William E. Novak

Software Engineering Institute

Publications by William E. Novak

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Acquisition and Policy Implications

February 26, 2021 • White Paper

William E. Novak

This paper reports on a high-level survey of a set of both actual and potential acquisition and policy implications of the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technologies.
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Using Game Theory to Improve Government Acquisition

April 18, 2018 • Video

William E. Novak

Our team is conducting research to describe and quantify the acquisition “game” being played using modeling and simulation to frame the misaligned incentives.
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A Game-Theoretic Approach to Optimizing Behaviors in Acquisition

October 30, 2017 • Presentation

William E. Novak

This presentation discusses research on using game theory in acquisition.
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Getting Contractors to Cooperate

October 27, 2017 • Poster

William E. Novak

A poster describing work on a project entitled A Game-Theoretic Approach to Optimizing Acquisition Behaviors
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Government As the Integrator: Why, Why Not, and How?

November 18, 2015 • Presentation

William E. Novak James Smith

This presentation identifies many of the factors that determine whether government as the integrator (GATI) is more likely to be successful in certain domains and circumstances.
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What Happens and How: Analyzing the Results of 13 Acquisition Program Assessments

November 18, 2015 • Presentation

William E. Novak Forrest Shull

This presentation explains a set of recurring dynamics that drive the key high-level findings of independent technical assessments and provides qualitative models of each adverse behavior.
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Designing the Infrastructure for an Enterprise IT System

November 18, 2015 • Presentation

William E. Novak Patrick R. Place

This presentation discusses five issues faced by government organizations embarking on the development of enterprise-wide IT systems that integrate and modernize legacy system functions.
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Effective Insider Threat Programs: Understanding and Avoiding Potential Pitfalls

October 16, 2015 • White Paper

Andrew P. Moore William E. Novak Matthew L. Collins

In this paper, the authors describe the potential ways an insider threat program (InTP) could go wrong and to engage the community to discuss its concerns.
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Acquisition Archetypes

September 26, 2013 • Podcast

William Novak Suzanne Miller

In this episode, Bill Novak talks about his work with acquisition archetypes and how they can be used to help government programs avoid problems in software development and systems acquisition.
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Modeling the Evolution of a Science Project in Software-Reliant System Acquisition Programs

July 01, 2013 • Presentation

Andrew P. Moore William E. Novak

This presentation was delivered at the International Conference of the System Dynamics Society in July 2013.
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Joint Programs and Social Dilemmas

June 27, 2013 • Podcast

Bill Novak

In this episode, SEI researcher Bill Novak discusses joint programs and social dilemmas, which have become increasingly common in defense acquisition, and the ways in joint program outcomes can be affected by their underlying structure.
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Understanding the Drivers Behind Software Acquisition Program Performance

April 10, 2013 • Presentation

Andrew P. Moore William E. Novak

This presentation was delivered at the April 2013 STC.
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The Evolution of a Science Project

April 04, 2013 • Podcast

Andrew P. Moore William Novak

In this podcast, Bill Novak and Andy Moore describe a recent technical report, The Evolution of a Science Project, which intends to improve acquisition staff decision-making.
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Evolution of a Science Project

October 25, 2012 • Presentation

Julie B. Cohen Andrew P. Moore William E. Novak

This presentation was delivered at the NDIA Systems Engineering Conference in October 2012.
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Misaligned Incentives

September 20, 2012 • Podcast

Bill Novak

In this episode, Novak discusses misaligned incentives, misaligned people incentives in software acquisition programs, and how the wrong incentives can undermine acquisition programs and produce poor outcomes.
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The Evolution of a Science Project: A Preliminary System Dynamics Model of a Recurring Software-Reliant Acquisition Behavior

July 01, 2012 • Technical Report

William E. Novak Andrew P. Moore Christopher J. Alberts

This report uses a preliminary system dynamics model to analyze a specific adverse acquisition dynamic concerning the poorly controlled evolution of small prototype efforts into full-scale systems.
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Success in Acquisition: Using Archetypes to Beat the Odds

September 01, 2010 • Technical Report

William E. Novak Linda Levine

This report describes key elements in systems thinking, provides an introduction to general systems archetypes, and applies these concepts to the software acquisition domain.
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We Have All Been Here Before: Recurring Patterns Across 12 U.S. Air Force Acquisition Programs

April 29, 2010 • Presentation

William E. Novak Ray C. Williams

Presentation given by William Novak and Ray Williams at the 2010 Systems and Software Technology Conference (SSTC) on April 29, 2010
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Acquisition Archetype: Shooting the Messenger

January 20, 2010 • White Paper

Linda Levine William E. Novak

When problems are detected in programs, everyone needs to listen and work together towards a solution. Shooting the messenger only delays the process, and hurts program morale.
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Acquisition Archetypes: Happy Path Testing

October 15, 2009 • White Paper

Linda Levine William E. Novak

When time and budget are tight, it's tempting to follow the "happy path" in testing. But be careful: it may be a path that brings your program great unhappiness.
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Acquisition Archetypes: Brooks' Law

October 15, 2009 • White Paper

Linda Levine William E. Novak

This April 2009 whitepaper focuses on the problems of underspending, which can result in funds being shifted from one acquisition program to another.
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Identifying Acquisition Patterns of Failure Using System Archetypes

April 09, 2008 • Presentation

Linda Levine William E. Novak

This presentation was given by Linda Levine and Bill Novak of the SEI's Acquisition Support Program at the IEEE Systems Conference in April 2008.
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Using System Archetypes to Identify Failure Patterns in Acquisition

May 02, 2006 • Presentation

Diane Gibson Linda Levine William E. Novak

This SEI presentation – “Using System Archetypes to Identify Failure Patterns in Acquisition” – was delivered by Diane Gibson, Linda Levine, and William E. Novak on May 2, 2006.
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Software Acquisition Planning Guidelines

December 01, 2005 • Handbook

William E. Novak Julie B. Cohen Anthony J. Lattanze

This 2005 handbook presents guidance for acquisition planning and strategy topics in a condensed form, and references the primary resources available for each topic.
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Feature-Oriented Domain Analysis (FODA) Feasibility Study

November 01, 1990 • Technical Report

Kyo C. Kang (Pohang University of Science and Technology)Sholom G. Cohen James A. Hess

This 1990 report establishes methods for performing a domain analysis and describes the products of the domain analysis process.
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A Domain Analysis Bibliography

June 01, 1990 • Special Report

James A. Hess Sholom G. Cohen Kyo C. Kyang

This 1990 document presents a bibliography of references on domain analysis.
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