How CodeMRI Discovery and Silverthread Consulting Helped Save a Critical DoD Program

A Call from the Pentagon

In late summer 2024, Silverthread received a high-stakes call from a civilian equivalent of a one-star General in the US Army. The fate of a key logistics program, XBam (an anonymized name), would be decided in just two days. For eight years, XBam had been developed, maintained, and supported by a DoD software team stationed at a base in Utah. Originally a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) product, the government acquired the rights, brought the system in-house, and expanded its functionality to meet military needs.

However, the program’s future was in jeopardy. Advocates within the Army and at multiple bases strongly supported XBam, emphasizing its reliability and the opportunities for further enhancements. But opponents, including senior leaders, argued that transitioning to a new solution being developed by Oracle might save costs and scale more effectively across bases. Unfortunately, Oracle’s system was incomplete and unproven, leaving many unanswered questions about feasibility and timelines.

The debate reached high levels within the military hierarchy, culminating in a pivotal meeting to be chaired by a three-star General. The options on the table:

1. Terminate XBam and pursue Oracle’s system.

2. Freeze XBam’s funding, allowing only minimal maintenance without further enhancements or expansion.

3. Double down on XBam, continuing its development and rolling it out to thousands more users.

Recognizing the stakes, the one-star General advocating for XBam reached out to Silverthread Consulting for assistance. He knew that objective, quantitative data could provide the clarity needed to navigate a politically charged situation.

A Tight Deadline for Action

Silverthread, leveraging its expertise in software diagnostics and modernization, quickly sprang into action. The project’s timeline left no room for error:

1. Wednesday Night: Silverthread finalized a contract and onboarded the XBam team to the CodeMRI Suite. The team installed CodeMRI Discovery, a tool that automates deep analysis of software health, maintainability, and risk.

2. Thursday Morning: The XBam team completed a full scan of their system and securely uploaded the results to Silverthread’s AWS GovCloud environment for analysis.

3. Thursday Afternoon: Silverthread consultants reviewed the results, prepared an executive presentation, and coached the XBam team on how to effectively present the findings at the Friday meeting.

   
   

This rapid turnaround was made possible by CodeMRI Discovery, a powerful diagnostic tool designed to provide immediate insights into software health. Its ability to generate actionable metrics in formats compatible with Excel, Tableau, and PowerBI ensured that the results could be tailored for stakeholders at all levels.

The Results: XBam’s Technical Health

The analysis revealed that XBam was one of the best-maintained systems Silverthread had ever evaluated for the DoD. While every system has room for improvement, the issues identified were minor. Silverthread consultants described XBam’s health as akin to “spotting a pimple or two on Miss America.”

The table below summarizes key metrics from the analysis, comparing XBam to two anonymized DoD systems for context:

Overall CodeMRI Discovery metrics and scores for XBam and comparison systems

Overall CodeMRI Discovery technical health details for XBam and comparison systems

For XBam:

• XBam demonstrated exceptional code quality, with only 26 high-complexity files, accounting for less than 0.5% of the system.

• XBam had no significant cores, enabling teams to work independently without ripple effects.

• XBam excelled in modularity, with only 12 files impacted by a single change

• XBam had code duplication levels within expected norms

In contrast, Anon DoD System - Crisis

•  had 800 high-complexity files, creating significant obstacles to maintainability.

• Anon DoD System - Crisis exhibited severe cyclicality, with 41% of its codebase trapped in tightly coupled cores.

• Anon DoD System - Crisis faced significant ripple effects due to tightly coupled components.

Predicted Software Outcomes

The predicted outcomes from CodeMRI Discovery further reinforced XBam’s value:

Overall CodeMRI Discovery software economic scores for XBam and comparison systems

• XBam demonstrated exceptional efficiency, with only 4% of labor wasted on fixing bugs, compared to 39% in Anon DoD System - Crisis.

  
  

The Pivotal Friday Meeting

Silverthread consultants provided the XBam team with a detailed slide deck and coached them on effectively communicating the results. By Friday night, we received word that the meeting was successful—XBam had been saved.

Escalation to the Pentagon

The following Wednesday, the decision escalated to a briefing for a four-star General and a US Undersecretary of Defense. In this meeting, Silverthread’s findings played a pivotal role in securing not just XBam’s survival but its expansion:

• The Undersecretary authorized the program’s expansion to thousands of additional users.

• XBam was tasked with consolidating similar systems, streamlining logistics operations across multiple bases.

  
  

Conclusion

The XBam case demonstrates the power of data-driven insights in critical decision-making. With CodeMRI Discovery and Silverthread Consulting, the DoD was able to make an informed decision that not only saved a vital program but also positioned it for future success. This case is one of many where Silverthread’s tools and expertise have helped transform complex software challenges into opportunities for innovation and growth.