There are numerous contributing factors which have caused the process of managing CDRLs (and SDRLs) to become not only a more arduous task, but at the same time increasingly important to the bottom-line performance of a DoD program or profitability of a supplier’s contract. Thankfully, as the efficient handling of CDRLs has become more demanding to orchestrate, best practices (BP) have emerged over recent years from a number of contractors, government agencies, industry associations, and CDRL data management software tool providers like CMstat.

Once upon a time, the process of managing Contract Data Requirement Lists (CDRL) and Subcontract Data Requirement Lists (SDRL) in support of government and commercial contracts in aerospace and defense was simple enough that data managers and project planners could perform most of what was required using spreadsheets.