This standard establishes general principles and descriptions of activities which, when performed in a logical and iterative nature, comprise the Product Support Analysis process.

An effective Product Support Analysis program shall be established and maintained as part of the Life-Cycle Management (LCM) program. It shall be planned, integrated, developed, and conducted in conjunction with other requirement definition, design, development, production, and deployment functions to cost effectively achieve overall program objectives. The Product Support Analysis program shall be established consistent with the type and phase of the acquisition program, and procedures shall be established to assure that the Product Support Analysis program is an integral part of the system engineering process. Interfaces between the Product Support Analysis program and other system engineering programs shall be identified.

The Product Support Analysis program shall include the management and technical resources, plans, procedures, schedules, and controls for the performance of Product Support Analysis requirements.