A promising technical solution is not a complete acquisition plan. Connect the buying strategy, sustainment needs, and decision responsibilities before committing your business to an opportunity.
This guide explains DFARS Part 207: Acquisition Planning. Read the relevant coverage with the FAR, applicable supplements and deviations, and the actual solicitation or contract.
Watch the DFARS Part 207 lesson
Identify the planning level
Section 207.103 assigns overall acquisition-planning responsibility to the program manager or other responsible program official. It sets conditions for written plans and distinguishes program-level planning from individual contract planning. Do not treat the value of one proposed award as the entire planning question, or assume the contractor writes the Government approval into existence.
Plan data and sustainment together
For covered major weapon systems and subsystems, section 207.106 addresses long-term technical-data and software needs, deliverables, and associated license rights. Planning occurs before solicitation and considers support across the lifecycle. A data delivery and the rights to use that data are separate matters; both need attention when discussing future maintenance or competition.
Test alternatives and boundaries
Part 207 also addresses component breakout, equipment acquisition, and inherently governmental functions. Those topics have different conditions and decision authorities. A lease-versus-purchase analysis does not establish authority for a long-term arrangement, and a contractor support role does not transfer an inherently governmental decision to the contractor. Identify which provision actually fits the proposed approach.
A hypothetical example
Consider a fictional aircraft-subsystem supplier invited to discuss an anticipated modernization program. The sales team emphasizes delivery speed and assumes the customer will use the same supplier for future support. Engineering expects to deliver drawings, while leadership assumes all later rights questions can wait until negotiation.
Contracts asks the team to identify the planned support model, proposed data deliverables, and the license rights associated with those deliverables. Operations describes the tooling and maintenance assumptions. The company separates facts it can support from acquisition decisions reserved to the Government, and records unanswered questions before submitting its capability response.
The result is a clearer conversation about lifecycle support and the evidence behind the proposed solution. The exercise does not authorize an acquisition strategy, determine data rights, or commit the Government to an award. It helps the supplier avoid a proposal built on conflicting assumptions about production, sustainment, and future competition.
Avoid the shortcut
Do not turn a favorable planning discussion into a guaranteed procurement or revenue forecast. An anticipated strategy may still depend on funding, market research, approvals, rights, and other acquisition conditions. Keep planning assumptions visible, identify the responsible decision office, and update the record when the actual solicitation changes the approach.
Try this exercise
Choose one pursuit and trace the proposed product beyond initial delivery. Identify who is expected to maintain it, what information support will require, and which rights or tooling assumptions remain open. Record the questions your company can answer and those that need an authorized Government decision.
This worksheet is a GovSuccess preparation practice, not a prescribed Government form or a determination of compliance.
- Program and proposed acquisition
- Planning responsibility and decision route
- Requirement and lifecycle assumptions
- Data and software deliverables
- Associated license-rights questions
- Production and sustainment alternatives
- Unresolved conditions and evidence owners
- Documented response and next review
Official source and applicability
DFARS Part 207 — official text. The source page displays DFARS Change 5/7/2026, effective May 7, 2026. Check later changes and the requirements applicable to your acquisition. Route material interpretation questions for qualified review.
Build your readiness baseline
Explore GovAssessment for a structured business-readiness baseline based on your answers. It does not certify compliance, approve a contract action, or guarantee an award.
General education, not legal advice. Browse the DFARS series.
