1.1      BACKGROUND

The recently revised Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition system is documented¹ in:

• DoD Directive 5000.1 (DoDD 5000.1), The Defense Acquisition System, dated May 12, 2003
  
  
• DoD Instruction 5000.2 (DoDI 5000.2), Operation of the Defense Acquisition System, dated May 12, 2003
  
  
• Interim Defense Acquisition Guidebook (Interim Guidebook), dated October 30, 2002. This Interim Guidebook contains nonmandatory guidance on best practices, lessons learned, and expectations. It is anticipated that the Interim Guidebook will be revised in the near future.

A central theme of the acquisition process is that the technology employed in system development should be “mature” before system development begins.² Normally, for technology to be considered mature, it must have been applied in a prototype article (a system, subsystem, or component), tested in a relevant or operational environment, and found to have performed adequately for the intended application. This implies a need for a way to measure maturity and for a process to ensure that only sufficiently mature technology is employed.

DoDI 5000.2 establishes a requirement for Technology Readiness Assessments (TRAs), and the Interim Guidebook provides an outline of a process for performing TRAs. The Interim Guidebook introduces Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) as an accepted way to describe technology maturity. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has defined TRLs and has used them in its program reviews, and the NASA definitions are the basis for the DoD definitions. A readiness level of TRL 6 or, preferably, TRL 7 is normally achieved before a technology is used in system development.³ Section III of this document addresses TRLs in some detail.

To carry out TRAs, the guidebook describes actions that would normally be taken by Program Managers (PMs), Component Science and Technology (S&T) Executives, Component Acquisition Executives (CAEs), and the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Science and Technology (DUSD(S&T)). TRAs must be carried out before Milestone B and Milestone C of acquisition programs categorized as Acquisition Category One (ACAT I): ACAT ID⁴ or ACAT IAM.⁵

 

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¹ All three of the documents listed are available at h ttp://dod5000.dau.mil/.

² This reflects a major conclusion of a study performed by the General Accounting Office (GAO). See Appendix A.

³ System development normally begins with a Milestone B decision.

⁴ ACAT ID is a subcategory of ACAT I. ACAT I programs are Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) or programs that the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA) designates ACAT I. An MDAP is an acquisition program that is not a highly sensitive classified program (as determined by the Secretary of Defense) and is designated by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics USD(AT&L) as an MDAP based on several factors including research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) expenditures and procurement expenditures. The MDA for ACAT ID programs is the USD(AT&L).

⁵ ACAT IAM is a subcategory of ACAT IA. ACAT IA programs are Major Automated Information Systems (MAISs) or programs designated by the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration (ASD(NII)) (formerly the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence (ASD(C3I)) to be ACAT IA. The MDA for ACAT IAM programs is the ASD(NII), who is also the DoD Chief Information Officer (DoD CIO).