(See "appraisal findings.")

A structured approach to evaluating alternative solutions against established criteria to determine a recommended solution to address an issue.

(See "CMMI Framework.")

Examination of a defined function to identify all the subfunctions necessary to accomplish that function; identification of functional relationships and interfaces (internal and external) and capturing these in a functional architecture; and flow down of upper level performance requirements and assignment of these requirements to lower level subfunctions. (See also "functional architecture.")

The hierarchical arrangement of functions, their internal and external (external to the aggregation itself) functional interfaces and external physical interfaces, their respective functional and performance requirements, and their design constraints.

An audit conducted to verify that the development of a configuration item has been completed satisfactorily, that the item has achieved the performance and functional characteristics specified in the functional or allocated configuration identification, and that its operational and support documents are complete and satisfactory. (See also "configuration audit," "configuration management," and "physical configuration audit.")