SD-5 Market ResearchThe purpose of this document is to provide DoD and other Federal personnel involved in the acquisition process with practical guidance on using market research to ensure the acquisition of products and services that will best serve the government??s needs. Specifically, this document is designed for personnel involved with establishing requirements for products or services, such as engineers, technical specialists, project officers, and customers; personnel involved with purchasing products or services, such as contracting officers, contract specialists, and cost analysts; and personnel who support the acquisition process, such as logisticians, testing and quality assurance specialists, and legal counsel.

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To avoid the Paperwork Reduction Act requirements, you should restrict structured surveys to nine or fewer respondents.

Cost of Market Research

The costs of conducting market research range from minimal (using web searches) to substantial (buying and testing product samples, visiting sites). Some costs may be absorbed through invest- ments in continuing education (attending industry or trade conferences), attendance at profes- sional organization meetings, trade publication subscriptions, and so on. Other costs, such as visiting commercial establishments or obtaining and testing product samples, may seem harder

to justify, especially when budgets are tight. However, conducting sound market research is con- siderably less costly than building prototypes, running extensive tests during a full-scale devel- opment, or buying products or services that do not fully meet user needs.

Market research requires some up-front investment in time and cost, but it can pay substan- tial dividends as the acquisition process unfolds from requirements development through deliv- ery and support. For services, too, the cost of a poor decision can be substantial. Inadequate service delivery may affect mission support, result in inefficient operations, or require the time and cost to replace the service provider. By investing in market research early in the acquisition process, the likelihood of these problems occurring is greatly reduced.

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