Function and Performance Specification (FPS) Development Guide

The purpose of this FPS Development Guide is to provide guidance for Australian Government personnel in developing a fit-for-purpose Function and Performance Specification (FPS) from a mature Operational Concept Document (OCD). The FPS forms one of the trio of documents that comprise the Capability Definition Documents (CDD), with the other two being the OCD and the Test Concept Document (TCD). Guidance on the development of the OCD is provided in the CDD Guide, while guidance on the development of the TCD is provided in Departmental Science Instruction (DSCI) 1/2004, ‘Procedures for Implementing Defence Test and Evaluation Policy’. These other guidance documents and this FPS Development Guide are intended to complement each other over the period of the Materiel Life Cycle (MLC) in which the CDD are developed (refer Figure 1-1).

The functions and associated performance requirements defined in the FPS should be traceable to the user1 needs defined in the OCD, with these requirements being supplemented by the non-functional requirements and constraints defined in legislation, policy, regulatory documents, and the applicable Defence architectures. The FPS is developed from the OCD; hence, its development is delayed in time with respect to the development of the OCD.