3.6. Technology Development

3.6.1. Purpose. The purpose of this phase is to reduce technology risk and to determine the appropriate set of technologies to be integrated into a full system. Technology Development is a continuous technology discovery and development process reflecting close collaboration between the S&T community, the user, and the system developer. It is an iterative process designed to assess the viability of technologies while simultaneously refining user requirements.

3.6.2. The project shall enter Technology Development at Milestone A when the MDA has approved the TDS. The tables in enclosure 3 identify all statutory and regulatory requirements applicable to Milestone A. This effort normally shall be funded only for the advanced development work. For business area capabilities, commercially available solutions shall be employed. (A toolkit of best practices is available at http://deskbook.dau.mil). A favorable Milestone A decision DOES NOT mean that a new acquisition program has been initiated.

3.6.3. Shipbuilding programs may be initiated at the beginning of Technology Development. The information required in the tables at enclosure 3 shall support program initiation. A cost assessment shall be prepared in lieu of an independent cost estimate (ICE), and a preliminary assessment of the maturity of key technologies shall be provided.

3.6.4. Before requesting a Milestone A decision for an AIS program, DoD Components shall affirmatively answer the following questions:

3.6.4.1. Does the acquisition support core/priority mission functions that need to be performed by the Federal Government?

3.6.4.2. Does the acquisition need to be undertaken by the DoD Component because no alternative private sector or governmental source can better support the function?

3.6.4.3. Does the acquisition support work processes that have been simplified or otherwise redesigned to reduce costs, improve effectiveness, and make maximum use of commercial off-the-shelf technology?

3.6.5. The ICD and the TDS shall guide this effort. Multiple technology development demonstrations may be necessary before the user and developer agree that a proposed technology solution is affordable, militarily useful, and based on mature technology. The TDS shall be reviewed and updated upon completion of each technology spiral and development increment. Updates shall be approved to support follow-on increments.

3.6.6. If an evolutionary strategy is used, the initial capability represents only partial fulfillment of the overall capability described in the ICD, and successive technology development efforts continue until all capabilities have been satisfied. In an evolutionary acquisition, the identification and development of the technologies necessary for follow-on increments continues in parallel with the acquisition of preceding increments, allowing the mature technologies to more rapidly proceed into System Development and Demonstration (SDD). Each increment of an evolutionary acquisition program shall have an associated MDA-approved TDS.

3.6.7. The project shall exit Technology Development when an affordable increment of militarily-useful capability has been identified, the technology for that increment has been demonstrated in a relevant environment, and a system can be developed for production within a short timeframe (normally less than five years); or when the MDA decides to terminate the effort. During Technology Development, the user shall prepare the Capability Development Document (CDD) to support program initiation, refine the integrated architecture, and clarify how the program will lead to joint warfighting capability. The CDD builds on the ICD and provides the detailed operational performance parameters necessary to design the proposed system. A Milestone B decision follows the completion of Technology Development.