When you start doing contract work for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), you soon learn that the process is strictly governed by protocol. These overarching principles and mandatory policies can be found in the regulations, directives and instructions of the DoD. And one of the principle documents for procurement is the DoD Instruction 5000.02, “Operation of the Defense Acquisition System.”
Acquisition documents are impacted by the various programs that are implemented across the forces. And of course, they have to comply with the many laws in place that have been instituted to manage U.S. Military procurement. So between the legal pressures and the recent Better Buying Power (BBP) initiatives now in place, this critical procurement document is in transition.
The new 11/26/2013 revision is an interim document, valid for 180 days as the military revamps the system. Only the 9 page “Enclosure 9” from the previous 2008 Edition of this instruction remains in effect. And along with the new revision of this instruction, you can also expect an additional instruction for the procurement of services to be issued soon.
With this interim release, most processes remain stable. However, there are a few updates. You’ll see a new “Requirements Decision Point” in the document. This is now the starting point for requirements analysis and allocation, the process that culminates in the Preliminary Design Review. You’ll also see a new Development FRP Release Decision Point. This new point formalizes what has been called the “Pre-EMD Review” up till now.
The new DoD 5000.2 was issued by Outgoing Deputy Secretary of Defense, Ashton Carter. It applies to all organizational entities within the DoD. At the same time, the military recognizes that procurement law for the DoD is starting to become unwieldy. There is a parallel move taking place to generate a legislative proposal that would simplify the various laws that have been issued since the last revision of the instruction in 2008.
Defense procurement reform occurs with some regularity, as every part of the government tries to accommodate shrinking budgets. Military procurement is one area that is rightly subject to review. The DoD is moving to keep up with changing expectations regarding deployment, manpower, and resources. Improving the methods and requirements for it’s purchasing practices will yield concrete benefits for the forces.
Document Center has been supporting military contractors and sub-contractors since we were founded in 1982. We have the processes in place to support your requirements for complete and correct standards documentation for your products and processes. You can order the standards you need at our webstore, www.document-center.com. Or you can contact us by phone (650-591-7600), fax (650-591-7617), or email (info@document-center.com). Make us your Standards Experts!
