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A quiet yet potentially imposing giant affecting the outcome of any acquisition program is the technical information procured with a system. Often referred to as “tech data,” this information comes in familiar forms such as engineering drawings, technical manuals, first article test reports, and just about any other documented deliverable you can imagine necessary to develop and sustain an AF system. So what’s the big deal about tech data? To illustrate, who could have imagined in the 1960’s that B-52 service life would be stretched to a horizon of duty through 2040? Operators and maintainers alike know the facts; tech data procured way back when is as much a part of legendary BUF (Big Ugly Fellow) longevity as the hardware and software that form the aircraft itself.

Getting the technical information details “right” on a program is no small task given that the military services apply more than 1000 Data Item Descriptions to the process of procuring tech data. Enter the Data Manager, the individual called upon to tame the tech data giant by ensuring that the connecting of data orders to work tasks through DIDs is accurately transcribed so that every bit of technical information required is delivered. The task can be daunting and fraught with potential for error.

Good news! A new handbook entitled “Acquisition Data Management” is about to be released for DoD and Industry review that will become an approved standardization document for use in buying technical information to support military system acquisition. The handbook provides long-awaited guidance on managing technical information and is the culmination of work begun three years ago by the Air Force Institute of Technology’s School of Systems and Logistics to facilitate the forming of a DoD panel of experts which became the Defense Data Management Team. The Acquisition Data Management handbook is the crowning achievement of this team and AFIT/LS was privileged to help facilitate and participate in the lively debate and research leading to its draft release. By the way, when it comes to data management, the School practices what it teaches by applying four DIDs specifically created for its use in web-based course development.

If you have an interest in data management and would like to participate in the review of the draft Acquisition Data Management handbook, you can do so by establishing an account with the Acquisition Streamlining and Standardization Information System (ASSIST) at http://assist.daps.dla.mil.