1. This Military Standard is approved for use by all Departments and Agencies of the Department of Defense.
2. Beneficial comments (recommendations, additions, deletions) and any pertinent data which may be of use in improving this document should be addressed to SPAWAR 10-12, 2451 Crystal Drive (CPK-5), Arlington, VA 22245-5200. The comments may be submitted by letter or by using the Standardization Document Improvement Proposal (DD Form 1426) appearing at the end of this document.
3. This standard merges DOD-STD-2167A and DOD-STD-7935A to define a set of activities and documentation suitable for the development of both weapon systems and Automated Information Systems. A conversion guide from these standards to MIL-STD-498 is provided in Appendix I. Other changes include improved compatibility with incremental and evolutionary development models; improved compatibility with non-hierarchical design methods; improved compatibility with computer-aided software engineering (CASE) tools; alternatives to, and more flexibility in, preparing documents; clearer requirements for incorporating reusable software; introduction of software management indicators; added emphasis on software supportability; and improved links to systems engineering. This standard supersedes DOD-STD-2167A, DOD-STD-7935A, and DOD-STD-1703 (NS).
4. This standard can be applied in any phase of the system life cycle. It can be applied to contractors, subcontractors, or Government in-house agencies performing software development. For uniformity, the term "acquirer" is used for the organization requiring the technical effort, the term "developer" for the organization performing the technical effort, and the term "contract" for the agreement between them. The term "software development" is used as an inclusive term encompassing new development, modification, reuse, reengineering, maintenance, and all other activities resulting in software products.
5. This standard is not intended to specify or discourage the use of any particular software development method. The developer is responsible for selecting software development methods that support the achievement of contract requirements.
6. This standard implements the development and documentation processes of ISO/IEC DIS 12207. It interprets all applicable clauses in MIL-Q-9858A (Quality Program Requirements) and ISO 9001 (Quality Systems) for software.
7. This standard includes all activities pertaining to software development. It invokes no other standards. It can be applied on its own or supplemented with other standards, such as those identified in Section 6. If other standards are applied, the acquirer is responsible for resolving any conflicts that arise.
8. Data Item Descriptions (DIDs) applicable to this standard are listed in Section 6. These DIDs describe the information required by this standard.
9. This standard and its Data Item Descriptions (DIDs) are meant to be tailored by the acquirer to ensure that only necessary and cost-effective requirements are imposed on software development efforts. General tailoring guidance can be found in Section 6 and in DOD-HDBK-248. Tailoring guidance specific to this standard can be found in Appendixes G and H and in guidebooks and handbooks planned for this standard.
Translator: Simon Wright simon@pogner.demon.co.uk
Last updated: 22.iii.99