Data Item Description: Commercial Off-the-Shelf (COTS) Manuals and Associated Supplemental Data

This is a Data Item Description (DID) document that establishes requirements for the delivery and format of commercial off-the-shelf equipment manuals and supplemental technical data to the Department of Defense. The DID, numbered DI-TMSS-80527D with AMSC Number 10283, was approved on December 3, 2021, and supersedes the previous version DI-TMSS-80527C from August 12, 2011. The primary office of responsibility is Technical Manuals (TM), with no applicable forms, DTIC applicability, or GIDEP applicability.

The document specifies that manuals may be used as-is or supplemented to support COTS equipment used by DOD for three primary purposes: acquiring sample COTS manuals for evaluation, acquiring COTS manuals that have been evaluated and found acceptable, and acquiring associated supplemental data as required. Requirements mandate that manuals contain all technical information on assembly, installation, operation, parts, and maintenance; be evaluated using MIL-PRF-32216 criteria; and may be supplemented with additional data prepared in accordance with MIL-PRF-32216. The basic manual shall be presented in the contractor's format, while supplemental data must use the format specified by the acquiring activity. Interactive Electronic Technical Manuals (IETMs) or PDFs are preferred for electronic COTS manuals, with PDF files required to be searchable with embedded fonts and active links. IETMs must comply with MIL-STD-40051-1 or MIL-STD-3031 (Army only), paper manuals must be clearly legible on quality paper suitable for long-term use, and Quick Reference Guides must meet MIL-PRF-32614 requirements.