DoD 4120.24-M DSP POLICIES & PROCEDURES March 2000 OUSD (Acquisition, Technology and Logistics)
AP4.  APPENDIX 4 COMMERCIAL ITEM DESCRIPTIONS

AP4.1.  GENERAL

The GSA is responsible for CID policies and procedures.  When developing, updating, or canceling CIDs, Preparing Activities must follow the policies and procedures in the Federal Standardization Manual (reference (l)), the general standardization requirements in Chapters 4 and 5 of this Manual, and the supplementary requirements in this Appendix.  The SD-2 (reference (cc)) also contains supplementary information for preparing CIDs.  If a conflict arises between this Manual and reference (l) on preparing CIDs, reference (l) shall govern.

AP4.2.  CID DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Figure AP4-F1 depicts the typical CID development process in the DoD. 

     AP4.2.1.  Determine the Need.  After NGSs, CIDs are the document of choice for buying commercial products.  A CID shall only be developed or revised if a NGS does not exist that meets the users' need.  If a NGS exists that nearly meets the need, but requires changes, the Preparing Activity shall develop a CID using the NGS as the primary basis for the requirements.  At the same time, the Preparing Activity shall request the appropriate NGSB to make the necessary changes to the NGS, and the CID shall be cancelled when the changes to the NGS are made.  Besides the need determination guidance offered in reference (cc) and subsection C4.2.1. of Chapter 4, the following determinations must also be made before taking the time and resources to develop a CID:

          AP4.2.1.1.  Does a product exist in the commercial market that will meet the users' need, preferably with little or no modification?  Market research is an important part of the need determination process.  SD-5 (reference (dd)) provides comprehensive guidance on conducting market research.  Essentially, CIDs are used to buy existing commercial items.  Do not use CIDs to encourage the development of a commercial item.  Purchase descriptions can be used for research and development purposes.

          AP4.2.1.2.  Will a CID type document meet the users' needs?  CIDs are short, simple product descriptions.  The requirements need to describe briefly commercially-available items in such a way as to standardize on products that meet the users' needs.  If the commercial product is especially complex and a lengthy document is needed to describe the requirements, a Federal specification may be needed.  If the requirements are stated in terms of performance instead of detail design, a CID can usually be used even for complex commercial products.

          AP4.2.1.3.  Is there a need for a CID to support repetitive acquisitions in excess of 25,000 dollars annually?  For occasional, small commercial purchases, a purchase description could be used instead of a CID.

     AP4.2.2.  Standardization Project Approval.  As a minimum, the LSA should use the questions in Appendix 10 as guidance for determining project approval.  Nearly all projects for CIDs should be coordinated.  The LSA shall challenge any requests for limited coordinated projects.  The LSA shall not approve any requests for interim projects.

     AP4.2.3.  Drafting the CID.  Besides the general requirements in section C5.3. of Chapter 5, the following administrative requirements apply:

          AP4.2.3.1.  CIDs shall not be source documents for DIDs or require the development of government-unique data.  Therefore, all CIDs shall be marked "AMSC N/A" in the lower left-hand corner of the first page.  It is acceptable for CIDs to require the inclusion of data that is normally provided to all customers with the product, such as operator manuals.

          AP4.2.3.2.  CIDs shall not contain classified information.

          AP4.2.3.3.  CIDs shall not contain qualification requirements.

          AP4.2.3.4.  The notes section of the CID shall include a point of contact to send beneficial comments and recommendations.

     AP4.2.4.  Coordination.  Since nearly all CIDs are coordinated documents, Preparing Activities shall coordinate CIDs with the LSA, Custodians, Review Activities, other DoD users, and a representative segment of industry.  In many cases, civilian agencies have an interest in DoD prepared CIDs and should be included in the coordination.  The Preparing Activity should contact the GSA (the Department of Veterans Affairs for FSG 65 and the Department of Agriculture for FSG 89) if it needs help in identifying civilian agency interest.

AP4.3.  CANCELLATION

When the DoD Preparing Activity determines that a CID should be canceled, the following steps shall be taken:

     AP4.3.1.  Obtain a project number from the LSA.

     AP4.3.2.  Coordinate the cancellation notice with the LSA, civilian agencies, Custodians and Review Activities, and affected segments of industry.  The cancellation notice should identify a superseding document(s), if possible, and provide a cross reference of classifications.

     AP4.3.3.  If no objections are received, the cancellation notice shall be approved and dated.

     AP4.3.4.  If objections to the cancellation are received, the DoD Preparing Activity shall attempt to resolve the objection.  If resolution is not possible, Preparing Activity responsibility may be transferred to the objecting SMA or civilian agency.

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