Inter-Agency Working Group on Engineering Complex Systems, Targeted Action Group Report for FY24-25

To stay well-positioned as an adaptive and leading technical pioneer, the United States (US) must accelerate the advancement and rapidly changing integration of engineering and sociotechnical systems that make up the nation’s most complex, large-scale engineered systems such as aerospace, transportation, and national security systems. Collaborative leadership among thought leaders remains a defining resource for increasing the innovation, efficiency, and impact in defining the path forward. The Inter-Agency Working Group (IAWG) on Engineering Complex Systems (ECS) is an informal collaboration between agency executive leaders committed to characterizing the way forward for the US Government to achieve essential transformations in the engineering of complex systems. The group addresses effectiveness, affordability, timeliness, and adaptability challenges posed by current and rapidly changing technologically sophisticated integrated systems and practices, through tools and methods, grounded in fundamental natural and social scientific and mathematical principles.

The IAWG on ECS was originally actualized in 2012 and continues today as an informal and efficient means for federal engineering executives to advance the practice and preparedness for engineering’s increasingly complex systems and to proactively solve relevant systems problems that impact multiple agencies. The time horizon considered by the working group includes near, mid, and long-term solutions to meet the future needs engineering complex systems. The functions of the working group include advisory, advocacy, outreach, influence, problem solving and sharing. Sharing activities occur the most frequently as innumerable lessons learned, findings from programs, strategies, policies, and other insights are shared among the leadership group thus saving considerable resources and duplication of effort and increasing knowledge transfer. Informal spin-off activities from the IAWG on ECS are common as numerous smaller connections focused on specific topic areas are initiated across the federal sector that yield efficient means of addressing challenges.

More formal “Targeted Action Groups” are also launched as a short-term focused activity after the Executive Committee of the working group identifies, prioritizes and resources multi-agency collaboratives to address specific topic areas. The current report provides the detailed products of the three Targeted Action Groups that were implemented in fiscal years 24 – 25. The Targeted Action Groups (TAGs) were:

1. Additive Manufacturing (AM) Qualification & Certification: Pathways to AM Adoption

2. Using Digital Twins for Failure Prediction

3. Supply Chain Risk Reduction Approaches and Best Practices

This report begins with background on the IAWG on ECS and an up-to-date summary of the working group today followed by the detailed reports of the three TAGs.