Phase: Identify alternatives

8. Develop list of alternatives

Definition: The AOA team identifies and considers a diverse range of alternatives to meet the mission need. To fully address the capability gaps between the current environment and the stated objectives for the future environment, market surveillance and market research are performed to develop as many alternative solutions as possible for examination. Alternatives are mutually exclusive, that is, the success of one alternative does not rely upon the success of another.

Effect: If the AOA team does not perform thorough research to capture many diverse alternatives, the optimal alternative could be overlooked and invalidate the AOA’s results and bias the process.

9. Describe alternatives

Definition: The AOA team describes alternatives in sufficient detail to allow for robust analysis. All scopes of identified alternatives are described in terms of functional requirements. This description is documented in enough detail to support the viability, cost, and benefit/effectiveness analyses.

Effect: Unless the AOA team adequately describes and documents the alternatives, the analysis will not provide sufficient detail to allow for valid cost-benefit estimates.

10. Include baseline alternative

Definition: The AOA team includes one alternative to represent the status quo to provide a basis of comparison among alternatives. It is critical for the AOA team to first understand the status quo, which represents the existing capability’s baseline where no action is taken, before comparing alternatives. The baseline is well documented as an alternative in the study and is used to represent the current capabilities and also for explicit comparison later in the study.

Effect: If the status quo is not examined, then there is no benchmark for comparison, allowing arbitrary comparisons between alternatives and hindering the credibility of the study.

11. Assess alternatives’ viability

Definition: The AOA team screens the list of alternatives to eliminate those alternatives that are not viable, and it documents the reasons for eliminating any alternatives. All alternatives are examined using predetermined qualitative technical and operational factors to determine their viability. Only those alternatives found viable are examined fully during the analysis phase. However, all assumptions regarding the alternatives’ viable and nonviable status are fully documented, including reasons why an alternative is not viable, in order to justify the recommendation. Additionally, if program budgets are known, viable alternatives that are not affordable within the projections are dropped from final consideration.

Effect: Not eliminating alternatives based on viability could needlessly extend the study’s duration and burden the AOA team or lead to the selection of a technically nonviable alternative. Furthermore, unless the AOA team considers affordability as part of the final recommendation, an alternative that is not feasible based on the current fiscal environment could be selected. Documenting the alternatives that are not deemed viable is important so that decision-makers can clearly see that the AOA team examined those alternatives and why those alternatives are not considered for further analysis, confirming that the AOA process is comprehensive.