DoD Prototyping Guidebook

​The Department of Defense Prototyping Guidebook is issued by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering's Prototypes and Experiments office.  This guidebook attempts to capture and consolidate the approaches, best practices, and recommendations that Department of Defense (DoD) Components have used for decades to plan and execute prototyping projects for the DoD.  This guidebook is an introductory and reference document that can be used by DoD research and acquisition professionals conducting prototyping projects and staff officers seeking to increase their knowledge of prototyping.

This guidebook is not policy, nor should it be understood as directive in nature.  Rather, the guidebook is designed to complement DoD, Military Service, and defense agency policy pertaining to acquisitions and prototyping, providing the reader with discretionary best practices that should be tailored to each prototyping project.  It is not a substitute for Defense Acquisition University (DAU) training, and it does not describe every activity necessary to be effective.

The guidebook is a living document and will be updated periodically to ensure that direction captured from governing documents is current and best practices are fresh.