ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE WASHINGTON, D.C. 20301-3040 APRIL 17, 1992 COMMAND, CONTROL COMMUNICATIONS AND INTELLIGENCE MEMORANDUM FOR SECRETARIES OF THE MILITARY DEPARTMENTS DIRECTOR, DEFENSE RESEARCH AND ENGINEERING DIRECTORS OF THE DEFENSE AGENCIES SUBJECT: Delegations of Authority and Clarifying Guidance on Waivers from the Use of the Ada Programming Language It has come to my attention that there may be confusion regarding the application of Ada waiver policies. This was highlighted in the September 1991 GAO report "PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE: Defense Policies and Plans for Implementing Ada" which found that Defense components were not consistently interpreting and applying the Ada waiver criteria. By the December 2, 1991, Deputy Secretary of Defense memorandum (Attachment 1), "Delegation of Authorities and Assignment of Duties Under the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1992," I was designated as the official who may grant special exemptions relating to the Ada programming language. This memorandum authorized redelegation to "civilian officers of the Department of Defense appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate." Authority is hereby redelegated to the Director, Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) to grant special exemptions for software that is physically part of, dedicated to, or essential in real time to the mission performance of weapon systems; used for weapon system specialized training, simulation, diagnostic test and maintenance, or calibration; or used for research and development of weapon systems. In addition, authority is hereby redelegated to the Secretaries of the Military Departments to grant special exemptions for all other software under their responsibility except for DoD Intelligence Information Systems (DoDIIS) which shall be forwarded to the ASD(C3I) through the Director, Defense Intelligence Agency. Within the limits stated above, this authority may be further redelegated. Directors of the Defense Agencies shall submit requests for waivers to the ASD(C3I). To ensure uniform understanding and application, the following guidelines are promulgated. (1) All new development or modification of DoD software will comply with this policy, DoD Directive 3405.1, "Computer Programming Language Policy," and DoD Instruction 5000.2, "Defense Acquisition Management Policies and Procedures," regardless of size, cost, or functional application. (2) A separate economic analysis is not required to support the selection of Ada. Use of Ada is presumed cost effective for all new development or modification of more than one-third of a functional component of DoD software for an application. In such cases, Ada must be used unless a waiver is granted. (3) Waivers from the use of Ada are required for the development of modification of any non-Ada code not specifically excluded in paragraph F.2., of DoD Directive 3405.1 The decision to use "other technologies" as specified in the definition of Advanced Software Technology (AST) must be supported by documentation showing that the benefits specified in the AST definition are met. Provide this documentation to the designated waiver authority. Amplification of terms within paragraph F.2. is attached (Attachment 2). Enforcement of these policies is essential. Each DoD Component is expected to ensure compliance with these policies when performing the life-cycle management reviews established in DoD Directive 7902.1 and DoD Instruction 5000.2 and prior to the release of software procurement solicitations. Any Military Department/Agency policies that do not comply with the guidance outlined in this memorandum shall be cancelled. Duane P. Andrews Attachments cc: Assistant Secretaries of Defense Comptroller Inspector General, DoD Director of Operational Test and Evaluation Director for C4 (J-6), Joint Staff ATTACHMENT 1 The text of Attachment 1 is not included in this electronic copy. Attachment 1 is a Memorandum of the Deputy Secretary of Defense, dated 2 DEC 1991, signed D. J. Atwood. This memorandum "delegates authorities and assigns duties to officers of the Department of Defense to execute the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 1992 (H.R. 2521, 102d Cong., November 26, 1991)...". ATTACHMENT 2 TERMS Commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS): System or application software already developed, tested, and for sale to other DoD or commercial customers, supported by a commercial vendor over the system life-cycle, and requiring no unique government modifications or maintenance over the system life-cycle. For example: Operating systems, utilities, libraries, self-contained applications programs, spreadsheets, and vendor updates thereto. Advanced Software Technology (AST): Software tools, life-cycle support environments (including programming support environments), non-procedural languages, modern database management systems, and other technologies that provide significant improvements in productivity, usability, maintainability, portability, etc., over those capabilities commonly in use. For example: Use of CASE tools, SQL (ANSI FIPS 127-1) with compliant COTS database management systems, and graphic/window environments. ********************** Flyer P107-0992c waiver92.txt The Ada Information Clearinghouse maintains an electronic copy of this document on the AdaIC's Internet host: sw-eng.falls-church.va.us Ada Information Clearinghouse (AdaIC) P.O. Box 1866 Falls Church, VA 22041 Phone: 800/232-4211 or 703/681-2466 Fax: 703/681-2869 E-mail: adainfo@sw-eng.falls-church.va.us The AdaIC is sponsored by the Defense Information Systems Agency's Ada Joint Program Office (DOD/DISA/JIEO/CFSW/AJPO), and operated by IIT Research Institute.