Week 4 assignment DEFMCLASS

Week 4 Assignment DEFM Class Student Name Institutional Affiliation Date Week 4 Assignment DEFM Class Introduction The Department of Defense (DoD) is tasked with acquiring goods and services to support military operations. The acquisition process is complex and goes beyond purchasing an item or service. This paper outlines the various stages of the acquisition process and sheds light on the ethical challenges employees face. Acquisition Life Cycle The Defense Acquisition Process entails five phases. The first one is the material solution analysis (MSA). The DoD selects the most promising technology to meet a user's needs. During the MSA phase, the people involved are working towards deciding to allow a business to enter the second phase of technology maturation and risk reduction. The phase commences when the best solution is brought forward from the MSA (SBIR.Gov, 2024). A program needs to have an approved initial capabilities document. At the same time, an analysis of alternatives and an initial life-cycle cost estimate for the program must be submitted. The third phase is the engineering and manufacturing development. The program initiation starts where it needs to be fully funded across future years of the defense program. The final “build-to” design is made to facilitate a critical design review. The contractor must show interoperability and supportability to allow the initiative to proceed to the next phas...