— CASE STUDY

Creating a reusable DevSecOps path to faster federal delivery

theta. integrated automated testing, deployment, observability, and security controls into batCAVE’s platform delivery path. The work gave product teams a repeatable way to move software toward authorization and production while inheriting established controls and strengthening software-supply-chain visibility.

customer

Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)

Contract Role

Subcontractor

Mission

Secure federal software delivery

Delivery Focus

DevSecOps integration, platform automation, and continuous authorization readiness

Capabilities

Build & Integrate | Secure, Test & Release | Enable & Transfer

Mission Context

CMS’s Information Security and Privacy Group was creating batCAVE as a platform-as-a-service environment for secure software delivery. Product teams needed a consistent route from code to authorized cloud deployment, with automated testing, inherited controls, observability, and supply-chain protection built into the path. theta. integrated the platform components and delivery practices that made that route repeatable.

Why it mattered

Federal teams often lose time rebuilding pipelines, documenting the same controls, and resolving security requirements late in delivery.

Federal teams often lose time rebuilding pipelines, documenting the same controls, and resolving security requirements late in delivery. A shared platform can reduce that friction only when its controls, tooling, and operating guidance work together as a usable product.

The Challenge

Make secure delivery repeatable, not project-specific
1

High-friction authorization

Security evidence and approval steps often arrived late or required repeated manual coordination.

2

Reusable control inheritance

Product teams needed a dependable way to inherit established controls without treating every deployment as a new platform.

3

Software-supply-chain risk

The delivery path required visibility across build, test, deployment, runtime, and dependency activity.

How theta. Delivered

A usable platform path from code to production
1

Integrated the delivery pipeline

theta. connected GitLab runners, Argo CD, containers, Kubernetes, and Amazon EKS into a repeatable DevSecOps workflow.

2

Codified platform deployment

theta. used Helm and infrastructure-as-code practices to make environments more consistent and reproducible.

3

Built in observability and protection

theta. integrated Grafana, Loki, Prometheus, Istio, and Falco to improve runtime visibility and security monitoring.

4

Advanced continuous-ATO readiness

theta. researched and implemented automation patterns that brought testing, control evidence, and authorization activities closer to everyday delivery.

Outcomes

Security controls became part of everyday delivery
theta. turned a collection of platform tools and controls into a clearer, reusable path for secure federal software delivery.

More automated authorization readiness

Testing and evidence activities moved closer to the delivery pipeline, reducing avoidable late-stage friction.

Reusable inherited controls

Product teams gained a clearer way to build on controls already established within the platform environment.

Stronger delivery visibility

Integrated observability and security tooling improved insight across deployment and runtime operations.

Built for What Comes Next

A reusable foundation for secure product teams
The platform patterns give CMS product teams a foundation they can reuse, extend, and govern as secure delivery practices and authorization expectations continue to evolve.

Technical environment

Technology and delivery practices

YAML, Python, Shell, GitHub, GitLab, Grafana, Loki, Prometheus, AWS, Docker, Kubernetes, Amazon EKS, Istio, Falco, GitLab Runners, Argo CD, Helm, Linux, and Windows Server

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