Encl-2 Project Structure Guidelines

Project Structure Terminology
Prototype projects supporting the T&E/S&T Program are anticipated to follow a common phased approach with corresponding milestones. Offerors are strongly encouraged to use this document in developing and communicating technology progression in context of contractual or agreement work progressive milestones and activities. The following details describe the typical stages of technology development using phased progressions with expected Government touchpoints and major milestones for each of the prototype projects. Project stages are conceptual – not contractual – and provide a means for program management to articulate and evaluate the overall technology maturity of an effort (i.e., TRL 3-4, TRL 4-5, TRL 5-6) (https://api.army.mil/e2/c/downloads/404585.pdf) at any point in time and to assess level of progression. Stages of TRL development progression are ‘nested’ within contractual phases and milestones. Depending on the initial TRL of the proposed solution, offerors may need to adapt their approach to relevant elements of the discussion below. While a project can be segmented into any number of phases, a project typically progresses through three major developmental stages of technology maturation – first focused on requirements refinement and design trade-offs, then focused on core technology development, and finally focused on technology transition with production of demonstration prototypes. Phases (and subordinate milestones, as needed) are the significant contractual units of a project. Awards under this BAA shall be phased for risk mitigation. Initially, only Phase 1 will be awarded. Based upon Government decisions, subsequent phases/milestones are awarded as executed options of the original or revised contract under a FAR award. Other Transaction agreements will use performance on analogous major and minor milestones for decisions to continue work. Three Technology Progression Stages
Concept Exploration Stage. At the initiation of the project, the majority of effort usually focuses on discerning and refining technical requirements, experimenting with technology alternatives, developing models and simulations, and performing trade-space assessments. In the Concept Exploration Stage, the goal is to complete (or clarify) the system design and increase the confidence in the technology development to be pursued. Normally, the technical efforts in this stage include maturing the technology from TRL 3 to TRL 4. Critical components and sub-components of the design with derived technical requirements should be identified, as well as mitigation options or potential alternative solutions. If the technology development is hardware-centric in the Concept Exploration Stage, a ‘breadboard’ or system components may be developed and tested in a laboratory. If the technology development is more software-centric, use case analyses may be performed with an initial spiral executed effort to develop an early prototype. Although not a requirement (unless specified below), T&E/S&T projects typically address these component activities to address the TRL advancement of this stage: