The DCMA Instruction / The DCMA Guidebook Purpose
Agency processes are deployed as "instructions"
that contain those activities that are mandatory for all elements of the Agency
and which may not be deviated from without approval by the Agency Director
and/or as "guidance"
that may be used to help elements implementing the process to establish or
improve their performance for that process. All statutory and regulatory requirements are mandatory regardless of whether
they are referenced in an instruction or guidebook or whether they are
referenced at all. "Guidance" is
completely discretionary in its use by any/all elements of the Agency.
Collectively, this information is contained with the DCMA Instruction and the
DCMA Guidebook. The separate DCMA instructions supplement the statutory requirements of U.S. law
and the regulatory guidance of the Department of Defense and other Federal
agencies only where needed.
The processes contained in
the DCMA Instruction and DCMA Guidebook are intended to be complete processes capable of producing
acceptable results in a "standard" environment. Selected standard words
are used to help understanding of the process.
- "Shall" is used as the
standard imperative in contract management and procurement processes.
If the process step is required for the process to be
viable, then the imperative "shall" is used (i.e., if the step were omitted
the process would not be capable of producing a product). "Must" and
"will" may be used as an imperative in other than contract management and
procurement processes.
- If a process step is included
because it would enhance the effectiveness of the process (i.e., enhance the
quality/timeliness/cost of the process' product) then the word of choice is
"should."
- If a process step can be
executed in multiple ways to achieve the same level of effectiveness, then the
word of choice is "may" and the substance of the description of the process
step is such that it is clear that there are alternatives to completing that
step effectively (i.e., ...may do it this way or that way or do it a number of
ways).
- "Shall" and "may" may be
combined in the description of a single process step, i.e., CMOs shall...
but may do it in different ways.
The DCMA Instruction and Guidebook, as a whole, implement
Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) guidance (mandatory and discretionary) for the performance of
contract management functions listed in the Federal Acquisition Regulation
(FAR) and Defense FAR Supplement (DFARS), for implementation of DCMA policy for
the administration of grants, cooperative agreements and other transactions in
accordance with the Department of Defense Grant and Agreement Regulations (DODGARS),
and for associated processes that provide direct and indirect organizational
support for contract management. The DCMA Instruction and Guidebook is applicable to the Defense Contract Management Agency only.
Further instruction supplementation by organizational elements of DCMA is not
authorized.
Deviations from any DCMA Instruction will be obtained
in accordance with the Deviations instruction. Each separate instruction is labeled with its latest revision
date (month/year) which is the same date that the Instruction Change Notice
transmitting the change was issued.