## 7 Product Development in the AMS Lifecycle 

## 7.1 Service Analysis and Strategic Planning  / Concept and Requirements Definition 

Planning for development assurance needs to begin early in the AMS lifecycle so the DAL can be factored into the business case. Typically, this occurs prior to the Investment Analysis Readiness Decision while the Operational Safety Assessment (OSA) is being developed. The DAL is initially established from the OSA and is included in the preliminary Program Requirements Document (PRD). More information on Service Analysis and Strategic Planning or Concept and Requirements Definition is available on the FAA Acquisition System Toolset (FAST) website. 

## 7.2 Investment Analysis 

The DAL is validated in the Comparative Safety Assessment, which may differ between investment alternatives. The DAL for the alternatives is then included in the business case and Implementation Strategy Planning Document (ISPD) prior to the Initial Investment Decision. 

The final DAL is determined from the Preliminary Hazard Analysis. This final DAL is included in the final PRD and Program Safety Plan (PSP). Any changes to the DAL are included in the final versions of the business case and ISPD prior to the Final Investment Decision. More information on the Investment Analysis is available on the FAST website. 

## 7.3 Solution Implementation 

Prior to contract award, the DAL is established based only on functional requirements. After the initial establishment of the DAL and contract award are completed, the developer performs hazard assessments in accordance with the contract. It is important to validate that the appropriate DAL has been assigned to each safety hazard and allocated to the correct safety requirements after the developer hazard assessments are performed and after any change in system requirements. 

It is critical to provide development assurance oversight throughout Solution Implementation (SI) because various objectives must be met during this phase. Noncompliance discovered late will require rework, resulting in cost and schedule overruns. The PSP should identify intervention points and monitoring objectives to ensure the developer is meeting development assurance requirements. More information on SI is available on the FAST website. 

