COTS GUIDE - Commercial Off-the-Shelf
AIR F O R C E MATERlEL C O M M A N D
COTS
COMMERCLti OFF-THE-SHELF
GUIDE
JAN 1993
FOREWORD As an aid to the user, references in this guide to the draft Air Force policy on Commercial -Off-The-Shelf (COTS) are presented in bold, italicized print.
-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PARAGRAPH TITLE
PAGE
FOREWORD ............................................ 2
List of Illustrations .............................. 4
1.0
Introduction ....................................... 5
2.0 What is l~Comercial?l~ .............................. 6
3. 0
Selecting Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) ......... 10
4.0
The C O T S Acguisition PrOCeSS . . . . . . . . . . . . ..=......- 12
4.1 When Should a COTS Decision be Made? . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.2 Preparing f or a Market Investigation
14
4.3 Conducting a Market Analysis ............................ 14
4.4 4.5
What What
to to
Tell Prospective Sources ..................... Ask Prospective Sources
.
.
.
15 . 17
4.6 Analyzinig the Replies_ ._.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..'l 19
4.7 Placing COTS on Contract ...................... 19
5.0 Integrated Logistics Support (ILS) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
5.1 Logistics Needs for Commercial Products .... .._.2 6
5.2 The Four Major Areas of Concern ............... 22
5.2.1 Configuration Management and Data ....... 24
5.2.2 5 .2.3 5.2.4
Maintenance and Sparing Policy ..........
The Repair P..r.o..c..e.s..s..........................
Packaging .
. . . . . . .
26
27 . 28
5.2.5 Sustainability .......................... 28
5.3 Interchangeability Control During the
Life Cycle .......................... . .
29
5.4 Modifications to COTS ............... . . .. . . ........ 29
5.5 COTS Warranties ............................... 30
6.0 Test and Evaluation/Product Assurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
6.1 How Much Should You Test? 6.2 Depth of Testing ... ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
33 33
6.3 Testing Prior to a COTS Decision .............. 34
6.4 6.5 6.6
Testing After a COTS Selection ................ Follow-on Evaluation .................... Other Test Considerations ............... . . . . . .
35 35 36
3
P A R A G R A P H TITLE
PAGF
7.C
Conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..l............._~~~~.~.. 37`~
GiossARv .......................................... 38
APPENDIX 1: A COTS Decision Aid ................... 41
APPENDIX 1A: ...................................... 43
APPENDIX 2: ....................................... 47
FIGURE
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
TITLE
PAGE
The Commercial Spectrum ._ *.a Dr...~.......l.~...l`.~ 7 The Nondevelopmental Item Hierarchy ................ 9 Can the Air Force Tolerate the Risk? .............. 11 Logistic Support Analysis in COTS Selection ....... 13d COTS: Design Drives Support ....................... 23 Support When COTS Stops Being COTS ................ 31
1.0 Introduction. To establish the tone of this guidebook the following policy statement is quoted from the AF draft Sup to DUD
5000.2: "Commercial items should be acquired, used, and supported as found in the civilian market and allowed to evolve with the
changes and updates the vendor provides to his commercial customers." You will see time and time again where this policy
statement is stressed and referred to throughout this guide.
1.1 More and more commercial equipment and software are being
-used by the military, either standing alone or integrated into iarger systems. Properly handled, this offers front-end acquisition advantages of lower research and development costs and less time to field than MIL-SPEC designs. If products are used unchanged, the Government can also beneLfitL from the economies of dealing in a high-volume civilian market. There are many success stories. Improper planning, however, can cause long-
term problems in mission performance and support that may more than erase these initial advantages. If the commercial _ alternative or its execution compromises design, operating or support integrity, the Air Force's war-fighting mission can be impaired.
1.2 The objectives of any Air Force acquisition are to obtain a
product that will do its intended job in its intended environment; that can be repaired or replaced when it fails in a manner that doesn't degrade or add risk to its mission; and that
can do these things at the least cost. Until recently, only equipment specifically designed -for military use was thought capable of meeting the first two objectives, and it was also thought to be the least costly over its life cycle. However recent congressionally-directed policies have placed greater emphasis on using commercial items because studies have shown their initial costs and lead times to be generally less than for
MIL-SPEC development. However, unless you carefully consider the total life cycle costs and risks of commercial versus MIL-SPEC items, you may make the wrong decisions. These decisions should
never be automatic.
1.3 This guidebook is to assist you in deciding when to use commercial products and when to develop MIL-SPFC items, and, once that decision favors the commercial alternative, how you should handle testing and support.
NOTE: In this guide we will refer to the source of a commercial
item as the "vendor," the "supplier" or the "manufacturer.*' By
u
this we mean the company owning the rights to the design.
Somet:nes that company r;ill _;*c iu_"TAl& be a subcontractor.
be the prime contractor;
frequenzly
................
................
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