The Defense Acquisition System exists to manage the Nation's investments in technologies, programs, and product support necessary to achieve the National Security Strategy and support the United States Armed Forces. In that context, our objective is to acquire quality products that satisfy user needs with measurable improvements to mission capability at a fair and reasonable price. The fundamental principles and procedures that the Department follows in achieving those objectives are described in DoD Directive 5000.01 and DoD Instruction 5000.02. This Defense Acquisition Guidebook is designed to complement those policy documents by providing the acquisition workforce with discretionary best practice that should be tailored to the needs of each program. Acquisition professionals should use this Guidebook as a reference source supporting their management responsibilities. Depending on the subject matter, a chapter may contain general background information, tutorial discussions, and discussions of the detailed requirements for each milestone decision and phase. All chapters contain non-mandatory staff expectations for satisfying the mandatory requirements in DoD Instruction 5000.02. Each chapter is designed to improve understanding of the acquisition process and ensure adequate knowledge of the statutory and regulatory requirements associated with the process. Discussions, explanations, and related information enable the reader to be efficient, effective, innovative, and disciplined, and to responsively provide warfighting capability. Each chapter lists potential ways the program manager or assigned manager can satisfy mandatory process requirements and meet staff expectations for other activities. Chapter 8, Intelligence Analysis Support to Acquisition, provides information to enable the program manager to use intelligence information and data to ensure maximum war-fighting capability at the minimum risk to cost and schedule. Chapter 9, Test and Evaluation, supplements direction and instruction in DoDD 5000.01 and DoDI 5000.02 with processes and procedures for planning and executing an effective and affordable T&E program in the DoD acquisition model. The chapter is designed to assist the program manager in the development of a robust, integrated, and effective test and evaluation strategy to assess operational effectiveness and suitability, and to support program decisions. Chapter 10, Decisions, Assessments, and Periodic Reporting, discusses major program decisions and tailoring based on program type and acquisition category, executive-level decision forums and the tenets and processes of Integrated Product Teams (IPTs), program assessments, and periodic reporting. Additional chapter topics include exit criteria, independent assessments, Acquisition Baseline Plan development and management, and periodic reports for Major Acquisition Programs and MAIS programs. The chapter also addresses Should-Cost with a focus on controlling the cost of the actual work. Chapter 11, Program Management Activities, explains the additional activities and decisions required of the program manager, not otherwise discussed in other chapters of this Guidebook. Chapter 12, Business Capability Life Cycle, provides guidance for executing the Business Capability Lifecycle (BCL) and acquisition of defense business systems (DBS). BCL is the overarching framework for the planning, design, acquisition, deployment, operations, maintenance, and modernization of DBS. Chapter 13, Program Protection, provides guidance and expectations for the major activities associated with Program Protection. Chapter 14, Acquisition of Services, provides acquisition teams with a disciplined, three-phase, seven step process, for the acquisition of services.