The Acquisition Handbook

Acceptance and ISDSmall Project PointApprovalsFor Category C Initial Gate and Category D Main Gate approvals, the BusinessCase is normally shorter (no more than ten pages) . There is no formal InitialGate for Category D Projects, which can proceed to the Assessment Stage if thecustomer and IPT Leader can agree a suitable Customer Supplier Agreement;Assessment Stage activities and deliverables; and cost, time and performanceparameters for the Assessment Stage and the project as a whole. In such cases,the relevant budget holder may approve expenditure of up to 15% of theestimated total procurement cost before Main Gate.Acceptance and In-Service DateSmart Acquisition defines acommon top-levelacceptance process, throughwhich it is confirmed that theusers’ needs for militarycapability have been met bythe systems supplied. TheDEC is the AcceptanceAuthority. The IPT Leaderis responsible for thegathering and presentationof evidence to demonstratethat the SRD and, thereby,the URD have beensatisfied.Acceptance is a through life process, outlined in the following diagram. At an early stage duringthe acquisition process the IPT Leader and the DEC agree an acceptance strategy whichidentifies how the acceptance process will be applied, and enables an Integrated Test,Evaluation and Acceptance Plan (ITEA Plan) to be drawn up. Prior to reaching the stage atwhich formal Acceptance is conducted, the audit trail back to the capability gap and userrequirement is assured through the endorsement of the SRD and URD. Later, at a suitable pointin the programme, the build standard for production purposes will be frozen for the DEC to17