Defense Business Systems

By John Liang / July 7, 2011 at 3:17 PM

The Pentagon acquisition office recently released a "directive-type" memo outlining an updated acquisition policy for defense business systems (DBS). The memo:

Establishes policy requiring the use of the Business Capability Lifecycle (BCL) model as the acquisition process for DBS, and assigns responsibilities and provides procedures for meeting BCL and DBS requirements. The principles of BCL can be applied at the increment or at the release level - BCL provides the framework for structuring the definition, development, testing, production, deployment, and support of DBS. This model is a guideline and tailoring, consistent with statute and sound business practice, is encouraged.

The memo mandates that BCL is "the overarching framework for the planning, design, acquisition, deployment, operations, maintenance, and modernization of DBS," and applies to any DBS modernization effort with a total cost of more than $1 million. Further:

When a Major Automated Information System (MAIS) DBS employs an incremental acquisition approach, all functional capabilities associated with a given increment shall be reflected in any resultant Acquisition Program Baseline (APB) (cost, performance, and schedule) and must be achievable within 5 years from when funds were first obligated. For all DBS that are not MAIS or otherwise designated, they must achieve Initial Operating Capability within 5 years from Milestone (MS) A. Delivery of capability within an increment (e.g., releases, sub-phases, software drops) must be based on technologies that have been determined to be mature at the MS B decision review. Functional capabilities that are not supported by adequate cost estimates, mature technologies, etc., shall be deferred to subsequent program increment(s).

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