Contract Writing System

The Contract Writing System (ACWS) program is the Army's next-generation, enterprise-wide contract writing, management, execution, and close-out software system, as outlined in Program Element (PE) 0605047A. The primary goal of ACWS is to standardize Army procurement business processes and streamline integration with Army Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. The system is designed to serve as a comprehensive financial feeder, supporting a full spectrum of Army contracting needs, including secure and non-secure environments, combat and non-combat contingencies, operations both within and outside the continental United States, and assistance with grants and agreements. ACWS also supports activities related to weapons systems, construction, installation, specialized contracting, and compliance with the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996.

The program's objectives are guided by Army senior leadership, which directed a pivot to a Portfolio Approach that leverages existing technologies and maximizes share-ability and reuse across the Department of Defense (DoD). This approach includes iterative design, development, and testing to fulfill remaining capability requirements for Army users. To minimize development effort, the Army is onboarding the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the system integrator through an Interagency Agreement, and is leveraging existing capabilities from the Air Force's Contracting Information Technology, Army's Virtual Contracting Enterprise, DoD's Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment, the General Services Administration's System for Award Management, and other Robotic Process Automation programs. The integration of these systems will enable the decommissioning of legacy systems such as the Standard Procurement System and Procurement Automated Data and Document System.

Program Office funding supports the ACWS Program Management Office, which includes government, matrixed, and contractor support for capability development, enterprise architecture, contract management, management analysis, capital and financial planning, life cycle planning, risk management, and schedule management. Program management support focuses on solution implementation, deployment, and transition to long-term sustainment, in conjunction with the Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery pipeline. The decrease in funding from prior years reflects the completion of certain functional requirements and aligns with the current system development effort.

Product Development is responsible for the design and development of the ACWS solution using Agile methodologies. This cross-functional team, composed of government and contractor staff, analyzes and designs requirements to ensure completeness and compliance with Army standards. Funding will be used to build universal contracting capabilities, including contract closeout, warrant management, document numbering, concurrent modifications, and integration to automate and record sensitive transactions. Additionally, funds will support data migration development for the retirement of legacy systems, as well as business process re-engineering and agile software development resources.

Test & Evaluation is another critical component, with funding allocated for validating capability requirements through design analysis and development of test scripts. This supports continuous testing and deployment of the solution, including operational assessments in coordination with field users, and leverages the CI/CD pipeline with automated testing capabilities. The decrease in test and evaluation funding reflects economic assumptions and the completion of earlier phases.

Security funding, which was present in prior years, covered Information Assurance, Risk Management Framework activities, accreditation and inspection, and cyber security support for the cloud hosting environment. While no new security funding is allocated in FY 2026, previous investments have established a secure posture for the system, including support for Interim Authorization to Test and Authority to Operate controls.

Other program funding in FY 2026 includes support for training material development and dedicated training support personnel, as well as sustainment activities such as license maintenance, hosting, cyber security, and service desk support for deployed sites. The acquisition strategy continues to leverage interagency agreements with USDA and Defense Logistics Agency for system integration and hosting, with future development and sustainment options under evaluation as the USDA agreement concludes.