DoD Announces Major Revision to Acquisition Policy

The Honorable John Young, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics USD (AT&L) approved a major revision to the DoD Acquisition System (DoD Instruction 5000.02) today.>> This revision, the first major change to acquisition policy in over 5 years, reflects the departments determination to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of its enterprise-wide acquisition business processes so it can continue to provide warfighters with the best weapons systems and support in the world.>> The new directive includes:>> -- A mandatory acquisition process entry point: Programs will be required to proceed through a Materiel Development Decision Review to ensure they are based on approved requirements and a rigorous assessment of alternatives.>> --Competitive Prototyping: Programs will be required to implement acquisition strategies requiring a technology development phase where two or more competing teams will produce prototypes of the system or key components. Consequently, technologies will have to be demonstrated and proven before engineering development is initiated.>> -- More frequent and effective program reviews to assess progress. Two key engineering reviews, the Preliminary Design Review and the Critical Design Review become significant program decision points to allow acquisition authorities to assess progress.>> -- Configuration Steering Boards: These boards provide a forum that can preclude destabilizing requirements changes and avoid a problem that has traditionally contributed to increased costs and extended schedules. Program managers can use this forum to control requirements creep and seek moderation of requirements which become costly drivers in the system design.