Downloaded from https://www.everyspec.com MIL-HDBK-502: A MIL-HDBK-502: A CQUISITION CQUISITION L OGISTICS OGISTICS Individual phase requirements are based upon general expectations of the stage of a system design (e.g., concept exploration—functional baseline, engineering and manufacturing development—product baseline, etc.). Within the individual designs of the system, however, it is likely that at any given point in time portions of a design are in every different state. For example, even in the conceptual phase there are elements of the product hardware for which the physical design is known.
Likewise, during the production phase of a system, items with noted deficiencies may be in design development as the design community seeks to insert a redesign without affecting the production schedule. The next two sections will discuss supportability issues that should be addressed during each segment of the systems engineering process (i.e., Requirements Analysis, Functional Analysis/Allocation, and Synthesis) to achieve the principal goals of supportability analyses: (1) E nsure that supportability is included as a system performance requirement. (2) Ensure optimal support system design and infrastructure.
Systems engineering should be applied throughout the system’s life cycle as a comprehensive, iterative approach. As the system moves through the life cycle phases, new or updated user requirements and new or revised directions or limitations established by the acquisition decision authority will undoubtedly crop up. Therefore, do not assume that the task of achieving the supportability analyses goals is a one-shot deal. Rather, these goals will be achieved on an iterative, and often concurrent, basis as updated user requirements and authoritative directions are provided.
5.1 ENSURING SUPPORTABILITY AS A PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENT Including supportability as a performance requirement is emphasized in the following excerpt from DoD 5000.2-R: Supportability factors are integral elements of program performance specifications. However, support requirements are not to be stated as distinct logistics elements, but instead as performance requirements that relate to a system's operational effectiveness, operational suitability, and life-cycle cost reduction. For examples and further discussion of supportability performance requirements, refer to Section 6.
During the Requirements Analysis portion of the systems engineering process, a key first step to ensuring supportability as a performance requirement should be application of supportability analyses during actual development of the system requirements. These initial analyses should focus on the relationships between the evolving operational and readiness requirements, planned support structures, and comparisons with existing 5-2