What is a Source Selection Decision Document (SSDD) and its purpose?

• A. A document that lists payment milestones.
• B. A document that contains the supplier's code of conduct.
• C. A document that records the rationale for the award decision, including the basis for the tradeoffs and ranking.
• D. A document that describes project risk only.

Answer: (C)

The main idea is that the Source Selection Decision Document captures the reasoning behind the award choice. It records the evaluation results and, crucially, explains the basis for the tradeoffs made between cost/price and noncost factors, and shows the final ranking of proposals. This makes the decision transparent and defensible, providing a clear justification for why the selected offeror was chosen over the others and supporting post-award debriefings or protests. It’s not merely a list of payment milestones, not a supplier’s code of conduct, and not only a description of project risk.