Test & Evaluation Management Guide
Foreword
This 6th edition of the Test and Evaluation Management Guide (TEMG) was updated with the cooperation
and support of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Developmental Test and Evaluation
(DASD(DT&E)), the Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), the President of the Defense
Acquisition University (DAU), and the DoD Component test and evaluation (T&E) representatives. The
TEMG is one of many technical management educational guides developed for use by DAU. Although
some Service-specific processes are included as illustrative examples, the TEMG, like all DAU products,
is written primarily from a Department of Defense (DoD) perspective, i.e., non-Service specific.
The TEMG is intended primarily for use in courses at DAU and secondarily as a generic desk reference
for program and project management, and T&E personnel. It is written for current and potential
acquisition management personnel and assumes some familiarity with basic terms, definitions, and
processes as employed by the DoD acquisition process. The TEMG is designed to assist Government
and industry personnel in executing their management responsibilities relative to the T&E support of
defense systems and facilitate learning during DAU coursework.
The objective of a well-managed T&E program is to provide timely and accurate information to decision
makers and program managers (PMs). The TEMG was developed to assist the acquisition community in
obtaining a better understanding of who the decision makers are and determining how and when to plan
T&E events so that they are efficient and effective.
Although the TEMG includes some references to DoD policies, it is not a policy document and should not
be viewed as such. The latest versions of the DoD 5000 series, as well as the Defense Acquisition
Guidebook (DAG) (Chapter 9, Test and Evaluation), should be consulted for specific policies and DoD
recommended practices.
References to Military Handbooks (MIL-HDBKs) appear throughout the TEMG: however, these
handbooks are for guidance only and cannot be cited as a requirement.
For additional learning materials about DoD T&E, consult the DAU Website (www.dau.mil), for reviewing
T&E continuous learning modules and accessing T&E courses, and go to the DAU Acquisition
Community Connection, T&E Community of Practice (CoP) available at https://acc.dau.mil/t&e.
Comments, updates, changes, and/or comments to this guide should be provided to Office of the
DASD(DT&E) T&E Competency and Development Directorate and to DAU.
Chapter 1 - T&E Policy Structure and Oversight Mechanisms
1.1 Introduction
This chapter provides an introduction to the policy and organizations that govern the conduct of T&E
activities within the DoD and discusses congressional legislation of T&E activities for compliance by DoD.
It outlines the responsibilities of DoD test organizations at the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)
and Service levels and describes related T&E policy.
1.2 Congress
Congress requires the DoD to provide the following reports that include information on T&E:
Selected Acquisition Report (SAR). This report consists of cost, schedule, and performance
data. The SAR describes Acquisition Category (ACAT) I system characteristics required and
outlines significant progress and problems encountered. It lists tests completed and issues
identified during testing. The program manager (PM) uses the Consolidated Acquisition Reporting
System software to prepare the SAR.
DOT&E Annual Report. This report is provided by the DOT&E to the Secretary of Defense
(SecDef) and the committees on Armed Services, National Security, and Appropriations. The
report provides a narrative and resource summary of all operational test and evaluation (OT&E)
and related issues, initiatives, other interest areas, activities, and assessments in the previous
