On June 29, 1994, the Secretary of Defense directed sweeping reform of military specifications and standards. The Secretary directed the Department of Defense to make greater use of performance and commercial requirements in the acquisition process. Performance specifications are preferred over detail specifications. This document, dated 29 Jun 95, offers guidance on how to write performance specifications. The information is applicable to all types of materiel: systems, subsystems, assemblies, components, and parts. It is not meant to be a "cookbook" approach to developing performance specifications, but a guidance tool to provide direction and to shape the overall thought process.