Next-Gen Readiness: Analytics at the Forefront
The DOD is actively leveraging advanced analytics to build and maintain a mission-ready cyber force at speed and scale. A key milestone occurred in February 2025 when the DOD launched its first readiness report using the DCWF. This initial report tracked the foundational qualifications of the DCWF’s cybersecurity element, representing approximately 10% of the DOD’s total cyber force and serving as the starting point for these new readiness analytics. It visualized the foundational qualification status across the department and within each service. The DOD CIO plans a significant expansion by February 2026, extending the readiness reporting to include the IT, enablers and cyber effects elements alongside cybersecurity. This comprehensive approach will cover roughly 90% of DCWF capabilities, assessing foundational readiness across four of the seven DCWF elements. The inaugural report demonstrated how education, training and certification qualifications contribute to readiness, initially focusing on cybersecurity roles. In subsequent years, the goal is to visualize full DCWF readiness, incorporating mission-specific residential (on-the-job) readiness for all elements and tracking continuous professional development. Crucially, employing analytics allows the DOD to monitor current workforce readiness and predict future needs and proactively address potential shortfalls by analyzing data on training completion, skill proficiency and emerging cyber threats, ensuring the force remains prepared for future challenges.
The Future of Cyber Workforce Analytics
By embracing data-driven insights, the DOD is paving the way for a more agile, responsive and effective cyber force. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, leveraging data for informed decision-making will be critical to maintaining a competitive advantage in the cyber domain. The DOD is committed to exploring future applications of analytics and plans to finalize data/AI and software engineering work role coding and expand the DCWF to include spectrum and electronic warfare. Furthermore, the department aims to code contractors and implement industry salary benchmarking. These initiatives will enable total force analytics, workforce readiness expansion and data-driven training support decisions. Ultimately, the goal is to have a qualified workforce to defeat the adversary. This goal hinges on the integration of work role analytics to provide real-time insights on the state of the cyber force. By leveraging analytics, the DOD can create a cyber force that is highly skilled, adaptable and resilient.
Closing
In conclusion, this article underscores the synergistic strengths of the DOD 8140 Policy Series, its foundational DCWF and persistent analytics. By leveraging adaptable, mission-focused cyber work roles, the DOD CIO aggregates crucial data from authoritative systems into Advana, the department’s enterprise analytics platform. This integration powers the generation of comprehensive metrics and tailored visualizations, enabling truly data-driven decisions for senior leadership and command-level action officers. Ultimately, this robust analytic effort is progressing beyond merely identifying the workforce to actively assessing its qualifications, strategically positioning the DOD to achieve and maintain full readiness for its critical cyber missions.
As the Department of Defense (DOD) Cyber Workforce Data and Analytics Program lead, Alfredo Rodriguez III shapes and implements enterprise cyber workforce data analytics strategies for the DOD chief information officer. He is a former Army lieutenant colonel with extensive command and staff experience in the Signal Corps. Rodriguez holds master’s degrees in national security studies and management, has published widely and is a recipient of the DON IT Excellence Award for Cyber Workforce Innovation.