(a) Market research (see 10.001) is an essential element of building an effective strategy for the acquisition of commercial items and establishes the foundation for the agency description of need (see part 11), the solicitation, and resulting contract.

(b) The description of agency need must contain sufficient detail for potential offerors of commercial items to know which commercial products or services may be suitable. Generally, for acquisitions in excess of the simplified acquisition threshold, an agency's statement of need for a commercial item will describe the type of product or service to be acquired and explain how the agency intends to use the product or service in terms of function to be performed, performance requirement or essential physical characteristics. Describing the agency's needs in these terms allows offerors to propose methods that will best meet the needs of the Government.

(c) Follow the procedures in subpart 11.2 regarding the identification and availability of specifications, standards and commercial item descriptions.

(d) Requirements documents for electronic and information technology must comply with the applicable accessibility standards issued by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board at 36 CFR part 1194 (see subpart 39.2).

(e) When acquiring information technology using Internet Protocol, agencies must include the appropriate Internet Protocol compliance requirements in accordance with 11.002(g).

[60 FR 48241, Sept. 18, 1995, as amended at 62 FR 264, Jan. 2, 1997; 66 FR 20897, Apr. 25, 2001; 74 FR 65607, Dec. 10, 2009]