Obtaining Data, Analytics, and AI Solutions

The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO) developed the DoD Data, Analytics, and AI Adoption Strategy to accelerate the delivery and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and achieve mission impact at scale. The strategy aims to unify the Departments approach to these interrelated technology domains. However, additional guidance is needed to achieve the goals outlined in the strategy. The CDAO tasked IDA with developing this document which will serve as an appendix to the strategy and provide help for Component leadership, particularly Chief Data Officers, with concise, coaching-style documentation to guide them through the choices that have to be made in their organization to obtain data, analytics, and AI (D/A/AI) products. This document defines the adopt-buy-create framework for acquiring products and provides a self-assessment questionnaire that managers can use to decide when it is appropriate to adopt, buy, or create a product. It concludes with some additional recommendations to consider when obtaining these products.