Enclosure 2 -- 4. Materiel Solution Analysis Phase

4. Materiel Solution Analysis Phase

   a. Purpose. The purpose of this phase is to assess potential materiel solutions and to satisfy the phase-specific entrance criteria for the next program milestone designated by the MDA.

   b. Entrance Criteria. Entrance into this phase depends upon an approved ICD resulting from the analysis of current mission performance and an analysis of potential concepts across the DoD Components, international systems from allies, and cooperative opportunities.

   c. Phase Description

(1) The Materiel Solution Analysis Phase begins with the Materiel Development Decision review. The Materiel Development Decision review is the formal entry point into the acquisition process and shall be mandatory for all programs. Table 3 in Enclosure 4 identifies all regulatory requirements for the Materiel Development Decision review.
(2)Funding for this phase shall normally be limited to satisfaction of the Materiel Solution Analysis Phase objectives.
(3)At the Materiel Development Decision review, the Joint Staff shall present the JROC recommendations and the DoD Component shall present the ICD including: the preliminary concept of operations, a description of the needed capability, the operational risk, and the basis for determining that non-materiel approaches will not sufficiently mitigate the capability gap. The Director, Program Analysis & Evaluation (DPA&E), (or DoD Component equivalent) shall propose study guidance for the Analysis of Alternatives (AoA).
(4)The MDA shall approve the AoA study guidance; determine the acquisition phase of entry; identify the initial review milestone; and designate the lead DoD Component(s). MDA decisions shall be documented in an Acquisition Decision Memorandum (ADM). The MDA's decision to begin Materiel Solution Analysis DOES NOT mean that a new acquisition program has been initiated.
(5)Following approval of the study guidance, the lead DoD Component(s) shall prepare an AoA study plan to assess preliminary materiel solutions, identify key technologies, and estimate life-cycle costs. The purpose of the AoA is to assess the potential materiel solutions to satisfy the capability need documented in the approved ICD.
(6)The ICD and the AoA study guidance shall guide the AoA and Materiel Solution Analysis Phase activity. The AoA shall focus on identification and analysis of alternatives, measures of effectiveness, cost, schedule, concepts of operations, and overall risk. The AoA shall assess the critical technology elements (CTEs) associated with each proposed materiel solution, including technology maturity, integration risk, manufacturing feasibility, and, where necessary, technology maturation and demonstration needs. To achieve the best possible system solution, emphasis shall be placed on innovation and competition. Existing commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) functionality and solutions drawn from a diversified range of large and small businesses shall be considered.
(7)If the MDA determines that the initial review milestone specified at the Materiel Development Decision is inconsistent with the maturity of the preferred materiel solution, an alternative review milestone shall be designated.
(8)The Materiel Solution Analysis Phase ends when the AoA has been completed, materiel solution options for the capability need identified in the approved ICD have been recommended by the lead DoD Component conducting the AoA, and the phase-specific entrance criteria for the initial review milestone have been satisfied.