Which of the following is NOT a role of the Capabilities Development Document (CDD)?

Which of the following is NOT a role of the Capabilities Development Document (CDD)?

• A. Specify operational requirements and performance for a system.
• B. Guide procurement by selecting vendors.
• C. Direct the system development tempo.
• D. Compare alternative concepts in terms of cost, suitability and performance.

Answer: (D)

Defining system performance requirements and constraints to close a capability gap is what the Capabilities Development Document does. It lays out the operational needs, how well the system must perform, and the conditions under which it must operate, providing clear, testable criteria that guide design, verification, and system integration. What that means is the CDD focuses on what the system must achieve and the standards it must meet. It can influence procurement by establishing the evaluation criteria used to judge potential solutions, but it does not itself perform a trade-off between different concept options, nor does it select vendors. The kind of cost, suitability, and performance comparison across multiple concepts is handled by an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) or equivalent concept assessment earlier in the process. Similarly, the CDD doesn’t dictate the development tempo; schedule and pacing come from program management and funding decisions, guided by the established requirements. So the statement describing comparing alternative concepts in terms of cost, suitability, and performance isn’t a function of the CDD, which is why it’s the correct distinction.

Defining system performance requirements and constraints to close a capability gap is what the Capabilities Development Document does. It lays out the operational needs, how well the system must perform, and the conditions under which it must operate, providing clear, testable criteria that guide design, verification, and system integration.

What that means is the CDD focuses on what the system must achieve and the standards it must meet. It can influence procurement by establishing the evaluation criteria used to judge potential solutions, but it does not itself perform a trade-off between different concept options, nor does it select vendors. The kind of cost, suitability, and performance comparison across multiple concepts is handled by an Analysis of Alternatives (AoA) or equivalent concept assessment earlier in the process. Similarly, the CDD doesn’t dictate the development tempo; schedule and pacing come from program management and funding decisions, guided by the established requirements.

So the statement describing comparing alternative concepts in terms of cost, suitability, and performance isn’t a function of the CDD, which is why it’s the correct distinction.