A United States data item description (DID) is a completed document defining the data

deliverable A deliverable is a tangible or intangible good or service produced as a result of a project that is intended to be delivered to a customer (either internal or external). A deliverable could be a report, a document, a software product, a server upgr ...

s required of a

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an United States federal executive departments, executive department of the federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and superv ...

contractor. A DID specifically defines the data content, format, and intended use of the data with a primary objective of achieving standardization objectives by the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

. The content and format requirements for DIDs are defined within MIL-STD-963C, ''Data Item Descriptions'' (2014).

Terminology

The terminology of DIDs and the term

contract data requirements list In United States military contracts, the contract data requirements list (CDRL, pronounced ''SEE-drill'') is a list of authorized data requirements for a specific procurement that forms a part of the contract. Overview The CDRL identifies what dat ...

(CDRL) originated with US military procurements, and it is now often encountered in other large procurements that are modeled after the military procurement process. Within a military solicitation or contract, each DID is uniquely numbered to identify the data deliverables in terms of specific information such as: purpose, description, preparation instructions including a table of contents and descriptions of each section, and references to the Contract

Statement of work A statement of work (SOW) is a document routinely employed in the field of project management. It is the narrative description of a project's work requirement. It defines project-specific activities, deliverables and timelines for a vendor providin ...

(SOW). Practices and terms where definition is given by MIL-STD-963: * Tailoring of data requirements. The deletion of the applicability of a portion of the data requirements from an approved DID that are unnecessary to meet the needs of a specific contract. * Format. The desired organization, structure, or arrangement of the content of the data product described by the DID. This term relates to the shape, size, makeup, style, physical organization, or arrangement of the data product described in the DID. * Content. The desired subject(s), topic(s), or element(s) which constitutes the data product described in the DID (for example, a string of defined data elements for entry into a Government database; a listing of paragraph titles or topics for inclusion in a data deliverable) under general topics; or subject matter which may be further defined into sub-topics. For a specific contract, the content of a deliverable shall contain information that fulfills the requirements identified in the CDRL and the description of the DID. Documents should have section numbers and titles matching to the subsections of the DID content description for easier application and use. * DID number: Each DID is assigned a unique three-part identifier by the DID approval authority. An example DID number for repetitive use is DI-SESS-80013B (DI- Data Item; SESS – four character code for the "Systems Engineering" Standardization Area ee "SD-1, Standardization Directory" for descriptions 80013 assigned by ASSIST Automated Document Number Module, and B the sequential version). An example DID number for one-time use is OT-13-1000 (OT- One Time; 13 –

fiscal year A fiscal year (also known as a financial year, or sometimes budget year) is used in government accounting, which varies between countries, and for budget purposes. It is also used for financial reporting by businesses and other organizations. La ...

issued; 10000 – the first number assigned in FY13 by the Army). Since DID documents are what contract mechanics cause to be produced, the defined content guidelines and their terminologies are commonly referred to in

United States Military Standard A United States defense standard, often called a military standard, "MIL-STD", "MIL-SPEC", or (informally) "MilSpecs", is used to help achieve standardization objectives by the United States Department of Defense. Standardization is beneficial ...

s or other forms of procedural and administrative guidance of the

Usage in government contracts

Writers of a SOW often include requirements that belong in other parts of a contract. Specifically, quantitative technical requirements are addressed in the military specification and work requirements are specified in the SOW, and data requirements (e.g., delivery, format, and content) should be in the

CDRL In United States military contracts, the contract data requirements list (CDRL, pronounced ''SEE-drill'') is a list of authorized data requirements for a specific procurement that forms a part of the contract. Overview The CDRL identifies what dat ...

along with the appropriate DID to minimize the potential for conflict.

References

External links

DoD ASSIST Quick search website, public site for access to DIDs

DoD ASSIST website, public-restricted site for access to DIDs

Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC) website

EverySpec access to PDFs of common DIDs

Abelia example DID, System/Subsystem Specification as used in MIL-STD-498
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170713060636/http://www.abelia.com/498pdf/SSS-DID.PDF , date=July 13, 2017 Government procurement in the United States Military of the United States standards Systems engineering Military terminology of the United States