Preliminary Design Review (PDR)
A design review that assesses the maturity of the preliminary design supported by the results of requirements trades, prototyping, and critical technology demonstrations. The PDR establishes the allocated baseline (hardware, software, human/support systems) and underlying architectures to ensure the system under review has a reasonable expectation of satisfying the requirements within the currently allocated budget and schedule, and confirms that the system under review is ready to proceed into detailed design (development of build-to drawings, software code-to documentation and other tasks) with acceptable risk. Major Defense Acquisition Programs (MDAPs) are required to conduct this review prior to the completion of the Technology Maturation and Risk Reduction (TMRR) phase. For MDAPs and Major Automated Information Systems (MAIS) programs, a post-PDR assessment will be conducted and provided to the Milestone Decision Authority (MDA). For ACAT ID and ACAT IAM programs, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Systems Engineering) (DASD(SE)) will participate in the program’s PDRs as the basis for preparation of the post-PDR assessment to inform the MDA of technical risks and the program’s readiness to proceed into detailed design. For ACAT IC and ACAT IAC programs, the Component Acquisition Executive will conduct the post-PDR assessment. Non-major programs also normally conduct this review prior to the completion of the TMRR phase, but may conduct it early in the Engineering and Manufacturing Development (EMD) phase, if program circumstances warrant.
Source: DoDI 5000.02