USC Subchapter I

in effect

10 U.S.C. § 4211 Acquisition strategy

(a) Acquisition Strategy Required.—There shall be an acquisition strategy for each major defense acquisition program and each major system approved by a decision authority. (b) Responsible Official.—For each acquisition strategy required by subsection (a), the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, or the decision authority, when the decision authority is the service acquisition executive of the military department that is managing the program, is responsible for issuing and maintaining the requirements for—(1) the content of the strategy; and (2) the review and approval process for the strategy. (c) Considerations.—(1) In issuing requirements for the content of an acquisition strategy for a major defense acquisition program or major system, the Under Secretary, or the decision authority, when the decision authority is the service acquisition executive of the military department that is managing the program, shall ensure that—(A) the strategy clearly describes the proposed business case and capability management approach for the program or system, and to the maximum extent practicable, describes how capability requirements will be met through delivery of such program or system; (B) the strategy contains a clear explanation of the resources, such as time, funding, and management capacity, necessary to meet capability requirements; (C) the strategy is tailored to address program requirements and constraints; and (D) the strategy considers the items listed in paragraph (2). (2) Each strategy shall, where appropriate, consider the following:(A) An approach that delivers required capabilities in increments, each depending on available mature technology, and that recognizes up front the need for future capability improvements or transitions to alternative end items through use of continuous competition. (B) Requirements related to logistics, maintenance, and sustainment in accordance with sections 2464 and 2466 of this title, and the acquisition of technical data, computer software, and associated licenses, to enable such requirements in accordance with sections 3771 through 3775 of this title. (C) A process for collaborative interaction and market research with the science and technology community, including Department of Defense science and technology reinvention laboratories, government innovation cells, academia, small businesses, nontraditional defense contractors, and other contractors. (D) Identification of enterprise-wide designs and standards in support of an architecture that provides for an integrated suite of capabilities that focuses on simplicity of implementation and speed of delivery. (E) Overarching roadmaps that create integrated strategic schedules of legacy systems and new capabilities. (F) A contracting strategy that develops long-term partnerships with multiple companies to actively contribute to architectures, development, production, and sustainment across the capabilities to be developed by decomposing large systems into smaller sets of projects across time and technical component. (G) An assignment of roles and responsibilities of key personnel of the acquisition workforce, identification of external stakeholder dependencies, and the need for subject matter expert inputs at critical points in the program, including the need for special hiring authority or advisory and assistance services, in order to deliver the desired capabilities. (H) A process of testing and experimentation with the test community and end users to ensure continuous user feedback, acceptance, and development of concepts of operations. (d) Review.—The decision authority shall review and approve, as appropriate, the acquisition strategy for a major defense acquisition program or major system prior to the acquisition decision memorandum and ensure that the strategy is updated at regular intervals to incorporate significant changes to program requirements, resourcing, or acquisition decisions. (e) Decision Authority Defined.—In this section, the term “decision authority”, with respect to a major defense acquisition program or major system, means the official within the Department of Defense designated with the overall responsibility and authority for acquisition decisions for the program or system, including authority to approve entry of the program or system into the next phase of the acquisition process.

10 U.S.C. § 4212 Risk management and mitigation in major defense acquisition programs and major systems

(a) Requirement.—The Secretary of Defense shall ensure that the initial acquisition strategy (required under section 4211 of this title) approved by the milestone decision authority and any subsequent revisions include the following:(1) A comprehensive approach for managing and mitigating risk (including technical, cost, and schedule risk) during each of the following periods or when determined appropriate by the milestone decision authority:(A) The period preceding engineering manufacturing development, or its equivalent. (B) The period preceding initial production. (C) The period preceding full-rate production. (2) An identification of the major sources of risk in each of the periods listed in paragraph (1) to improve programmatic decisionmaking and appropriately minimize and manage program concurrency. (b) Approach to Manage and Mitigate Risks.—The comprehensive approach to manage and mitigate risk included in the acquisition strategy for purposes of subsection (a)(1) shall, at a minimum, include consideration of risk mitigation techniques such as the following:(1) Prototyping (including prototyping at the system, subsystem, or component level and competitive prototyping, where appropriate) and, if prototyping at either the system, subsystem, or component level is not used, an explanation of why it is not appropriate. (2) Modeling and simulation, the areas that modeling and simulation will assess, and identification of the need for development of any new modeling and simulation tools in order to support the comprehensive strategy. (3) Technology demonstrations and decision points for disciplined transition of planned technologies into programs or the selection of alternative technologies. (4) Multiple design approaches. (5) Alternative designs, including any designs that meet requirements but do so with reduced performance. (6) Phasing of program activities or related technology development efforts in order to address high-risk areas as early as feasible. (7) Manufacturability and industrial base availability. (8) Independent risk element assessments by outside subject matter experts. (9) Schedule and funding margins for identified risks. (c) Preference for Prototyping.—To the maximum extent practicable and consistent with the economical use of available financial resources, the milestone decision authority for each major defense acquisition program shall ensure that the acquisition strategy for the program provides for—(1) the production of competitive prototypes at the system or subsystem level before Milestone B approval; or (2) if the production of competitive prototypes is not practicable, the production of single prototypes at the system or subsystem level. (d) Concurrency Defined.—In this section, the term “concurrency” means, with respect to an acquisition strategy, the combination or overlap of program phases or activities.

10 U.S.C. § 4214 Baseline description

(a) Baseline Description Requirement.—(1) The Secretary of a military department shall establish a baseline description for each major defense acquisition program and for each designated major subprogram under the program under the jurisdiction of such Secretary. (2) The baseline shall include sufficient parameters to describe the cost estimate (referred to as the “Baseline Estimate” in sections 4371 through 4375 of this title), schedule, performance, supportability, and any other factor of such major defense acquisition program or designated major subprogram. (b) Funding Limit.—No amount appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense for carrying out a major defense acquisition program or any designated major subprogram under the program may be obligated after the program or subprogram enters system development and demonstration without an approved baseline description unless such obligation is specifically approved by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment. (c) Schedule.—A baseline description for a major defense acquisition program or any designated major subprogram under the program shall be prepared under this section—(1) before the program or subprogram enters system development and demonstration; (2) before the program or subprogram enters production and deployment; and (3) before the program or subprogram enters full rate production. (d) Original Baseline Estimate.—(1) In this subpart, the term “original Baseline Estimate”, with respect to a major defense acquisition program or any designated major subprogram under the program, means the baseline description established with respect to the program or subprogram under subsection (a) prepared before the program or subprogram enters system development and demonstration, or at program or subprogram initiation, whichever occurs later, without adjustment or revision (except as provided in paragraph (2)). (2) An adjustment or revision of the original baseline description of a major defense acquisition program or any designated major subprogram under the program may be treated as the original Baseline Estimate for the program or subprogram for purposes of this chapter only if the percentage increase in the program acquisition unit cost or procurement unit cost under such adjustment or revision exceeds the critical cost growth threshold for the program or subprogram under sections 4371 through 4375 of this title, as determined by the Secretary of the military department concerned under section 4374 of this title. (3) In the event of an adjustment or revision of the original baseline description of a major defense acquisition program or any designated major subprogram under the program, the Secretary of Defense shall include in the next Selected Acquisition Report to be submitted under section 4351 of this title after such adjustment or revision a notification to the congressional defense committees of such adjustment or revision, together with the reasons for such adjustment or revision. (e) Regulations.—The Secretary of Defense shall prescribe regulations governing the following:(1) The content of baseline descriptions under this section. (2) The submission to the Secretary of the military department concerned and the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment by the program manager for a program for which there is an approved baseline description (or in the case of a major defense acquisition program with one or more designated major subprograms, approved baseline descriptions for such subprograms) under this section of reports of deviations from any such baseline description of the cost, schedule, performance, supportability, or any other factor of the program or subprogram. (3) Procedures for review of such deviation reports within the Department of Defense. (4) Procedures for submission to, and approval by, the Secretary of Defense of revised baseline descriptions.