Clause 6.2.3.4: Characterize the solution space
The process defines preliminary operational, acquisition, deployment, support and retirement concepts.
What clause 6.2.3.4 asks
The process defines preliminary operational, acquisition, deployment, support and retirement concepts. The operational concept describes how the solution will be used in the organization; the acquisition concept covers sourcing and contracting; the deployment concept covers validation, delivery and introduction; the support concept covers the support infrastructure and people; the retirement concept covers removal and disposal. The process then identifies candidate solution classes that span the potential space. A class is a group of solutions of a similar type, not a single product.
Why it matters
The five concepts keep the analysis from optimising one life cycle stage at the expense of another. A solution that is cheap to acquire but impossible to support is a class-level mistake. Identifying classes rather than products preserves the design freedom the later requirements work needs.
No clause level change is public for this unit; the DIS keeps the title and scope, and the requirement text is not released.
What good looks like
Sketch each concept on one page. For each, name the assumption that would invalidate it. Then list the solution classes with a one-line description and the boundary of each. Do not narrow to a product yet.
Evidence an assessor asks for
The assessor will ask whether the support and retirement concepts existed before the design. Most projects can show the operational concept and nothing else.
- Life cycle concepts One page each for the operational, acquisition, deployment, support and retirement concepts
- Solution class list Each candidate class, its boundary and the type of solution it covers
- Assumption record The assumption that would invalidate each concept or class
- Feasibility note A first view of which classes fit the trade space factors
Where it commonly fails
- Only the operational concept is written, so support and disposal are designed late
- The solution class list contains one product and calls it a class
- The retirement concept is omitted because the system is expected to last
What to do before the revision
Give each concept a single page and a named owner. A page that cannot be written is a life cycle risk worth recording now.
Read across
- 6.2.3.3 Define the problem or opportunity space
- 6.2.3.5 Evaluate alternative solution classes
- 6.3.3.4 Develop the operational concept
- A.2.6 OpsCon: concepts for the proposed system
← 6.2.3.3 Define the problem or opportunity space 6.2.3.5 Evaluate alternative solution classes →
Source for clause 6.2.3.4: ISO/IEC/IEEE 29148:2018, Clause 6.2.3.4, retrieved 19 October 2026. The revision note rests on ISO page 94091. The requirement, evidence and gaps are written from our record. Every source.