab and Assistant Dean for Research in the College of Science, and Research Associate Professor in the Department of Statistics at Virginia Tech. You can view the recording of the Talk below. Prior Talks in the series are as follows:
- August 18, 2021: SERC TALKS: “What Does Test & Evaluation Mean in a Digital Engineering Enabled World?” with Dr. Darryl K. Ahner, P.E., Director, Scientific Test and Analysis Techniques Center of Excellence (STAT COE), Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT)
- October 29, 2021: SERC TALKS: “Progress in Test and Evaluation of AI-enabled Systems in the DoD” with Dr. Yevgeniya “Jane” Pinelis, Chief, Test, Evaluation, and Assessment, Department of Defense Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC)
Abstract
The Director, Operational Test & Evaluation (DOT&E) is senior advisor to the Secretary of Defense on operational test and evaluation (OT&E) and live fire test and evaluation (LFT&E) in the Department of Defense (DoD). Ultimately, the office of DOT&E is responsible for ensuring testing is adequate to confirm operational effectiveness, suitability, survivability, and lethality of defense systems in combat use. The technologies we are testing today and will in the future require that we rethink classical approaches to T&E. As the National Defense Strategy notes, “We cannot expect success fighting tomorrow’s conflicts with yesterday’s weapons or equipment.” Similarly, we need to modernizing T&E assessment tools, infrastructure, and expertise. In this talk, I will discuss the critical role DOT&E plays in ensuring we provide systems that work to our warfighters. I will discussion how the DOT&E Science and Technology Strategic Plan is focusing on making advancements in current T&E CONOPS in the technology areas of Software, Cybersecurity, and Next-Generation capabilities. I will also discuss the need for an integrated T&E lifecycle and how digital transformation plays a key role in changing how we do business. Finally, transformation will require us to engage the T&E workforce in education and training on new methods. New partnerships with communities pioneering new methods (to including the SERC network in academia) will assist in our transformation.