Introductory Notes

The Technical Solution process area is applicable at any level of the product architecture and to every product, product component, product-related life-cycle process, and service. The process area focuses on the following:

• Evaluating and selecting solutions (sometimes referred to as "design approaches," "design concepts," or "preliminary designs") that potentially satisfy an appropriate set of allocated requirements

• Developing detailed designs for the selected solutions (detailed in the context of containing all the information needed to manufacture, code, or otherwise implement the design as a product or product component)

• Implementing the designs as a product or product component

Typically, these activities interactively support each other. Some level of design, at times fairly detailed, may be needed to select solutions. Product-component prototypes may be used as a means of gaining sufficient knowledge to develop a technical data package or a complete set of requirements.

Technical Solution specific practices apply not only to the product and product components but also to services and product-related life-cycle processes. The product-related life-cycle processes are developed in concert with the product or product component. Such development may include selecting and adapting existing processes (including standard processes) for use as well as developing new processes.

Processes associated with the Technical Solution process area receive the product and product-component requirements from the requirements management processes. The requirements management processes place the requirements, which originate in requirements development processes, under appropriate configuration management and maintain their traceability to previous requirements.

For a maintenance or sustainment organization, the requirements in need of maintenance actions or redesign may be driven by user needs or latent defects in the product components. New requirements may arise from changes in the operating environment. Such requirements can be uncovered during verification of the product(s) where actual performance can be compared against the specified performance and unacceptable degradation can be identified. Processes associated with the Technical Solution process area should be used to perform the maintenance or sustainment design efforts.