Performance Specification Guide SD-15
fabricated and assembled. Sometimes detail specifications are referred to as "build-to-print" specifications.
PERFORMANCE VERSUS DETAIL SPECIFICATIONS
Generally, it is considered preferable to state requirements in performance terms to give contractors the flexibility to provide innovative, technologically advanced, best-value solutions to meet the customer's requirement. Detail specifications tend to lock-in a single solution to the customer's requirement. Over time, that solution may not be the best technical or cost-effective solution. It is especially important to use performance specifications when stating requirements during the pre-production phases of systems or product development in order to keep technical options open.
Performance specifications can broaden the number of potential suppliers, especially commercial suppliers, since the requirements are not built around specific solutions that only a limited
number of suppliers may be able to meet. Having more potential suppliers usually means
reduced costs, better product availability and support, a stronger and more reliable industrial base, and fewer obsolescence issues.
Using performance specifications also shifts the design risk to the contractor since the Government is not telling the contractor how to meet a requirement. In contrast, detail specifications places a greater risk on the government if the item fails to satisfy the required purpose because the government has specified the materials, parts, components, and fabrication and assembly processes.
Performance specifications usually require less document maintenance than do detail specifications. This is especially true in areas that experience rapid changes in products and technologies, such as electronics and information technology, where it would be difficult, expensive, and require greater resources to keep a detail specification current.
While developing and using a performance specification should be considered first, there are many examples of when it is preferable to develop and use a detail specification. There are instances where the DoD has invested substantial resources to research and develop products or technologies that are unique to the military, have no commercial potential, and due to the nature of the product, are likely to have a very few specialized suppliers, and these specifications would often be detail specifications. During the system development process, performance specifications should generally be used during product development and preliminary design. As the product baseline matures and stabilizes to a "build to" description, the specifications will likely be a mix of performance and detail specifications. Once a standard solution has been established, the DoD cannot afford the expense, resources, or time to evaluate potential alternative solutions. A few examples of where the DoD has determined that a detail specification is the optimal solution include:
• The Army's specification, MIL-DTL-11891, for track systems supporting U.S. military tracked vehicles.
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