Platform One (P1) Pod

In the final episode of season 1, we talk with the Platform 1 Materiel Leader, Lt. Col. Brian Viola, and Deputy Materiel Leader, Duong Hang. Our topic is the future of Platform One.

Drew and Austen talk with some Platform One product users about what it takes to deliver value to P1 customers. It boils down to connecting with customers at the point of mission execution, followed by a dedicated effort to make the mission happen.

At Platform One, culture is king, and is considered paramount to an organization’s success. Hosts Austen and Drew talk with guests Andrew Greene and Steven Olek about the importance of relationships in building an organization’s culture.

Our hosts Austen and Drew talk with guests Justin Lowery and Josh Wolf about the evolution of technology at Platform One. They also discuss the challenges inherent to any enterprise as it scales from start-up status to proven viability.

Hosts Austen and Drew talk with acquisition professionals Maj. Victoria Wyler and Capt. Cody Paul about the importance of having the acquisition and product teams fully integrated in product development. The two acquisition SMEs detail the challenges they faced trying to make use of staid acquisition processes in the dynamic, every changing and evolving world of software development. Their bottom line came to constant communication and building trust. When asked who needs to deliver “value” in any sort of project Wyler immediately offered, “everyone”!

Austen plays solo host in this episode while Drew Belk sits in the guest seat along with Erica Westendorf, a DevSecOps Product Manager at Platform One as they discuss how P1 worked to organize around value. They explore the notion of remaining centered on value delivery while scaling an organization. They also discuss how an organization can move past functional silos so everyone has ownership in solving the bigger problem and not just their small ”functional” part of it.

Austen and Drew talk with Matt Houston and Jeff McCoy about the early development days of software innovation across the DoD. Matt handled authorizations and policies for P1 ensuring the program’s security and its authority to operate (ATO). Jeff brought over a decade worth of software development experience to P1 helping to slingshot it from its inception to a program of record. The four innovators discuss the early stages of software development and how the DevSecOps community came together by emphasizing the spirit of collaboration and sharing, and ultimately letting good ideas emanate up to the surface of a challenge.

Our hosts talk with Air Force veteran Rob Slaughter who worked in and directed the early stages of the Platform One program. He continues to support the DoD software ecosystem as a small business owner. Rob, Austen, and Drew discuss the early stages of software innovation and how it grew across the DoD from self-forming teams of passionate and skilled professionals who wanted to provide needed tools to the warfighter in an efficient and innovative way.

Meet hosts Austen Bryan and Drew Belk. Austen is one of the government founders of P1. Drew has been with the program since its inception and has a passion for delivering valuable software to the warfighter. They briefly discuss the origins of Platform One and describe their intent for starting the podcast and their hope for what it brings to the larger DevSecOPs community.

The Platform One (P1) podcast is a place to openly discuss the challenges of performing DevSecOps in the Department of Defense.
Season one describes the journey of Platform One from a grassroots startup to a formal Air Force Program. We cover our genesis story, the technical challenges, organizational theory, agile acquisition strategy, failures, and culture. The end of the season brings in a user panel for an outside perspective and we conclude with Platform One's new leadership discussing what the future holds. We hope to drive collaboration and learning across the DoD software ecosystem.