DoD Integrated Product and Process Development Handbook

The acquisition process is typically divided into five stages; the first four formal phases are separated by milestone decision points. The five stages are—

• Phase 0: Concept Exploration (CE)
• Phase I: Program Definition and Risk Reduction (PDRR)
• Phase II: Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD)
• Phase III: Production, Fielding/Deployment, and Operational Support (PFDOS)
• Demilitarization and Disposal (DD)

However, not all programs go through the same number of phases. The number of phases and decision points are tailored to meet the specific needs of an individual program based on such things as the adequacy of proposed risk management plans and the urgency of the user’s need. Tailoring is conducted to minimize the time it takes to satisfy an identified need consistent with common sense and sound business practices. The cost to implement product changes increases as a program moves from the earlier to the later phases of its life cycle (Figure 2-1). IPPD’s greatest potential for leverage during the acquisition process, therefore, occurs in the early stages of development, when the program is most flexible. It is at this early stage that an analysis of life-cycle issues and cost/performance tradeoff studies can provide a life-cycle balanced approach and prevent costly changes later in the product’s life cycle. For a major program, this period would be in Phases 0 and I. Accordingly, this chapter discusses these phases in detail. For a modification or upgrade to an existing program, even though it may not have formal DoD acquisition phases and milestones associated with it, the sequence of events is the same. Therefore, regardless of the type of requirement the custome defines—a new system or an upgrade to an existing system—the activities described in this chapter apply.