The Acquisition Handbook

The Acquisition CycleWhat are the main Smart Acquisition Processes?The Acquisition CycleInitialGateMainGateConcept Assessment Demonstration ManufactureIn-Service DisposalIPT Leader AppointedIPT FormedIPT within the DPAIPT Leader transfersIPT to DLOIPT within the DLOThe objective of the Acquisition cycle is to assist the reduction of risk during the Concept andAssessment stages so that, at Main Gate, there is a high level of confidence that project targetsfor time, whole-life cost, annual cost of ownership and performance will be achieved.Encouraging a greater proportion of project expenditure in these early stages is therefore a keyfeature of Smart Acquisition.At the highest level, each of the six acquisition stages involves executing the plan agreed in theprevious stage, reviewing the outcome, and planning for the remaining stages. The basic contentof each stage is as follows:Concept: Produce and baseline a statement of the outputs or results that users require fromthe system, framed as a User Requirements Document (URD). Form the IPT. Initialinvolvement of Industry. Identify technology and procurement options for meeting the need thatmerit further investigation. Obtain funding and agree plan for the Assessment and subsequentstages, identifying performance, cost and time boundaries within which it is to be conducted.Produce Through Life Management Plan (TLMP). Pass Initial Gate, where the AssessmentStage is approved and time, cost and performance boundaries of validity will be noted for theproject as a whole.Assessment: Produce and baseline the System Requirements Document (SRD), definingwhat the system must do to meet user needs as stated in the URD. Establish and maintain thelinkage between user and system requirements. Identify the most cost-effective technologicaland procurement solution. Develop SRD, trading time, cost and performance to identify thetechnological solution within the Initial Gate boundaries. Reduce risk to a level consistent withdelivering an acceptable level of system performance to tightly controlled time and cost4