Glossary and Acronyms

A guide to GSA and technology modernization terminology.

Term / Acronym	Definition
1102	Federal Government job series number for procurement personnel
10Q	Northwest and Arctic Region in Auburn, WA
11Q	National Capital Region in Washington, DC
1Q	New England Region, in Boston, MA
2GIT	2nd Generation Information Technology
2Q	Northeast and Caribbean Region, in New York, NY
3PAO	Third Party Assessment Organization
3Q	Mid-Atlantic Region, in Philadelphia, PA
4PL	Fourth Party Logistics Program
4Q	Southeast Sunbelt Region, in Atlanta, GA
5Q	Great Lakes Region in Chicago, IL
6Q	Heartland Region in Kansas City, MO
7Q	Greater Southwest Region in Fort Worth, TX
8(a) Stars	Contract for acquiring IT services from small businesses
8Q	Rocky Mountain Region in Denver, CO
9Q	Pacific Rim Region in San Francisco, CA
A	Office of the Administrator
A	GSA Administrator's Office
A/E	Architect/Engineer
A&A	Assessment and Authorization Process
AA	Associate Administrator
AAA	Authorization Accounting Activity
AAAP	Automated Advanced Acquisition Program
AABC	Associated Air Balance Council
AAC	Agency Address Code
AAMS	Agency Asset Management System
AAS	Assisted Acquisition Services
ABA	Architectural Barriers Act
ABG	African Burial Ground
AbilityOne	AbilityOne (formerly JWOD) provides employment opportunities for over 40,000 Americans who are blind or have other severe disabilities by orchestrating government purchases of products and services provided by nonprofit agencies employing such individuals throughout the country.
AC	Assistant Commissioner
AC	Acceptance Criteria
ACC	Accruals
ACD	Automatic Call Distribution
ACES	Access Certificates for Electronic Services
ACH	Automated Clearing House
ACHP	Advisory Council on Historic Preservation
ACIS	Advantage! Customer Information System
ACL	Access Control List
ACM	Asbestos Containing Materials
ACMIS	Acquisition Career Management Information System
ACO	Administrative Contracting Officer
ACOR	Agency Contracting Officer's Representative
ACORN	Agency Contract Register Nationwide
Acquisition	The acquiring by contract with appropriated funds of supplies or services (including construction) by and for the use of the Federal Government through purchase or lease, whether the supplies or services are already in existence or must be created, developed, demonstrated, and evaluated. Acquisition begins at the point when agency needs are established and includes the description of requirements to satisfy agency needs, solicitation and selection of sources, award of contracts, contract financing, contract performance, contract administration, and those technical and management functions directly related to the process of fulfilling agency needs by contract.
Acquisition plan	A comprehensive plan for fulfilling the agency need in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost. It includes developing the overall strategy for managing the acquisition.
Acquisition planning	The process by which the efforts of all personnel responsible for an acquisition are coordinated and integrated through a comprehensive plan for fulfilling the agency need in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost. It includes developing the overall strategy for managing the acquisition.
Acquisition workforce	Program Managers, Project Managers, Procurement Technicians, Procurement Clerks, most CORs, and all personnel that are neither Contract Specialists nor certified Contracting Officers.
Acquisition, Policy and Oversight Division	A division of a Federal Government contracting office responsible for policy implementation and quality control of contracting operations.
ACR	Authoritative Catalog Repository
ACSS	Acquisition Center for Support Services
ACT	Accounting Control Transaction
ADA	Americans with Disabilities Act
ADAAG	Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines
ADD	Automated Deployment Database
ADID	Atlanta Downtown Improvement District
ADP	Automated Data Processing
ADPI	Air Diffusion Performance Index
ADR	See "Alternative dispute resolution"
ADRA	Administrative Dispute Resolution Act of 1986
ADSN	Accounting and Disbursing Station Number
AEO	Agency Ethics Official
AEP	American Electrical Power
AFB	Air Force Base
AFIC	Armed Forces Inaugural Committee
AFV	Alternative Fuel Vehicle
AG	Acquisition Gateway
Aggregate award of all line items to one contractor	Awarding all line items to a single contractor is usually appropriate when suppliers sell the contract items as an integrated unit.
Agile Approach to Federal Enterprise Architecture	Agile is a term in Information Technology (IT) circles today that essentially means growth happens with small, iterative, customer-centric steps that produce results quickly. Agile EA is an approach to architecture development that is focused on small EA deliverables with the needs of the customer in mind. When starting to build (or rebuild) an agency's architecture, start small with one aspect that would benefit the stakeholders, and put something together. It doesn't have to be complete and polished, and actually shouldn't be. Each draft and subsequent improvement should be based on what will best fit the stakeholder's most immediate needs. The architecture should not be developed to serve the enterprise architect.
AHERA	Asbestos Hazard Emergency Response Act
AHJ	Authority Having Jurisdiction
AHU	Air-Handling Unit
AI	Articulation Index
AIA	American Institute of Architects
AIHA	American Industrial Hygiene Association
AIMS	Advertising & Integrated Marketing Solutions - Schedule 541
AIS	Automated Information System
AKA	Also Known As
ALC	Agency Location Code
Allocable	A cost is properly allocable to a contract if it is incurred specifically for the contract or is incurred for another activity that also benefits the contract. With regard to the allocability of costs claimed, the COR must look for any direct costs that appear to have no connection with the contract work. If the COR cannot understand why the contractor would need billed materials or effort to perform the contract, then the costs may have been charged to the contract in error.
Alternative dispute resolution	ADR includes dispute resolution processes and techniques that fall outside of the government judicial process. Despite historic resistance to ADR by both parties and their advocates, ADR has gained widespread acceptance among both the general public and the legal profession in recent years. In fact, some courts now require some parties to resort to ADR of some type, usually mediation, before permitting the parties' cases to be tried. The rising popularity of ADR can be explained by the increasing caseload of traditional courts, the perception that ADR imposes fewer costs than litigation and provides greater confidentiality. FAR 33.214 discusses ADR.
AM	Acquisition Management
AMC	Accident Management Center
AMD	Acquisition Management Division
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009	The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub L. 111-5), is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009. The Act was intended to provide a stimulus to the U.S. economy in the wake of the economic downturn. The measures are nominally worth $787 billion. The Act includes federal tax cuts, expansion of unemployment benefits and other social welfare provisions, and domestic spending in education, health care, and infrastructure, including the energy sector. The Act also includes numerous non-economic recovery related items that were either part of longer-term plans (e.g. a study of the effectiveness of medical treatments) or desired by Congress (e.g. a limitation on executive compensation in federally aided banks). The ARRA is much larger than the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008, which consisted primarily of tax rebate checks.
AMIs	Amazon Machine Images
AMSS	Advanced Mobile Satellite Service
ANI	Automatic Number Identification
ANSI	American National Standards Institute
ANSWER	Applications'n Support for Widely-diverse EndUser Requirements
Anti-Deficiency Act	The Anti-Deficiency Act prohibits Government officials and employees from obligating or spending more money than has been made available by OMB, their agency, and the Finance Office. Violations of the Act could result in penalties including suspension without pay, removal from office, monetary fines, and/or jail time.
AOC	Area of Consideration
AOs	Authorizing Officials
AOUSC	Administrative Office of the US Courts
AP	Accounts Payable
AP	See "Acquisition plan"
API	Application Programming Interface
APM	Acquisition Planning Module
APO	Area Property Officer
APO	See "Acquisition, Policy and Oversight Division"
APPAS	Associate Performance Plan and Appraisal System
APRS	Associate Performance Recognition System
AR	Accounts Receivable
ARB	Acquisition Review Board
ARC	American Red Cross
Architecture	The structure of components, their inter-relationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution overtime.
Architecture Pattern	An architectural pattern represents a technology-agnostic view of system types and is designed to promote discourse on technology possibilities. Many concepts and patterns are contained in these and they are readily recognizable by almost anyone who has been involved in building transactional or analytical systems. FAS IT applies a pattern-oriented approach with two large-scale patterns to describe transactional and analytical systems when evaluating systems and planning migrations to the cloud.
ARF	Action Request Form
ARI	Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Institute
ARO	After Receipt of Order
ARPA	Archeological Resources Protection Act
ARRA	See "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009"
ART	Adjustments, Receipts, and Transfers
ASC	Accredited Standards Committee
ASC	Accountable Station Code
ASC	Accredited Standards Committee
ASCII	American Standard Code for Information Exchange
ASD	Allowable Stress Design
ASF	Acquisition Services Fund
ASLA	American Society of Landscape Architects
ASP	Aggregate Systems Procurements
ASSIST	Assisted Services Information System (ASSIST)
ATA	AIR TRAN AIRWAYS
ATIS	Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions
ATM	Asynchronous Transfer Mode
ATMS	Asynchronous Transfer Mode Service
ATO	Authorization-to-Operate
ATS	Automatic Transfer Switches
AU	Authorized Users
AUO	Area Utilization Officer
AWS	Alternative Work Schedule
AWS	Amazon Web Services
BA	Borrowing Authority
BA	Budget Activity
BAA	Broad Agency Announcement
BAFO	Best and final offer; see also "Final proposal revision"
BART	Billed Accounts Receivable Tracking
BAS	Building Automation System
BBFY	Beginning Budget Fiscal Year
BCC	Backup Control Center
BCE	GSA Financial and Payroll Services Division
BCM	Bureau Certification Manager
BCR	Business Change Request
BEA	Budget Enforcement Act of 1990
BER	Building Engineering Report
Best value	The expected outcome of an acquisition that, in the Government's estimation, provides the greatest overall benefit in response to the requirement.
BFV	Bi-fuel Vehicles
BFY	Budget Fiscal Year
BIA	Brick Institute of America
BIC	Best in Class
BID	Business Improvement District
BIM	Building Information Modeling
BIS	Building Information System
Blanket purchase agreement	A simplified method of filling anticipated repetitive needs for supplies or services by establishing “charge accounts” with qualified sources of supply.
BLCC	Building Life Cycle Cost
BOA	Basis of Award
BOA	Basic ordering agreement
BOAC	Buildings Officials and Code Administrators Internationals, Inc.
BOAC	Billed Office Address Code
BOL	Bill of Lading
BOM	Back Office Modernization
BOMA	Buildings Owners and Managers Association
BPA	Blanket Purchasing Agreement
BPN	Business Partner Network
BPP	Buildings Preservation Plan
BPR	Business Process Re-engineering
BRM	The Business Reference Model (BRM) describes an organization through a taxonomy of common mission and support service areas instead of through a stove-piped organizational view, thereby promoting intra- and inter-agency collaboration. (FEAF)
BSC	Building Security Committee
BSO	Basic Safety Objective
BSPC	Border Station Partnership Council
BTS	Directorate of Border and Transportation Security
Bundling	Consolidating two or more requirements for supplies or services previously provided or performed under separate smaller contracts, into a solicitation for a single contract that is likely to be unsuitable for award to a small business concern.
Business Application	An Application is a piece of software which a customer uses to perform at least one business capability within GSA. GSA applications have these characteristics: - Requires funding (costs including: planning/project management, ATO, security scanning/monitoring, infrastructure/hosting support, change requests, FTE hours) - Responsible POCs (business, technical, organizational) - Uses / processes data (including business intelligence) - Deployed on production environment (deployed on server) - Supported by technologies/IT Tools (database, servers, programming language)
Business Function	A function that delivers business capabilities closely aligned to an organization, but not necessarily explicitly governed by the organization. In FEAF, it is defined as a function that describes what the Federal government does at an aggregated level, using the budget function classification codes provided in OMB Circular A-11
Buy American Act	The Buy American Act requires that only domestic end products be acquired for public use, except for articles, materials, and supplies under certain circumstances.
BVD	Best Value Determination
BYOD	Bring Your Own Device
C/B	Chemical/Biological
CA	Contract Administrator
CA	Cloud Advocate
CA	Cloud Advisory
CAA	Civilian Agency Acquisition (Council)
CaaS	Containerization as a Service
CAC	Ceiling Attenuation Class
CACO	Chief Acquisition Officers Council
CAD	Computer Aided Design
CAF	Customer Address File
CAF	Contract Access Fee
CAF	Contractor Address File
CAFM	Computer Aided Facilities Management
CAG	Customer Assistance Guide
CAGE	Commercial and Government Entity
CALM	Contract Acquisition Lifecycle Management
CAMEO	CIO Application Maintenance, Enhancements, and Operations
CAMS	Capital Asset Management System
CANDE	Command and Edit -- an MCS used to interact with Unisys MCP running on ClearPath
Capability	An ability that an organization, person, or system possesses. Capabilities are typically expressed in general and high-level terms and typically require a combination of organization, people, processes, and technology to achieve. For example, marketing, customer contact, or outbound telemarketing.
Capability Based Planning	Capability based planning is the planning, engineering, and delivery of strategic business capabilities to the enterprise. It is business-driven and business-led and combines the requisite efforts of all lines of business to achieve the desired capability. Capability-based planning accommodates most, if not all, of the corporate business models and is especially useful in organizations where a latent capability to respond (e.g., an emergency preparedness unit) is required and the same resources are involved in multiple capabilities.Often the need for these capabilities are discovered and reﬁned using business scenarios. From an enterprise architecture and IT perspective, capability-based planning is a powerful mechanism to ensure that the strategic business plan drives the enterprise from a top-down approach. It is also adaptable with capability engineering to leverage emerging bottom-up innovations.
CAPE	Center for Acquisition Professional Excellence
CAR	Customer Accounts and Research
CAR	FAS Office of Customer Accounts and Research
CAS	Cost Accounting Standards
CASE	Contractor and Stakeholder Engagement
CAsI	Contractor Assessment Initiative
CASO	GSA Chief Administrative Services Office
CASO	Chief Asset Supply Officer
CAT	Cloud Acquisition Tools
CATEX	Categorical Exclusion
CAV	Contractor Assistance Visit
CBA	Centrally Billed Account
CBA	Collective Bargaining Agreement
CBCA	Civilian Board of Contract Appeals
CBD	Commerce Business Daily
CBG	Combined Billing Generator
CBL	Commercial Bill of Lading
CBP	See "U.S. Customs and Border Protection"
CC	Common Components - monitoring, networking, platform (cloud services)
CC	[NATO] Country Code
CCB	Change Control Board
CCB	Configuration Control Board
CCDC	Centre City Development Corporation
CCF	Commercial contract format
CCFF	Cost Plus Fixed-Fee
CCMG	Central Courthouse Management Group
CCO	See "Chief of the Contracting Office"
CCR	Central Contractor Registration
CCTV	Closed Circuit TV
CD	Continuous Delivery
CDD	Curriculum Design Document
CDO	Chief Data Officer
CDR	Critical Design Reviews
CDRG	Catastrophic Disaster Response Group
CDRL	Contract Data Requirements List
CDS	Cellular Dispatch Service
CDW	Collision Damage Waiver
CE	Cost Element
CE	Cloud Enablement
CE	Cost Element
CEMP	Code of Environmental Management Principles
Central Contractor Registration database	The CCR is the primary Government repository for contractor information required for the conduct of business with the Government.
CEQ	Council on Environmental Quality (White House)
CER	Cost Estimating Relationships
CERCLA	Comprehensive, Environmental, Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
Certificate of Competency	The certificate issued by the Small Business Administration (SBA) stating that the holder is responsible (with respect to all elements of responsibility, including, but not limited to, capability, competency, capacity, credit, integrity, perseverance, tenacity, and limitations on subcontracting) for the purpose of receiving and performing a specific Government contract.
Certified cost or pricing data	Includes all facts that, as of the date of price agreement that prudent buyers and sellers would reasonably affect price negotiations significantly. Cost or pricing data are factual, not judgmental, and include facts forming the basis for future cost projections, contributing to soundness of estimates, and contributing to the validity of costs already incurred.
CETT	Cloud Enablement Triage Team
CEUs	Continuing Education Units
CFC	Combined Federal Campaign
CFC	Chlorofluorocarbon
CFDA	Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
CFL	Computers for Learning
CFM&H	Center for Facilities Maintenance and Hardware's
CFMS	Comprehensive Furniture Management Services
CFO	Chief Financial Officer
CFO Act	Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990
CFR	Code of Federal Regulations
CG	See "Comptroller General"
CGFM	Certified Government Financial Managers
CGP	Coalition for Government Procurement
CGS	Cost of Goods Sold
CHAMP	Centralized Household Goods Traffic Management Program, GSA
Change order	A written order, signed by the contracting officer, directing the contractor to make a change that the Changes clause authorizes the contracting officer to order without the contractor's consent.
CHCO	Chief Human Capital Officer
Chief of the Contracting Office	The highest level procurement official in a Federal Government contracting office.
CHP	Combined heat and power
CHRIS	Comprehensive Human Resources Integrated System
CI	See "Commercial item"
CI	Continuous Integration
CI/CD	Continuous Improvement/Continuous Delivery
CI/CD	Continuous Integration/Continuous Deployment
CIA	Congressional & Intergovernmental Affairs
CIC	Customer Identification Code
CIC	Cloud Information Center
CICA	Competition in Contracting Act
CIFM	Computer Integrated Facilities Management
CIO	Chief Information Officer
CIR	Committed Information Rate
CISA	Certified Information Systems Auditors
CISO	Chief Information Security Officer
CISS	Center for Information Security Services
CISS	Comprehensive Infrastructure Support Services
CISS	Cloud Integration Shared Services
Civilian Board of Contract Appeals	The CBCA was established by section 847 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2006 to hear and decide contract disputes between government contractors and executive agencies under the provisions of the Contract Disputes Act of 1978, 41 U.S.C. §§ 601-613, and regulations and rules issued under that statute. The Board's authority extends to all agencies other than the Department of Defense, the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the United States Postal Service, the Postal Rate Commission, and the Tennessee Valley Authority.
CL	Continuous Learning
Claim	A written demand or written assertion by one of the contracting parties seeking, as a matter of right, the payment of money in a sum certain, the adjustment or interpretation of contract terms, or other relief arising under or relating to the contract.
Clause	See "Contract clause"
CLG	Change to Lower Grade
CLG	Certified Local Governments
CLIN	Contract Line Item Number
CLLI	Common Language Location Identifier
Cloud	Cloud indicates the hosting location of the data. If the data are not on Cloud, the Hosting Provider is GSA. Otherwise, if the data are on cloud, the Hosting Provider is an external provider.
CLP	Continuous Learning Point
CM	Construction Manager
CM	Change Management -- the management of all system changes (ie, authorization for changes, gate validation, documentation, deployment authorization).
CMA	Certified Management Accountants
CMC	Certified Management Consultants
CMDB	Change Management Database
CMLS	Centralized Mailing List Service
CMMI	Capability Maturity Model Integration
CMMS	Computerize Maintenance Management System
CMR	Commercial Market Representative
CMRS	Connections Management Reporting System
CMS	Content Management System
CMS	Continuous Monitoring Service
CNG	Compressed Natural Gas
CO	Central Office, GSA
CO	See "Contracting Officer"
COC	Certificate of Competency
CODB	Combined Oracle DataBase
CODEC	Coder-Decoder
COE	Center of Excellence
COG	Continuity of Government
COI	Client Order Information
COI	See "Conflict of interest"
COMET	CIO Modernization and Enterprise Transformation
Commercial item	Any item, other than real property, that is of a type customarily used by the general public or by non-governmental entities for purposes other than governmental purposes, and has been sold, leased, or licensed to the general public; or has been offered for sale, lease, or license to the general public.
Commercially available off-the-shelf	Commonly referred to as COTS, these are commercial items that are sold in large quantities and provided to the Government in exactly the same form as available commercially.
Community Development Corporation	An organization that has received financial assistance under the Community Economic Development Act of 1981.
Competition in Contracting Act	A Federal Law, 41 U.S.C. 253, CICA requires competition for the award of all types of government contracts. The purpose is to increase the number of competitors and to increase savings through lower, more competitive pricing.
Comptroller General	The Comptroller General of the United States is the director of the Government Accountability Office (GAO, formerly known as the General Accounting Office), a legislative branch agency founded by Congress in 1921 to ensure the fiscal and managerial accountability of the Federal Government.
COMS	Communications Management System -- an MCS used with Unisys ClearPath
COMSEC	Communications Security
Concern	Any business entity organized for profit (even if its ownership is in the hands of a nonprofit entity) with a place of business located in the United States and which makes a significant contribution to the U.S. economy through payment of taxes and/or use of American products, material and/or labor, etc. "Concern" includes but is not limited to an individual, partnership, corporation, joint venture, association, or cooperative. For the purpose of making affiliation findings (see 19.101) any business entity, whether organized for profit or not, and any foreign business entity, i.e., any entity located outside the United States, shall be included.
Configuration	A configuration is where you use native tools and capabilities in the system to change its behavior or features. Configuration changes are expected to be carried forward with no or minimal attention when new releases of the base software are deployed
Conflict of interest	Organizational conflict of interest means that, because of other activities or relationships with other persons, a person is unable, or potentially unable, to render impartial assistance or advice to the Government, or the person's objectivity in performing the contract work is or might be otherwise impaired, or a person has an unfair competitive advantage.
CONOPS	Concept of Operations
CONPLAN	Concept of Operations Plan
Contingency	A possible future event or condition arising from known or unknown causes, the outcome of which is not currently determinable
Contract	A mutually binding legal relationship obligating the seller to furnish the supplies or services (including construction) and the buyer to pay for them. It includes all types of commitments that obligate the Government to an expenditure of appropriated funds and that, except as otherwise authorized, are in writing. In addition to bilateral instruments, contracts include (but are not limited to) awards and notices of awards; job orders or task letters issued under basic ordering agreements; letter contracts; orders, such as purchase orders, under which the contract becomes effective by written acceptance or performance; and bilateral contract modifications. Contracts do not include grants and cooperative agreements covered by 31 U.S.C.6301, et seq. For discussion of various types of contracts. See FAR Part 16.
Contract clause	A term or condition used in contracts or in both solicitations and contracts, and applying after contract award or both before and after award.
Contract requirements	Contract requirements include more than just product requirements. They include any element of the solicitation or contract that defines what the contractor must do to complete the contract successfully.
Contracting Officer	A person with the authority to enter into, administer, and/or terminate contracts and make related determinations and findings. The term includes certain authorized representatives of the contracting officer acting within the limits of their authority as delegated by the contracting officer. “Administrative contracting officer (ACO)” refers to a contracting officer who is administering contracts. “Termination contracting officer (TCO)” refers to a contracting officer who is settling terminated contracts. A single contracting officer may be responsible for duties in any or all of these areas.
Contracting Officer's Technical Representative	See "Contracting Officer's Representative"
Contracting Officer's Representative	An individual designated and authorized in writing by the contracting officer to perform specific technical or administrative functions.
Contractor	A business or corporation under contract to provide materials or labor to another entity.
Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System	CPARS is a web-enabled application that collects and manages the library of automated CPARs in order to assess a contractor's performance and provide a record, both positive and negative, on a given contractor during a specific period of time. CPARS is for UNCLASSIFIED use only. Each assessment is based on objective facts and supported by program and contract management data, such as cost performance reports, customer comments, quality reviews, technical interchange meetings, financial solvency assessments, construction/production management reviews, contractor operations reviews, functional performance evaluations, and earned contract incentives.
CONUS	Continental United States
COOP	Continuity of Operations Plan
COOP PURCH	Cooperative Purchasing
COPS	City Pairs Offer Preparation System
COR	See "Contracting Officer's Technical Representative"
COR	Contracting Officer's Representative
CORS	Contracting Officer Review System
COS	Chief of Staff
COS	Class of Service
Cost analysis	Determines how much it costs a contractor to make a product or provide a service.
Cost contract	The contractor is reimbursed for actual allowable costs with no fee.
Cost realism	Involves an independent review of each cost element to determine if that element is realistic, reflects the contract requirements, and is consistent with the contractor's proposal.
Cost realism analysis	The process of independently reviewing and evaluating specific elements of each offeror's proposed cost estimate to determine whether the estimated proposed cost elements are realistic for the work to be performed
Cost-based formula	Cost-based = Production cost + Reasonable profit
Cost-based pricing	A cost-based pricing approach combines the seller's cost to produce a product with a reasonable profit. Cost is based on production methods, product sales volume, and accounting methods.
Cost-plus-award-fee contract	A cost-reimbursement contract that provides for a fee consisting of (1) a base amount fixed at inception of the contract and (2) an award amount that the contractor may earn in whole or in part during performance and that is sufficient to provide motivation for excellence in such areas as quality, timeliness, technical ingenuity, and cost-effective management. The amount of the award fee to be paid is determined by the Government's judgmental evaluation of the contractor's performance in terms of the criteria stated in the contract. This determination and the methodology for determining the award fee are unilateral decisions made solely at the discretion of the Government.
Cost-plus-fixed-fee contract	A cost-reimbursement contract that provides for payment to the contractor of a negotiated fee that is fixed at the inception of the contract. The fixed fee does not vary with actual cost, but may be adjusted as a result of changes in the work to be performed under the contract. This contract type permits contracting for efforts that might otherwise present too great a risk to contractors, but it provides the contractor only a minimum incentive to control costs.
Cost-plus-incentive-fee contract	A cost-reimbursement contract that provides for the initially negotiated fee to be adjusted later by a formula based on the relationship of total allowable costs to total target costs. This contract type specifies a target cost, a target fee, minimum and maximum fees, and a fee adjustment formula. After contract performance, the fee payable to the contractor is determined in accordance with the formula. The formula provides, within limits, for increases in fee above target fee when total allowable costs are less than target costs, and decreases in fee below target fee when total allowable costs exceed target costs. This increase or decrease is intended to provide an incentive for the contractor to manage the contract effectively. When total allowable cost is greater than or less than the range of costs within which the fee-adjustment formula operates, the contractor is paid total allowable costs, plus the minimum or maximum fee.
Cost-plus-percentage-of- cost contract	A cost-reimbursement contract that provides a fee that rises as the contractor's cost rise. Because this contract type provides no incentive for the contractor to control costs it is rarely utilized. The U.S. Federal Acquisition Regulations specifically prohibit the use of this type for U.S. Federal Government contracting (FAR Part 16.102).
Cost-reimbursement contract	A contract that reimburses the contractor for some or all of the allowable actual costs. See also "Cost-plus-award-fee contract", "Cost-plus-fixed-fee contract", "Cost-plus-incentive-fee contract", and "Cost-plus-percentage-of-cost contract".
Cost-sharing contract	The contractor and Government share the costs.
COTS	See "Commercially available off-the-shelf"
COTS	Custom Off The Shelf -- a form of customizable software solutioning
COWP	Contracting Officers Warrant Program
CP	Command Post
CP	Contingency Plan
CPAF	See "Cost-plus-award-fee contract"
CPARS	Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System
CPC	Consolidated Processing Center
CPES	Comprehensive Professional Energy Services
CPES BPAs	Comprehensive Professional Energy Services BPA
CPFF	See "Cost-plus-fixed-fee contract"
CPG	Comprehensive Procurement Guideline
CPI	Consumer Price Index
CPIC	Capital Planning and Investment Control
CPIF	See "Cost-plus-incentive-fee contract"
CPO	Chief People Officer
CPO	Chief Procurement Officer
CPP	City Pairs Program
CPS	Customer Profile System
CPTED	Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design
CPVC	Chlorinated Polyvinyl Chloride
Cr.	Credit (journal voucher)
CRB	Contract Review Board
CRC	Cost Reimbursable Contractor
CREMP	Comprehensive Real Estate Master Program
CRF	Carpet and Rug Institute
CRL	Certification Revocation List
CRM	Cultural Resources Management
CRM	Customer Relationship Management
CRS	Commuted Rate Schedule
CS	Contracting Specialist
CSC	Client/Customer Support Centers
CSC	Court Security Committee
CSD	Customer Service Director
CSDS	Circuit Switched Data Service
CSI	Customer Satisfaction Index
CSI	Critical Safety Items
CSM	Customer Service Manager
CSM	Contract Service Management
CSM-D	Contract Service Management Division
CSO	Customer Service Office
CSP	Commercial Sales Practices
CSP	Cloud Service Provider
CSR	Customer Service Representatives
CSS	Circuit Switched Service
CTA	Contractor Teaming Arrangement
CTAG	Contract Tab Advisory Guide (CTAG) FAS developed the Contract Tab Advisory Guide, which required similar documents to be filed together under specific tabs. The guide is intended to simplify the process of locating documents by contracting personnel. In addition, the guide was designed to promote compliance with FAR 4.802(c)(2), which states that files must be maintained to ensure documentation is readily accessible to principal users, such as FAS contracting personnel.
CTC	Commercial Traffic Company, The (GSA Prepayment & Postpayment Audit Contractor)
CTO	Office of the Chief Technology Officer
CTQ	Critical to Quality
CTS	Comprehensive Telecommunications Service
CUI	Controlled Unclassified Information
Cure notice	A notification provided by the Government to a contractor prior to termination for cause or default. The notification describes the contractor's failure that endangers performance of the contract and specifies the time frame during which the contractor must correct, or cure, the failure. If the failure is not corrected within the stated time frame, the Government may terminate the contract.
Current revenue	The current revenue strategy focuses on maximizing current revenue rather than on maximizing profit or long-term revenue.
Customization	A customization is a feature, extension, or modification that requires custom coding and or some form of implementation and is likely to need rework and/or manual testing when new releases of base (non-customized) software product are deployed. Customization changes are expected to involve additional costs.
CVS	Cellular Voice Service
CWC	Call Work Code
CWHSSA	Contract Work Hours Safety Standards Act
CWM	Construction Waste Management
CX	Customer Experience
CZM	Coastal Zone Management
D/A	Department/Agency
D&B	Dun and Bradstreet
D&F	Determination and findings
DA	Dispatch Agent
DAA	Designated Approving Authority
DAE	Disaster Assistance Employee
DAO	Designated Agency Official
DAR	Designated Agency Representative
DAR	Defense Acquisition Regulation
DAU	Defense Acquisition University
DAW	Director of Acquisition Workforce.
DBA	Davis Bacon Act
DCAA	See "Defense Contract Audit Agency"
DCIA	Debt Collection Improvement Act of 1996
DCO	Defense Coordinating Officer
DCV	Demand Controlled Ventilation
DDC	Direct Digital Control
DDD	Desired Delivery Date
DDS	Domestic Delivery Service
DDS2	Domestic Delivery Service II
De-obligation	If there is no known potential for excess funds to be used in the future on the contract, a recommendation should be made to the Contracting Officer for the de-obligation of the funds. To de-obligate funds, the Contracting Officer issues a bilateral modification to the contract, de- obligating and removing the excess funds (i.e., removing the monetary liability of the Government).
Debarment	Action taken by a debarring official to exclude a contractor from Government contracting and Government-approved subcontracting for a reasonable, specified period.
DEC	Disaster Emergency Council
Defense Contract Audit Agency	The Defense Contract Audit Agency, under the authority, direction, and control of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller), is responsible for performing all contract audits for the Department of Defense, and providing accounting and financial advisory services regarding contracts and subcontracts to all Department of Defense Components responsible for procurement and contract administration. These services are provided in connection with negotiation, administration, and settlement of contracts and subcontracts. DCAA also provides contract audit services to the Department of Homeland Security through an inter-agency agreement.
Definitization	The need for the Contracting Officer to define, negotiate and finalize, in arrears, the full terms and conditions of pre-approved contractor performance prior to a written and executed contract.
Delivery order	An order for supplies placed against an established contract or with Government sources.
Demand differential	In demand differential pricing, price varies by market segment. Prices may vary from customer to customer, from geographic area to geographic area, and from day to day.
Department of Defense	The United States Department of Defense is the Federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the Government relating directly to national security and the military. The organization and functions of the DOD are set forth in Title 10 of the United States Code. The DOD is the major tenant of The Pentagon building near Washington, D.C., and has three major components – the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, and the Department of the Air Force. Among the many DOD agencies are the Missile Defense Agency, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Pentagon Force Protection Agency (PFPA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), and the National Security Agency (NSA). The department also operates several joint service schools, including the National War College.
Department of Homeland Security	The United States Department of Homeland Security has the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the U.S. from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters. Whereas the Department of Defense is charged with military actions abroad, the Department of Homeland Security works in the civilian sphere to protect the United States within, at, and outside its borders. Its stated goal is to prepare for, prevent, and respond to domestic emergencies, particularly terrorism.
DES	Data Exchange Specification
DESC	Defense Energy Support Center
Design Pattern	Design Patterns are repeatable and sound ways to address common problems. There are many published design patterns. A documented pattern will have a concise declaration of the pattern, an example, a problem statement, and an abstract solution. The pattern might further include one or more technical implementation possibilities. Many of the plays in the IT Playbook, can be understood as simple or composite design patterns FAS IT applies a pattern-oriented approach when evaluating systems and planning migrations to the cloud.
Design-to-cost	An estimating technique that constrains design options to a fixed cost limit. The cost limit is usually what the buyer can pay or what the marketplace demands. An affordable product is obtained by treating target cost as an independent design parameter that needs to be achieved during the development.
DEST	Domestic Emergency Support Team
Determinations	There are various types of determinations. For example, there are determinations associated with commercial items (commerciality determination), Government property (whether to furnish it and what type to furnish), and the type of services to be acquired (advisory and assistance, personal versus non-personal).
DevOps	An amalgamation of two terms, Development and Operations. It has led to Continuous Delivery, Integration, and Deployment and therefore reduces boundaries between the development team and the operations team. Heavy applications and software need elaborate and complex tech stacks that demand extensive labor to develop and configure which can easily be eliminated by cloud computing. It offers a wide range of tools and technologies to build, test, and deploy applications with a few minutes and a single click. They can be customized as per the client requirements and can be discarded when not in use hence making the process seamless and cost-efficient for development teams.
DFA	Direct Federal Assistance
DFARS	Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement
DFAS	Defense Finance & Accounting Service
DFC	Disaster Finance Center
DFO	Disaster Field Office (Obsolete)
DHHS	Department of Health and Human Services
DHS	Department of Homeland Security
Distributed	Distributed, in an information technology (IT) context, means that something is shared among multiple systems which may also be in different locations.
Distributed System	A distributed system consists of multiple software components that are on multiple computers, but run as a single system. The computers in a distributed system can be physically close together and connected by a local network, or they can be geographically distant and connected by a wide area network. The goal of distributed computing is to make such a network work as a single computer with the following benefits: - Scalability: The system can easily be expanded by adding more machines as needed. - Redundancy: Several machines can provide the same services, so if one is unavailable, work does not stop. In a cloud model, data and applications are served to users over the Internet. Distributed, in an information technology (IT) context, means that something is shared among multiple systems which may also be in different locations
DITY	Do-It-Yourself (moves)
DLA	Defense Logistics Agency
DLATS	Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support
DLMS	Defense Logistics Management System
DLMS	Defense Logistics Management Standards
DLS	Data Link Switching
DM&E	Development Modernization & Enhancement
DMAT	Disaster Medical Assistance Team
DMORT	Disaster Morturary Team
DNI	Dialed Number Identification
DNIS	Dialed Number Identification Service
DO	Disbursing Office
DOA	Date of Award
DOC	Disaster Operations Center
DOC	Department of Commerce
DoD	Department of Defense
DoDAAC	Department of Defense Activity Address Code
DOE	Department of Energy
DOI	Department of the Interior
DOJ	Department of Justice
DOL	Department of Labor
Domain Driven Design	Domain Driven Design (DDD) is the practice of matching software structures and classes with business concepts. One artifact of DDD is the production of a domain model that is both a reflection of the business and is reflected in the software. One key or defining concept in DDD is "ubiquitous language". When DDD is implemented well, everyone from the software developer on up to the domain SME will speak it and readily understand each other.
DOMS	Director of Military Support
DOS	Department of State
DOT	Department of Transportation
DOTy	Department of Treasury
DPA	Defense Production Act of 1950
DPAS	Defense Priorities and Allocations System
DPM	Direct Procurement Method
DPPRS	Domestic Personal Property Rate Solicitation
Dr.	Debit (journal voucher)
DRC	Disaster Recovery Center
DREC	Deputy Regional Emergency Coordinator
DRF	Disaster Relief Fund
DRM	Disaster Recovery Manager
DS0	Digital Signal 0 (includes both 56 kb/s and 64 kb/s)
DS1	Digital Signal 1
DS1C	Digital Signal 1C (3.152 Mb/s)
DS3	Digital Signal 3
DSA	Digital Signature Algorithm
DSBS	Dynamic Small Business Search
DSS	Digital Signature Solution
DSSR	Department of State Standardized Regulations
DSU	Data Service Unit
DTC	See "Design-to-cost"
DTE	Disaster Temporary Employee
DTMO	The Defense Travel Management Office
DTOD	Defense Table of Official Distances
DTR	Defense Transportation Regulation
DTR	Docker Trusted Registry
DTS	Dedicated Transmission Service
DUA	Disaster Unemployment Assistance
DUNS	Data Universal Numbering System
DVD	Digital Video Disc
DWI	Disaster Welfare Information
DX	Digital Experience
E.O.	See "Executive Order"
E&K	Edwards and Kelcey Engineers, Inc.
E2E	End-to-End; a form of testing, usually used in System Integration and UAT Testing
EA	Enterprise Architecture
EaaS	Email as a Service
EAB	Enterprise Architecture Board
EADS	Energy Asset Disposal System
EAGLE	See "Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions contract"
eApproval	Electronic Approval
Earned value management	A project management technique for measuring project progress in an objective manner. EVM has the ability to combine measurements of scope, schedule, and cost in a single integrated system. When properly applied, EVM provides an early warning of performance problems. Additionally, EVM promises to improve the definition of project scope, prevent scope creep, communicate objective progress to stakeholders, and keep the project team focused on achieving progress.
EAS	Enterprise Acquisition Solution
EBFY	Ending Budget Fiscal Year
EBTA	Everything But The App - a deployment service for deploying traditional stack applications provided by FCS built on top of AWS Cloudformation
EC	Emergency Coordinator
EC2	Elastic Cloud Compute - a service that provides secure, resizable compute capacity in the Cloud
eCAT	Electronic Catalogue
ECMS	Electronic Content Management System
Economically disadvantaged	Economically disadvantaged individuals are socially disadvantaged individuals whose ability to compete in the free enterprise system is impaired due to diminished opportunities to obtain capital and credit as compared to others in the same line of business who are not socially disadvantaged. Individuals who certify that they are members of named groups (Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans, Subcontinent-Asian Americans) are to be considered socially and economically disadvantaged. See FAR 19.001.
Economically disadvantaged women- owned small business concern	A small business concern that is at least 51 percent directly and unconditionally owned by, and the management and daily business operations of which are controlled by, one or more women who are citizens of the United States and who are economically disadvantaged in accordance with 13 CFR part 127. It automatically qualifies as a women-owned small business concern eligible under the WOSB Program.
eCPIC	Electronic Capital Planning and Investment Control
ECRM	Enterprise Customer Relationship Management
ECS	Electronic Certification System
ECS	Elastic Container Service -- a service provided by AWS
EDA	Enterprise Data Architecture
EDD	Extended Direct Delivery
EDI	Electronic Data Interchange
EDICS	Equipment Depreciation Inventory Control System
EDMS	Electronic Document Management System
EDWOSB	See "Economically disadvantaged women-owned small business concern"
EEI	Essential Elements of Information
EEO	Equal Employment Opportunity
EEOC	Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
EFT	Electronic Funds Transfer
EI	Environmental Information
EIA	Electronic Industries Alliance Standards
EIN	Employer Identification Number
EIS	Environmental Impact Statement
EIS	Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions
EISA	Energy Independence and Security Act
EIT	Electronic and Information Technology
EJ	Environmental Justice
EKS	Elastic Kubernetes Service -- a service provided by AWS
ELC	Enterprise License Agreement
Elements of Responsibility	• Competency • Capability • Capacity • Credit • Integrity • Tenacity • Perseverance
ELR	Executive Level Review
EM	Emergency Management
EMA	Emergency Management Agency
EMI	Emergency Management Institute
EMR	Elastic Map Reduce
EMS	Electronic Messaging Service
EMT	Emergency Medical Technician
ENRAC	Environmental Remediation and Construction contract
Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading Edge Solutions contract	The Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading-Edge Solutions contract is a multiple-award indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract vehicle, specifically designed as the preferred source of information technology (IT) services for the majority of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) enterprise infrastructure and initiatives.
EO	Executive Order
EOC	Emergency Operations Center
EOD	Enter on Duty
eOffer	Electronic Offer
EOM	End of Month
EOV	Exceeds Order Value
EP&R	Emergency Preparedness and Response
EPA	Economic Price Adjustment
EPA	Enviornmental Protection Action
EPEAT	Electronic Products Environmental Assessment Tool
EPIC	1 PI (Program Increment)
EPLS	Electronic Pay and Leave Statement
EPLS	Excluded Parties List System
EPR	Ethylene Propylene Agency
EPSG	Environmental Products and Services Guide
ERA	Electronic Records Archive
ERGO	Ergonimic Item
ERRC	Employee Relocation Resource Center
ERS	Emergency Relocation Site
ERT	Emergency Response Team
ERT-A	Emergency Response Team, Advance Element
ERT-N	National Emergency Response Team
ESA	Environmental Site Assessment
ESC	Economic Security Corporation
ESCO	Energy Service Company
ESD	Estimated Ship Date
ESF	Extended Super Frame
ESI	Enterprise Software Initiative
ESPC	Energy Savings Performance Contract
eSRS	Electronic Subcontracting Reporting System
EST	Emergency Support Team (Obsolete)
ETC	Emergency Transportation Center
ETS	e-Gov Travel Service
ETS2	E-Gov Travel System (2)
ETV	Environmental Technology Verification
EULA	End User License Agreement
EVM	Earned Value Management
EVMS	Earned Value Management System
Executive Order	Executive Orders are issued by the President to provide further direction for the execution of Federal laws.
F&O	See "Full and open competition"
FAAT	FEMA Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Terms
FABS	Financial and Business Solutions
FAC	See "Federal Acquisition Certification"
FAC-C	Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting from OMB/OFPP
FAC-P/PM	See "Federal Acquisition Certification – Program/Project Management"
FACA	Federal Advisory Committee Act
FACNET	Federal Acquisition Network
FAI	Federal Acquisition Institute
Fair Market Price	A price based on reasonable costs under normal competitive conditions and not on lowest possible cost. See FAR 19.202-6.
FAK	Freight All Kinds
FALCON	FAS Acquisition Logistics Connect
FAM	Financial Audit Manual
FAMA	Federal Administrative Management Association
Family or Group Buys	This option may be appropriate when you identify families or groups of line items that are made or sold by the same contractor.
FAQ	Frequently Asked Questions
FAR	Federal Acquisition Regulation
FARA	See "Federal Acquisition Reform Act"
FAS	Federal Acquisition Services
FAS Cloud Shared Services	The collection of services that the FAS IT endorses and maintains.Typically, a Shared Service consists of a pattern (problem statement with solution), implementation code, and thorough documentation. The service is a solution that can be accessed by multiple tenant organizations to accomplish many things.
FASA	Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act
FASAB	Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
FAST	Flexible Acquisition and Sustainment Tool
FBI	Federal Bureau of Investigation
FBO	Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps)
FC	Floodplains CERT
FCC	Federal Communications Commission
FCC	Federal Supply Class
FCC	Fire Command Center
FCCS	Federal Claims Collection Standards
FCIC	Federal Citizen Information Center
FCO	Federal Coordinating Officer
FCP	FAS Catalog Platform
FCR	Firewall Change Request
FCRA	Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990
FCS	FAS (Federal Acquisition Service) Cloud Service
FCS	Federal Catalog System (in context to NSNs and DLA)
FCS-D	FCS Data - a data warehousing platform provided and managed by FCS
FCSA	Future Commercial Satellite Communications (COMSATCOM) Services Acquisition
FCW	Federal Computer Week
FCX	Services Acquisition Center
FDDI	Fiber Distributed Data Interface
FEB	Federal Executive Board
FECC	Federal Emergency Communications Coordinator
Fed Learn	Federal Learning Technology Program
FED-STD	Federal Standard
FedBizOpps	See "Federal Business Opportunities"
FEDCAC	Federal Computer Acquisition Center
Federal Acquisition Certification	The process of certification of Federal acquisition workforce employees.
Federal Acquisition Certification – Contracting	The FAC-C Program establishes the minimum education, training, and experience requirements for contracting professionals in civilian agencies. It was established by OFPP Policy Letter 05-01 and OMB Memorandum, The Federal Acquisition Certification in Contracting Program, dated January 20, 2006. The intent of the FAC-C Program is to ensure that all contracting professionals throughout the Government are properly trained and qualified to effectively conduct the acquisition business of the Government. A similar program has existed in the Department of Defense for over a decade and is now being implemented in the civilian agencies. One must be FAC-C certified in order to be appointed as a Contracting Officer.
Federal Acquisition Certification – Program/Project Management	The Federal Acquisition Certification for Program and Project Managers (FAC-P/PM) establishes general training and experience requirements for program and project managers in civilian agencies. The FAC-P/PM focuses on essential competencies needed for program and project managers; the program does not include functional or technical competencies, such as those for information technology, or agency-specific competencies.
Federal Acquisition Reform Act	The Federal Acquisition Reform Act of 1995 includes provisions for full and open competition among contractors. This is accomplished by requiring high-level agency approval for non- competitive acquisitions and by requiring that all contractors eliminated from competition in a solicitation receive a debrief when one is requested.
Federal Acquisition Regulation	The overall governing Federal regulation related to acquisition of goods and services that applies to all federal agencies.
Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act	On October 13, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act of 1994 (FASA). The comprehensive acquisition reform legislation streamlines the Federal Government's acquisition system and dramatically changes the way the Government performs its contracting functions. The statute seeks to: (1) increase the Government's reliance on commercial goods and services; (2) streamline the procurement process for high-volume, low- value acquisitions; (3) improve access by small businesses to government contracting opportunities; (4) improve the bid protest process; and (5) extend the Truth in Negotiations Act to civilian agencies and raise to $500,000 the threshold for submitting certified cost or pricing data under that Act.
Federal agency	Any executive agency or any independent establishment in the legislative or judicial branch of the Government (except the Senate, the House of Representatives, the Architect of the Capitol, and any activities under the Architect's direction).
Federal Business Opportunities	See "Governmentwide Point of Entry"
Federal Interagency Databases Online	Fido.gov is an internet location for finding information related to federal interagency databases.
Federal Prison Industries	Federal Prison Industries, Inc. (FPI), also referred to as UNICOR, is a self-supporting, wholly owned Government corporation of the District of Columbia. FPI provides training and employment for prisoners confined in Federal penal and correctional institutions through the sale of its supplies and services to Government agencies (18 U.S.C. 4121-4128).
Federal Procurement Data System-Next Generation	A publicly-accessible automated system that provides information about Government contracts valued at $3,000 or more.
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act	The Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949 is a United States federal law that established the General Services Administration (GSA). The act also provides for various Federal Standards to be published by the GSA.
FedLearn	Federal Learning Technology Program
FedRAMP	Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program
FEDS	Federal Disposal System
FEDSIM	Federal Systems Integration and Management
FEDSTRIP	Federal Standard Requisitioning and Issue Procedures
FEMA	Federal Emergency Management Agency
FEMP	Federal Energy Management Program
FESC	Federal Emergency Support Coordinator
FF	Freight Forwarder
FFATA	Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act
FFP	Firm Fixed Price
FFV	Flexible Fuel Vehicle
FIBF	Federal Integrated Business Framework
FIC	Feature Initiation Charge
FIDO	See "Federal Interagency Databases Online"
Final proposal revision	Formerly “BAFO,” a Final proposal revision is an offer submitted to the Government in a competitive negotiated procurement after discussions have been concluded. The Government will request such proposal revisions from all offerors still remaining in the competitive range.
FIPS	Federal Information Processing Standards
Firm fixed-price contract	Provides for a price that is not subject to any adjustment on the basis of the contractor's cost experience in performing the contract, therefore it pays the contractor a fixed amount. This type of contract is used for acquiring supplies or services when there are reasonably definite functional or detailed specifications, and the contracting officer can establish a fair and reasonable price at the time of contract award. This type of contract places upon the contractor the maximum risk and full responsibility for all costs and resulting profit or loss. It provides the maximum incentive for the contractor to control costs and perform effectively and imposes a minimal administrative burden upon the contracting parties.
FirstSource	FirstSource serves as a DHS department-wide small business set-aside procurement vehicle for IT commodities.
FIS	Federal Inspection Service
FISA	Federal Information Security Act
FISMA	Federal Information Security Management Act
FISSIP	Federal Information Systems Support Program
Fixed-price contract	Provides for payment of a fixed amount. See also "Firm fixed-price contract", "Fixed-price contract with award fee", "Fixed-price contract with economic price adjustment", "Fixed-price contract with redetermination", and "Fixed-price incentive-fee contract".
Fixed-price contract with award fee	The contractor is paid a fixed amount and may earn an award fee.
Fixed-price contract with economic price adjustment	A fixed-price contract with economic price adjustment contract provides for upward and downward revision of the stated contract price upon the occurrence of specified contingencies. Economic price adjustments are of three general types: (1) Adjustments based on established prices. These price adjustments are based on increases or decreases from an agreed-upon level in published or otherwise established prices of specific items or the contract end items. (2) Adjustments based on actual costs of labor or material. These price adjustments are based on increases or decreases in specified costs of labor or material that the contractor actually experiences during contract performance. (3) Adjustments based on cost indexes of labor or material. These price adjustments are based on increases or decreases in labor or material cost standards or indexes that are specifically identified in the contract.
Fixed-price contract with redetermination	The contractor is paid a fixed amount for the initial period. Amounts for subsequent periods are adjusted, based on actual costs incurred.
Fixed-price incentive-fee contract	A fixed-price incentive contract is a fixed-price contract that provides for adjusting profit and establishing the final contract price by application of a formula based on the relationship of total final negotiated cost to total target cost. The final price is subject to a price ceiling, negotiated at the outset.
FLE	Field-Level Encryption
FLEET	Office of Fleet Management
FLETC	Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
FLS	Field Level Security
FLSA	Fair Labor Standards Act
FM	Financial Manager
FM	Factory Mutual Engineering and Research Corporation
FMC	Federal Maritime Commission
FMEA	Failure Mode and Effects Analysis
FMFIA	Federal Managers Financial Integrity Act
FMIS	Federal Management Information System
FMP	Federal Marketplace
FMP	Federal Marketplace Strategy
FMR	Federal Management Regulation
FMS	Financial Management Services
FMS	Fleet Management System
FNS	Federal Network for Sustainability
FOB	Free on Board
FOB Destination	See "Free on board at destination"
FOB Origin	See "Free on board at origin"
FOC	FEMA Operations Center
FOG	Field Operations Guide
FOIA	Freedom of Information Act
FOS	Federal Operations Support
FOSE	Federal Office System Exposition
FP	Floodplains
FPA	Federal Program Agencies
FPASA	See "Federal Property and Administrative Services Act"
FPDC	Federal Procurement Data Center
FPDS	Federal Procurement Data System
FPDS - NG	Federal Procurement Data System - Next Generation
FPI	Federal Prison Industries
FPIF	See "Fixed-price incentive-fee contract"
FPLP	Federal Premier Lodging Program
FPMR	Federal Procurement Management Regulations.
FPR	See "Final proposal revision"
FPRS	Federal Property Resources Service
FPS	Federal Protective Service
FPwEPA	See "Fixed-price with economic price adjustment contract"
FR	Federal Register
FRAD	Frame Relay Assembler/Dissembler
Framework	A structure for content or process that can be used as a tool to structure the thinking, ensuring consistency and completeness.
FRC	Federal Resource Coordinator
FRD	Financial Review Determination
Free on board	This term is used in conjunction with a physical point to determine—(1) The responsibility and basis for payment of freight charges; and (2) Unless otherwise agreed, the point where title for goods passes to the buyer or consignee.
Free on board at destination	The seller or consignor delivers the goods on seller's or consignor's conveyance at destination. Unless the contract provides otherwise, the seller or consignor is responsible for the cost of shipping and risk of loss. On board destination – the contractor must pay to ship or deliver the item.
Free on board at origin	The seller or consignor places the goods on the conveyance. Unless the contract provides otherwise, the buyer or consignee is responsible for the cost of shipping and risk of loss.
Freedom of Information Act	The Freedom of Information Act represents the implementation of freedom of information legislation in the United States. This act allows for the full or partial disclosure of previously unreleased information and documents controlled by the United States Government. The Act defines agency records subject to disclosure, outlines mandatory disclosure procedures and grants nine exemptions to the statute.
FRERP	Federal Radiological Emergency Response Plan
FRGRA	Fuel-Related General Rate Adjustment
FRP	Federal Response Plan
FRPAG	Federal Real Property Advisory Group
FRS	Frame Relay Service
FS	Forest Service
FSC	Federal Supply Code (4-different codes for various awards)
FSC	Financial Services Center
FSC	Federal Supply Classification
FSC	Federal Supply Class
FSCAP	Flight Safety Critical Aircraft Parts
FSG	Federal Supply Group
FSIO	Financial Systems Integration Office
FSN	Fiscal Station Number
FSRS	FFATA Subaward Reporting System
FSS	Federal Supply Service (combined with Federal Technology Service to become Federal Acquisition Service - FSS))
FSS	Federal Supply Schedule; see also "GSA Multiple Award Schedule Contracts"
FSS-19	Federal Supply Service Automated Supply System
FSSI	Federal Strategic Sourcing Initiative
FSSIS	Federal Supply Service Information Systems
FSSOnline	A client-server application component of the FSS-19 suite of programs and applications
FSSOnline/CS	FSSOnline Client Server. See above
FTP	File Transfer Protocol
FTR	Federal Travel Regulation
FTS	Federal Technology Service (combined with Federal Supply Service to become Federal Acquisition Service - FSS)
FTS2000	Federal Telecommunications System 2000
Full and open competition	All responsible sources are permitted to compete for a contract award.
FWS	Federal Wage System
FWTS	Federal Wireless Telecommunications Service
FY	Fiscal year
GAO	See "Government Accountability Office"
Gap	A statement of difference between two states. Used in the context of gap analysis, where the difference between the Baseline and Target Architecture is identiﬁed.
GBL	Government Bill of Lading
GBLOC	Government Bill of Lading Office Code
GCTC	Government Contractor-issued Travel Card
GDR	Government Designated Representative
GEAR	GSA Enterprise Architecture Analytics and Reporting
GEBAT	Government Excess Baggage Authorization Ticket
GECO 3	GSA Enhanced Check-out
General market conditions	General market conditions that result in price differences include changes in the level of competition that can affect offeror pricing strategies. If competition decreases from historical levels, firms typically will be less concerned about the threat of price competition. If the level of competition increases, firms will be more concerned.
General Services Administration	The General Services Administration is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1949 to help manage and support the basic functioning of federal agencies. The GSA supplies products and communications for U.S. government offices, provides transportation and office space to federal employees, and develops government-wide cost-minimizing policies, among other management tasks. Its stated mission is to help federal agencies better serve the public by offering, at best value, superior workplaces, expert solutions, acquisition services and management policies.
GETA	Government Employees Training Act
GETS	Government Emergency Telecommunications Service
GFE	Government Furnished Equipment
GFF	Government Furnished Facilities
GFI	See "Government-furnished information"
GFI	Government Furnished Items
GFP	See "Government-furnished property"
GFP	Government Furnished Products
GFPR	Guaranteed Fixed Price Remediation
GGBF	Ground Granulated Blast Furnace
GHG	Greenhouse Gas
GIS	Geographic Information Systems
GL	General Ledger
GLS	GSA Leasing Support Services
GM&A	General Management and Administration
GMC	Government Management Center
GMS	GSA Management Service
GO/CO	Government Owned/Contractor Operated
GOCARE	Government Cargo Recovery Effort
GOS	Grade of Service
GOV	Government Owned Vehicle
Governance	The discipline of monitoring, managing, and steering a business (or IS/IT landscape) to deliver the business outcome required.
Government Accountability Office	The U.S. Government Accountability Office is known as "the investigative arm of Congress" and "the congressional watchdog." GAO supports the Congress in meeting its constitutional responsibilities and helps improve the performance and accountability of the Federal Government for the benefit of the American people.
Government Performance and Results Act	Law requiring agencies to develop a strategic plan that contains a mission statement for the agency and specific, measurable, performance-based requirements. This act also requires agencies to submit annual performance reports that outline the agency's success in meeting performance goals.
Government Printing Office	The U.S. Government Printing Office is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal Government. The office prints and provides access to documents produced by and for all three branches of the Federal Government, including the Supreme Court, the Congress, Executive Office of the President, executive departments, and independent agencies. The primary mission of GPO is to make government publications widely available, by gathering, cataloging, providing, and preserving published information in all forms. GPO provides information to the public through GPO Access, which contains searchable databases of government information, and through the Federal Depository Library Program, which is a partnership with hundreds of libraries throughout the country.
Government-furnished information	Information provided by the Federal Government to a contractor during contract performance. The information is considered necessary for performance and could result in a liability to the Federal Government if not provided in a satisfactory manner.
Government-furnished property	Property in the possession of, or directly acquired by, the Government and subsequently furnished to the contractor for performance of a contract. Government-furnished property includes, but is not limited to, spares and property furnished for repair, maintenance, overhaul, or modification. Government-furnished property also includes contractor-acquired property if the contractor-acquired property is a deliverable under a cost contract when accepted by the Government for continued use under the contract.
Governmentwide acquisition contract	A Governmentwide acquisition contract is a convenient procurement contract instrument available to all Federal Government agencies that provides a broad range of equipment, support services and resources for research, development, and operational activities. The agencies using a GWAC to place orders for goods and services normally have to pay a fee for the convenience.
Governmentwide commercial purchase card	A card that is similar in nature to a commercial credit card that is used to make financing and delivery payments for supplies and services. The purchase card is an EFT method and it may be used as a means to meet the requirement to pay by EFT, to the extent that purchase card limits do not preclude such payments.
Governmentwide point of entry	The single point where Government business opportunities greater than $25,000, including synopses of proposed contract actions, solicitations, and associated information, can be accessed electronically by the public. The GPE is located at http://www.fedbizopps.gov.
GPC	See "Governmentwide commercial purchase card"
GPE	See "Governmentwide point of entry"
GPO	See "Government Printing Office"
GPRA	See "Government Performance and Results Act"
GPS	Global Positioning System
GRS	General Records Schedule
GRT	Government Rate Tender
GSA	General Services Administration
GSA Adantage	GSA Advantage!
GSA FM	Financial Management
GSA IST	GSA Inaugural Support Team
GSA IT	General Services Administration Information Technology - an organization within GSA
GSA Multiple Award Schedule Contracts	Indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contracts that are available for use by federal agencies worldwide. GSA awards and administers Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) contracts pursuant to 40 U.S.C. 501, Services for Executive Agencies. Under the MAS Program, GSA enters into government-wide contracts with commercial firms to provide over 11 million commercial supplies and services. GSA contracts are typically of this nature to promote competition, allow a choice among minor product differences and assure availability of the product in times of high demand. Agencies place orders directly with MAS contractors. Interagency agreements are not required when placing orders against MAS contracts. The Economy Act does not apply when placing orders against MAS contracts.
GSA Schedule and Federal Supply Schedule contracts	See "GSA Multiple Award Schedule contracts"
GSA-IT	General Services Administration Information Technology
GSAM	General Services Administration Acquisition Manual
GSAP	GSA Preferred
GSAR	General Services Administration Acquisition Regulation
GSBCA	General Services Board of Contract Appeals
GSF	General Supply Fund
GSII	Government Services Information Infrastructure
GSR	Greater Southwest Region
GSS	General Supplies and Services
GT	Guaranteed Traffic
GTA	Government Travel Account
GTD	GSA Tenant Domain
GTN	Global Transportation Network
GTO	Government Transportation Office
GTPC	Governmentwide Transportation Policy Council
GTR	Government Transportation Request
GTS	Government Travel Services
GWAC	See "Government-wide acquisition contract"
HABS	Historic American Buildings Survey
HAER	Historic American Engineering Record
HAZMAT	Hazardous Materials
HCA	See "Head of the Contracting activity"
HCAM	Human Capital Asset Management
HCI	Historic Conservation and Interpretation, Inc.
HCIC	Hurricane Contracting Information Center
HCMS	Human Capital Management Strategy
Head of contracting activity	The official who has overall responsibility for managing the contracting activity. This is normally a high level position that has broad powers to establish agency policy, appoint Contracting Officers, and make approvals and determinations above the contracting office level.
HEV	Hybrid Electric Vehicle
HFC	Heartland Financial Center
HHG	Household Goods
HHS	Health and Human Services
HID	High Intensity Discharge
Historical data	For purposes of market research, historical data may include relevant acquisition histories and agency-wide past performance file data. In collecting historical data, the COR may find and include information on: (1) Current suppliers of the required products or services; (2) Potential suppliers; (3) Previous procurement strategies, acquisition plans, and lead times; (4) Problems and issues in the award and administration of previous contracts; (5) A contractor's past performance, including: quality of products or services provided; timeliness of performance; cost control; and past performance of key personnel.
Historically underutilized business zone	An area located within one or more qualified census tracts, qualified nonmetropolitan counties, or lands within the external boundaries of an Indian reservation, qualified base closure areas, or redesignated areas, as defined in 13 CFR 126.103.
HLT	Hurricane Liaison Team
HMIRS	Hazardous Material Information Resource System
HPS	Heritage Preservation Services
HPTM	Historic Preservation Team Member
HR	Human Resources
HRIT	Human Resources Information Technology
HS	Human Services
HSOC	Homeland Security Operations Center
HSPD	Homeland Security Presidential Directive
HSSOs	Heads of Services and Staff Offices
HSSO	Heads of Services and Staff Offices
HTML	Hypertext Markup Language
HTOS	Household Goods Tender of Service
HTTP	HyperText Transfer Protocol -- the predominant protocol used by the Internet.
HTTPS	A secure form of the HTTP protocol.
HUBZone	See "Historically underutilized business zone"
HUBZone small business concern	A small business concern that appears on the List of Qualified HUBZone Small Business Concerns maintained by the Small Business Administration (13 CFR 126.103).
HUD	Department of Housing and Urban Development
HVAC	Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
IA	See "Interagency agreement"
IA/RA	Interactive Announcement/Response Arrangement
IAA	Inter Agency Agreement
IaaS	Infrastructure as a Service
IACET	International Association for Continuing Education and Training
IAE	Integrated Acquisition Environment
IAE	Integrated Award Environment
IAE	Integrated Award Environment Divisiion (IQSE)
IAE	Integrated Award Environment Information Technology
IAM	Identity and Access Management
IAP	Incident Action Plan
IAQ	Indoor Air Quality
IBA	Individually Billed Account
IBC	International Building Code
IBR	Integrated baseline review
IC	Office of Corporate IT Services
ICBO	International Conference of Building Officials
ICC	International Code Council
ICD	Interface Control Document
ICE	Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement
ICMA	International City/County Management Association
ICN	Item Control Number
ICPM	Interagency Committee on Property Management
ICR	Income Contingent Repayment
ICS	Incident Command System
ICU	Incident Crisis Unit/Information Coordination Unit
ID	Office of Deputy CIO
ID	Identification
ID3	International Direct Distance Dialing
IDA	International Downtown Association
IDC	Indefinite Delivery Contract
IDIQ	See "Indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract"
IDM	Identity Management
IDP	Individual Development Plans
IDS	Intrusion Detection Systems
IDT	GSA IT office of Digital Infrastructure Technologies
IEBC	International Existing Building Code
IECC	International Energy Conversation Code
IEG	Information Exchange Guide
IES	Illuminating Engineering Society of North America
IFB	Invitation for Bid
IFC	International Fire Code
IFF	Industrial Funding Fee
IFG	Individual and Family Grant
IFMS	Interagency Fleet Management System
IG	Inspector General
IGC	Industry Government Council
IGCE	Independent Government Cost Estimate
IGE	Independent Government Estimate
IGTE	Intra-governmental Transaction Exchange
IIC	Impact Insulation Class
IIP	Indian Incentive Program
IL	Instructional Letter
ILC	Irrevocable Letter of Credit
ILEC	Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier
IMC	Intermediate Metallic Conduit
IMG	Interagency Incident Management Group
IMPAC	International Merchants Purchase Authorization Card
IMT	Incident Management Team
Indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract	A type of contract that provides for an indefinite quantity of supplies or services during a fixed period of time. The legal origin of IDIQ contracts comes from the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), section 16.501(a).
Independent Government cost estimate	The IGCE presents an analysis of a contractor's reasonable and required resources to perform or deliver product on a Federal contact. The IGCE is the projected, anticipated, or probable cost or price of a proposed Federal acquisition or procurement. It serves as a benchmark for establishing price analysis and cost realism. The IGCE is the Government's estimate of the resources and projected cost of the resources a contractor will incur in the performance of a contract. These costs include direct costs; such as labor, supplies, equipment, or transportation and indirect costs; such as labor overhead, material overhead, as well as general and administrative (G&A) expenses, profit or fee. As specified in the FAR Part 10, an IGCE is based on market research. Market research is used to develop the IGCE through canvassing commercial entities with the capabilities to meet a stated requirement. Market research is the basis for evaluation of current prices for the same, or a similar requirement, to be performed under the same conditions. The IGCE may be determined through: GSA schedule prices, catalog prices, market survey, published price lists, historical prices, and detailed analysis.
Independent Government estimate	An estimate made by the Government. This estimate will frequently accompany the purchase request.
Indian	See "Native Americans"
Indian tribe	Any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians, including any Alaska Native Corporation as defined in 13 CFR 124.100 which is recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the U.S. to Indians because of their status as Indians, or which is recognized as such by the State in which such tribe, band, nation, group, or community resides.
Industry	All concerns primarily engaged in similar lines of activity, as listed and described in the Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual.
Information technology	Any equipment, or interconnected system(s) or subsystem(s) of equipment, that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage, analysis, evaluation, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information by the agency.
Informational Website	An Informational Website is intended to represent a non-interactive presentation of information.
INFOSEC	Information Security
INSP/SIN	Introduction of New Services/Products Special Item Number
Inspection	Examining and testing supplies or services to determine whether they conform to contract requirements.
Interagency agreement	Agreements between Federal Government Departments such as Department of Labor, Department of Justice, etc.
Invitation for bid	Used for sealed bidding, the IFB does not contain evaluation criteria. The offeror submits only a price as their proposal and the Government must select the lowest price if the price is considered fair and reasonable and the offeror meets responsibility qualifications. An invitation for bid is an invitation to contractors or equipment suppliers, through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific project to be realized or product or service to be furnished. If not stated otherwise, the contractor or supplier with the lowest bid is awarded the contract, provided that they meet the minimum criteria for the bid. This is in contrast to a request for proposal (RFP), in which case other reasons (technology used, quality, past performance) might cause or allow choice of another offer.
Invoice	A contractor's bill or written request for payment under the contract for supplies delivered or services performed.
IOA	Industrial Operations Analyst
IOC	Initial Operational Capability
IOF	Initial Operational Facility
IOR	Initial Operating Report
IP	Internet Protocol
IP	Innovation Planning - the last sprint of a PI
IPA	Intergovernmental Personnel Act
IPAC	Intra-Governmental Payment and Collection
IPC	International Plumbing Code
IPPRS	International Personal Property Rate Solicitation
IPS	Identity Protection Services
IPS	Intrusion Prevention Systems
IPS	Information Processing System
IPsec	Internet Protocol Security
IPT	Integrated Project Team
IQ	Office of Acquisition IT Services
IRB	Interagency Response Branch
IRB	Investment Review Board
IRC	Internal Revenue Code
IRI	International Risk Insurance
IRM	Information resource management
IRMS	Information Resources Management Service
IRR	Initial Response Resources
IRRC	Interagency Relocation Reform Committee
IRS	Internal Revenue Service
IRS	Internal Revenue System
IS	Office of the Chief Information Security Officer
IS	International System
ISA	Information Sharing Agency
ISA	Interconnection Security Agreement
ISC	Interagency Security Committee
ISDN	Integrated Services Digital Network
ISDNUP	ISDN User Part
ISOD	Information Systems Operation Division
ISP	Internet Service Provider
ISR	Individual Subcontracting Report
ISSM	Information Systems Security Manager
ISSO	Information Systems Security Officer
ISSO/IA	Information System Security Officer/Information Assurance
IST	Incident Support Team
ISTEA	Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
IT	Information Technology
ITC	Information Technology Category
Item	Definition
Iterative Development Process	Occurs at multiple levels of the development process. Conceptionally, it is the development of a system through developing in repeated cycles (iterative) and in smaller portions at a time (incremental), allowing software developers to take advantage of what was learned during development of earlier parts or versions of the system. The term can also refer to the practice of developers to develop small portions of functionality through iterations that increasingly add complexity, building upon the previous iteration, punctuated by deployment and verification of the changes made at each iteration. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iterative_and_incremental_development
ITF	Information Technology Fund
ITM	Information Technology Manager
ITMC	Interagency Travel Management Committee
ITMRA	Information Technology Management Reform Act of 1996
ITMS	Interagency Transportation Management System
ITOMS	Integrated Task Order Management System
ITRA	Income Tax Reimbursement Allowance
ITS	IT Solutions
ITS	FAS Office of Integrated Technology Services
ITSS	Information Technology Solutions Shop
ITSS	Information Technology Solutions System
IVF	Installation Variable File Listing
IWAC	Integrated Workplace Acquisition Center
J&A	Justification and Approval (for other than full and open competition)
JAB	Joint Authorization Board
JAN/SAN	Janitorial and Sanitation Products
JanSan	Janitorial & Sanitation Supplies
JDBC	Java Database Connectivity -- a standard application programming interface (API) for accessing database management systems (DBMS) for applications written in the Java programming language
JFHQ-NCR	Joint Forces Headquarters - National Capital Region
JFMIP	Joint Financial Management Improvement Program
JFO	Joint Field Office
JFTR	Joint Federal Travel Regulations
JMA	John Milner Associates, Inc.
JOC	Joint Operations Center
JOFOC	See "Justification for other than full and open competition"
JSST	Judicial Security Systems Team
JTR	Joint Travel Regulations
Justification and approval for other than full and open competition	An approval required before restricting competition for a Federal Government contract is permitted
Justification for other than full and open competition	See FAR Subpart 6.3—Other Than Full and Open Competition, 6.301 Policy, and 6.302 Circumstances permitting other than full and open competition.
JWOD	Javits Wagner O'Dea Act; see “Ability One”
KB	Knowledge Base
KDP	See "Key decision point"
Key decision point	Also known as a program milestone, a key decision point is a major milestone requiring a decision in the acquisition process.
KM	Knowledge Management
KO	KO is used as the acronym for a Contracting Officer in the Department of Defense. “CO” is the correct acronym for Contracting Officer in the Federal Civilian agencies. See also "Contracting Officer"
KPI	Key Performance Indicators
KT	Knowledge Transfer
Labor-hour contract	Similar to time-and-materials contracts, but materials are not reimbursed (materials are not supplied by the contractor).
LAN	Local Area Network
LANI	Local Access to Network Interface
LAO	Lease Acquisition Officer
LATA	Local Access and Transport Area
Latent defect	A defect that exists at the time of acceptance but cannot be discovered by a reasonable inspection.
LBI	Limited Background Investigation
LCAP	Lease Cost Avoidance Plan
LCC	Life Cycle Cost
LCO	Lease Contracting Officer
LCP	Leasing Certification Program
LDE	Logical Data Environment
LDG	Leasing Desk Guide
LEC	Local Exchange Carrier
LEED	Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LESO	Law Enforcement Security Officer
LFA	Lead Federal Agency
LFRD	Load Resistance Factor
Life cycle cost	An estimating technique, life cycle cost is the total cost of ownership of machinery and equipment, including its cost of acquisition, operation, maintenance, conversion, and/or decommission.
LIMS	Logistics Information Management System
LLL	Leasing Lite Learning
LNO	Liaison Officer
LOA	Line of Accounting
Load Balancing	The distribution of the load over the servers so that the work can be easily done. Due to this, the workload demands can be distributed and managed. There are several advantages of load balancing:fewer chances of the server crash; advanced security; and improvement in overall performance.
LOGWORLD	Logistics Worldwide - Schedule 874 V
LRP	Long Range Plan
LSS	Lean Six Sigma
LSV	Low speed vehicle
LTOP	Lease to Ownership Plan
M&IE	Meals and Incidental Expenses
MA	Mission Assignment
MAA	Metropolitan Area Acquisition
MAC	See "Multi-agency contract"
MAC	Mission Assignment Coordinator
MACs	Multi-Agency Contracts
MAIQ	Multiple Award Indefinite Quantity
MAN	Metropolitan Area Network
Managed Service	A service where operational complexities have been minimized for the consumer of the service and made the responsibility of the service provider. For example, AWS Fargate EKS makes operation (performance, reliability, cost, etc.) of the EKS cluster the responsibility of AWS, where the operation of a classic EC2-based EKS cluster is the responsibility of the service consumer.
Management Directive	A policy directed by high-level management to standardize procedures within an agency.
MARC	Multiple Award Remediation Contracts
Margin pricing	Margin pricing uses unit cost to calculate a price that will provide the desired profit margin. The seller calculates the unit selling price by dividing the estimated unit cost by a margin percentage.
Mark-up pricing	In the mark-up pricing method, price is based on total cost plus a mark-up. The mark-up is a percentage of the total cost. Cost can be either direct or total.
Market competition	In market competition pricing, price is based on reaction to the competition. This approach is often used in homogenous markets with little differentiation in products between companies.
Market research	Collecting and analyzing information about capabilities within the market to satisfy agency needs.
Market skimming	In market skimming, sellers set prices to achieve a high profit on each unit by selling to buyers who are willing to pay a higher price for a product of perceived higher value.
Market-based formula	Market-based = Cost + Perception of value
Market-based pricing	Market-based pricing strategies include: Profit maximization, Market share, Market skimming, Current revenue, Promotional, Demand differential, and Market competition
Market-share pricing	Market-share pricing is based on the assumption that long-run profitability is directly associated with market share. The goal of a seller using this strategy is to dominate the market through market penetration.
MAS	Multiple Award Schedule - a type of contracting vehicle
MAS-NG	Multiple Award Schedules Next Generation
MASS PMO	Multiple Award Schedule Program Management Office
MBDA	Minority Business Development Agency
MBI	Minimum Background Investigation
MCaaS	Managed Content as a Service
MCaaS	A FAS cloud services offering, Multi-tenant Container as a Service (MCaaS) is a cloud-native solution that provides a deployment-ready environment. Its multi-tenancy architecture allows multiple tenants to run, isolated from each other, in the same scalable, resilient, and secure environment. MCaaS tenants receive a pre-configured framework that includes - An inherited security posture and ATO - Reusable components - Tooling to develop and deploy in a repeatable manner - Observability tooling for monitoring and troubleshooting
MCC	Movement Coordination Center
MCMT	Mobilization Center Management Team
MCP	Master Control Program - the operating system used by Unisys ClearPath systems
MCS	Message Control System -- software used to interact remotely with a Mainframe system
MD	See "Management Directive"
Merit Systems Protection Board	The Merit Systems Protection Board is an independent, quasi-judicial agency in the executive branch of the Federal Government that serves as the guardian of Federal merit systems.
MERS	Mobile Emergency Response Support
MFA	Multi-Factor Authentication
MFC	Most Favored Customer
MFT	Multi-Functional Team
MGS	Manufacturer of MGS MCP Web Services (MGSWEB)
MGSWEB	MGS MCP Web Services -- Third-party product for providing Web Services on Unisys MCP
Micro-purchase	An acquisition of supplies or services using simplified acquisition procedures, the aggregate amount of which does not exceed the micro-purchase threshold. See also "Micro-purchase threshold."
Micro-purchase threshold	$3,000 in general, with these exceptions: for acquisitions of construction subject to the Davis- Bacon Act, the threshold is $2,000 per transaction; for acquisitions of services subject to the Service Contract Act, the threshold is $2,500 per transaction; and for acquisitions of supplies or services that, as determined by the head of the Agency, are to be used to support a contingency operation or to facilitate defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack, as described in FAR 13.201(g)(1), except for construction subject to the Davis- Bacon Act (41 U.S.C. 428a): (1) $15,000 in the case of any contract to be awarded and performed, or purchase to be made, inside the United States; and (2) $30,000 in the case of any contract to be awarded and performed, or purchase to be made, outside the United States.
Microservices	Microservices implement what FAS IT might call an architectural macro-pattern. Chief among its characteristics is the encapsulation of system capabilities. A microservice owns its own data; it exposes its own interfaces; it is responsible for its own security, monitoring and reliability. Successful micro-services will display high cohesion (things that belongs together are kept together) and loose coupling (minimized or no interdependencies). Gartner defines a micro-service as, "... a service-oriented application component that is tightly scoped, strongly encapsulated, loosely coupled, independently deployable and independently scalable."
MILSBILLS	Military Standard Billing System
MILSTRIP	Military Standard Requisition and Issue Procedure's
MIPR	Military Interdepartmental Purchase Request
Mission Need Statement	A non-system-specific statement containing operational capability needs and written in broad operational terms. It describes required operational capabilities and constraints to be studied during concept exploration and definition phase of the requirements generation process.
Mission Sector	Identifies the ten business areas of the Federal Government in the Common Approach to EA (FEAF).
MMIS	Marketing Management Information System
MNS	See "Mission Need Statement"
MO	Maximum Order
MOA	Memorandum of Agreement
MOBIS	Mission Oriented Business Integrated Services
MOBIS	Management, Organizational and Business Improvement Services
MOC	MERS Operations Center
Model	A representation of a subject of interest. A model provides a smaller scale, simpliﬁed, and/or abstract representation of the subject matter. A model is constructed as a ‘‘means to an end''. In the context of enterprise architecture, the subject matter is a whole or part of the enterprise and the end is the ability that address the needs of particular stakeholders.
MORRIS	Monthly On-line Records and Reports of Information
MOU	Memorandum of Understanding
MPR	Monthly Progress Review
MPT	See "Micro-purchase threshold"
MRAS	Market Research as a Service
MRC	Management Review Council
MRE	Meals, Ready to Eat
MRG	Minimum Revenue Guarantee
MRO	Maintenance, Repair and Operations Products (FSSI)
MRO	Maintenance, Repair & Operations Supplies
MSC	Management Services Center
MSDS	Material Safety Data Sheet
MSLO	Military Support Liaison Office
MSO	Managed Service Office
MSPB	Merit Systems Protection Board
MSR	Monthly Status Report
MSS	Mobile Satellite Service
MSTR	MicroStrategy
Multi-agency contract	A task-order or delivery-order contract established by one agency for use by Government agencies to obtain supplies and services, consistent with the Economy Act.
Multi-year contracting	Multi-year contracting may be used to acquire known requirements in quantities and total cost not to exceed planned requirements for up to five years, even though the total funds ultimately to be obligated may not be available at the time of award.
Multiple Award Schedule	Contracts awarded by GSA or the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for similar or comparable supplies, or services, established with more than one supplier, at varying prices.
Multiple awards for the same line items	You must award the same line item to more than one contractor to meet requirements for indefinite-quantity supplies or services. This approach allows ordering offices to choose among products and contractors that best meet their needs.
Multiple awards of different line items	Consider making multiple awards of different line items when it is less expensive to purchase components separately rather than as an integrated unit.
MVP	Minimally Viable Product
MWEOC	Mount Weather Emergency Operations Center
NABAS	National Billing Address System
NABC	Native American Business Center
NACI	National Agency Check with Written Inquiries
NADB	National Archeological Database
NAEYC	National Association for the Education of Young Children
NAGPRA	Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
NAICS	North American Industry Classification System
NaK	Sodium-Potassium
NAM	National Account Manager
NAOC	National Airborne Operations Center
NAPA	National Academy of Public Administrators
NARA	National Archives and Records Administration
NASA	National Aeronautics and Space Administration
NASAR	National Association for Search and Rescue
National Institutes of Health	The National Institutes of Health, a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.
Native Americans	American Indians, Eskimos, Aleuts, and Native Hawaiians.
NATO	North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NBC	Nuclear, Biological, or Chemical
NC	Noise Criteria
NC-B	Balanced Noise Criteria
NCAL	National Cataloging Action Log
NCC	National Coordinating Center
NCHC	National Crime History Check
NCI	See "Non-commercial item"
NCMA	National Concrete Masonry Association
NCP	National Contigency Plan; National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contigency Plan
NCPE	National Council for Preservation Education
NCR	National Capital Region
NCS	National Communication System
NCSC	National Customer Service Center
NCSRM	National Communication System Regional Manager
NDAA	National Defense Authorization Act
NDI	See "Nondevelopmental Item"
NDMS	National Disaster Medical System
NEAR	National Electronic Accounting and Reporting
NEBB	National Environmental Balance Bureau
NECR	Northeast and Caribbean Region
NEMIS	National Emergency Management Information System
NEO	New Employee Orientation
NEPA	National Environmental Policy Act
NETW*D	Networked
NETWORX	Telecommunications and networking services and technical solutions available to all federal agencies
NFC	National Furniture Center
NFES	National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutant
NFR	New Feature Request
NHPA	National Historic Preservation Act
NIB	National Industries for the Blind
NIH	See "National Institutes of Health"
NIIN	National Item Identifier Number
NIIS	New Item Introductory Schedule
NILECJ	National Institute of Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice
NIMA	National Imagery and Mapping Agency
NIMS	National Incident Management System
NIOSH	National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
NISH	National Industries for the Severely Handicapped
NIST	National Institute of Standards and Technology
NITCP	National IT Commodity Program
NLT	Not Later Than
NMFS	National Marine Fisheries Service
NNOC	National Network Operations Center
NOAA	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NOL	National Office of Leasing
Non-commercial item	An item that is primarily used for non-commercial use and not generally sold to the general public. Military items such as weapons are the best example.
Nondevelopmental item	A commercial item developed at private expense by a commercial Contractor exclusively for Government use. To be considered a commercial item, and NDI must have been previously sold in large quantities—on a competitive basis—to Federal, state, or local Government agencies.
NOR	Net Operating Results
NPR	National Performance Review
NPSC	National Processing Service Center
NRC	Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NRCA	National Roofing Contractors Association
NRCC	National Response Coordinator Center
NREL	National Renewable Energy Laboratory
NRO	National Records Officer
NRP	National Response Plan
NS/EP	National Security/Emergency Preparedness
NSA	National Security Agency
NSD	Network Services Division
NSN	National Stock Number
NTA	New A&J
NTA1	NEW JARGONS TESTING
NTSB	National Transportation Safety Board
NTT	NFR Triage Team
NUO	National Utilization Officer
NVOAD	National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters
O&M	Operations and Maintenance
OAS	Office of Administrative Services
OASIS	One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services
OC	Object Class
OCA	Office of the Chief Architect
OCAO	Office of the Chief Acquisition Officer
OCC	Operational Control Center
OCD	Operational Capability Demonstrations
OCE	Office of Customer Experience
OCFO	Office of the Chief Financial Officer
OCIA	Office of Congressional and Intergovernmental Affairs
OCIO	Office of the Chief Information Officer
OCM	Office of Communications and Marketing
OCMS	On-Line Contract Management System
OCONUS	Outside the continental United States
OCPO	Office of the Chief Procurement Officer
OCR	Office of Civil Rights
OCS	One Constitution Square
OCSIT	Office of Citizen Services and Innovative Technologies
ODBC	Open Database Connectivity -- a standard application programming interface (API) for accessing database management systems (DBMS)
ODC	Other Direct Cost
OED	Office of Enterprise Development
OEM	Office of Emergency Management
OEP	Occupant Emergency Plan
OERR	Office of Emergency Response & Recovery
OF	Optional Form
OFCO	Office of the Chief Financial Office
Offer	A response to a solicitation that, if accepted, would bind the offeror to perform the resultant contract. Responses to invitations for bids (sealed bidding) are offers called “bids” or “sealed bids”; responses to requests for proposals (negotiation) are offers called “proposals”; however, responses to requests for quotations (simplified acquisition) are “quotations,” not offers. For unsolicited proposals. See FAR Subpart 15.6.
Offeror	Offeror or bidder. A vendor that responds to a Federal Government solicitation.
Office of Federal Procurement Policy	The Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget plays a central role in shaping the policies and practices Federal agencies use to acquire the goods and services they need to carry out their responsibilities. OFPP was established by Congress in 1974 to provide overall direction for government-wide procurement policies, regulations and procedures and to promote economy, efficiency, and effectiveness in acquisition processes.
Office of Management and Budget	OMB's predominant mission is to assist the President in overseeing the preparation of the Federal budget and to supervise its administration in Executive Branch agencies. In helping to formulate the President's spending plans, OMB evaluates the effectiveness of agency programs, policies, and procedures, assesses competing funding demands among agencies, and sets funding priorities. OMB ensures that agency reports, rules, testimony, and proposed legislation are consistent with the President's Budget and with Administration policies. In addition, OMB oversees and coordinates the Administration's procurement, financial management, information, and regulatory policies. In each of these areas, OMB's role is to help improve administrative management, to develop better performance measures and coordinating mechanisms, and to reduce any unnecessary burdens on the public.
Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization	An office within a Federal agency that oversees and monitors agency performance in compliance with the Federal Government policy to award a fair share of contracts to small businesses
OFPP	Office of Federal Procurement Policy
OGC	Office of General Counsel. Generally referred to as the legal office.
OGE	Office of Government Ethics
OGP	Office of Governmentwide Policy, GSA
OHRM	Office of Human Resources Management
OIG	Office of the Inspector General
OIM	Office of Implementation Management
OKR	Objective Key Results / Requirements (Initiatives)
OLM	Order Level Materials
OLU	OnLine University
OMA	Office of Mission Assurance
OMB	Office of Management and Budget
OMIS	Office of Information Integration Management Information System
OMS	Order Management System -- a GSA system used for processing orders; it is out of the scope boundary for this call order.
Online Representation Certification Application	The primary Government repository for contractor submitted representations and certifications required for the conduct of business with the Government.
OPAC	On-Line Payment and Collections System
OPC	Office of Policy & Compliance
OPM	Office of Personnel Management
OPO	Office of Procurement Operations
OPS	One-Way Paging Service
OPS or Ops	Operations
Options	Options give the Government unilateral rights to purchase additional supplies and services and/or extend the term of the contract.
ORCA	Online Representations and Certifications Application
ORS	Offer Registration System
OS	Operating System (e.g. Windows 10, Linux, MacOS, MCP)
OS2	Office Supply Blanket Purchase Agreements 2nd Generation (FSSI)
OS3	Office Supplies Third Generation - a type of requisition channel
OSAI	Office of Safety Act Implementation
OSBU	Office of Small Business Utilization
OSC	On-Scene Commander
OSC	Operational Steering Committee
OSDBU	Office of Small and Disadvantage Business Utilization
OSHA	Occupational Safety and Health Administration
OSM	Office of Systems Management
OSTP	Office of Science and Technology Policy
OTO	One Time Only/Negotiated Rate
OTP	One Time Password
OU	Organization Unit
P.L.	Public Law
P/PM	Project-Program Manager
P3	Prices Paid Portal
PaaS	Platform-as-a-Service
PACT	See "Program Management, Administration, Clerical, and Technical Services"
PAG	Program Advisory Group
PALT	Procurement Acquisition Lead Time
PAP	Policy and Procedure
Parametric estimates	An estimating technique that uses a statistical relationship between historical data and other variables to calculate an estimate for activity parameters, such as scope, cost, budget, and duration. An example for the cost parameter is multiplying the planned quantity of work to be performed by the historical cost per unit to obtain the estimated cost.
Parent System	A set of interdependent business applications forming a larger, logical whole to provide specific capabilities (i.e., Acquisition, Human Relations, Financial Management). The child business applications within the parent system can share similar supporting technologies and can influence one another (directly or indirectly) in order to fulfil the identified business need.
Partial set-aside	You must aside a portion of a solicitation for small business contractors when certain conditions exist. Partial-asides are also a low-risk way to split awards for maintaining multiple sources.
Partial termination	Termination of a part, but not all, of the work that has not been completed and accepted under a contract.
Past performance information	Information concerning an offeror's or contractor's performance on active and physically completed contracts. The major areas of concern are technical, cost, quality, and schedule performance.
Past Performance Information Retrieval System	PPIRS is a web-enabled, enterprise application that provides timely and pertinent contractor past performance information to the Federal acquisition community for use in making source selection decisions.
PAT	Platform Activity Tracker
Patent defect	A defect that could be recognized upon reasonably careful inspection or through the use of ordinary diligence and care.
PBA	Performance-Based Acquisition
PBA/PBC	Performance based acquisition/Performance based services contracting; see also "Performance based acquisition/contracting"
PBC	Public Benefit Conveyances
PBP&E	Profesional Books, Papers, and Equipment
PBS	Public Buildings Service
PBSC	Performance based services contracting; "see also "PBA/PBC"
PBX	Private Branch Exchange
PC	Personal Computer
PCI	Precast Concrete Institute
PCII	See "Protected Critical Infrastructure Information"
PCO	Procuring Contracting Officer
PCR	See "Procurement Center Representative"
PCS	Permanent Change of Station
PD	Position Description
PDA	Preliminary Damage Assessment
PDA	Personal Data Assistant
PDD	Presidential Decision Directive
PDRI	Project Definition Rating Index
PDS	Prospectus Development Study
PDU	Power Distribution Unit
PECI	Portland Energy Conservation, Inc.
PED	Portable Electronic Devices
PEP	See "Price evaluation preference"
PEPCO	Potomac Electric Power Company
Performance based acquisition/contracting	A quality oriented method of monitoring and measuring contractor performance against functional and/or performance requirements of the work statement.
Performance work statement	A statement of work for performance-based acquisitions that describes the required results in clear, specific and objective terms with measurable outcomes
PES	Professional Engineering Services - Schedule 871
PFO	Principal Federal Official
PHS	Public Health Service
PI	Planned Interval
PI	Public Involvement
PI	Program Increment -- SAFe defined timebox within a project, as defined within the Project Management Plan
PIA	Privacy Impact Assessment
PII	Personally Identifiable Information
PIID	Procurement Instrument Identifier
PIO	Publish Information Officer
PIP	Performance Implementation Plan
PIV	(Federal) Personal Identication Verification
PKI	Public Key Infrastructure
Platform	Refers to a capability used to provide a set of common services the enterprise uses to build business applications. Unlike applications, platforms do not support a unique set of business functions: instead the platform is an enabler for supporting all business functions within an enterprise. Within cloud terminology this is often referred to as Platform as a Service (PAAS) or Software as a Service (SaaS).
Playbook	The FAS IT Playbook will evolve to be the source of all approved Plays.
Plays	The FAS IT Playbook will evolve to be the source of all approved Plays. In relation to Cloud Services, a Play is an endorsed, referenceable, and consumable source of guidance providing a path for implementing a specific solution. Each Play will provide the process to implement various FAS Cloud Services. - Description / Use Case / How to implement - Process & Guidelines - Architecture and design patterns - Approvals - Implementation code - Technical guidance - Accessibility - Lessons Learned / Best Practices - Optional Components or Considerations FAS IT Playbook Plays must be endorsed by the Cloud Integrated Shared Services (CISS) and FCS leadership team prior to being published. As new Plays are approved, they will be featured in the ‘Cloud Plays' page of the Playbook. Note: While several FAS modernization teams are adopting and documenting approaches to implementing cloud services, these practices are not considered official FAS-IT Playbook Plays. However, it may prove for other teams to evaluate and leverage these approaches, recognizing they are not considered official FAS-IT Playbook plays.
PM	Program/Project Manager
PMF	Presidential Management Fellow
PMO	Program Management Office
PMO	Property Management Officers
PMO	Product Management Office
PMP	Performance Management Process
PMP	Project Management Plan
PMR	Project Management Record
PMT	Performance Management Tool
PNM	Price Negotiation Memorandums
PNNL	Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
PO	Program Office
PO	Project Officer
PO	Product Owner
PO	Purchase Order
POA	Privately Owned Automobile
POA&M	Plan of Action and Milestones
POC	Point of Contact
POC	Proof of Concept
POP	Procurement Operating Procedure
POP	Period of Performance
PORA	Principal Official Responsible for Acquisition
POTS	Purchase of Telecommunication Services
POV	Privately Owned Vehicle
PP	Pollution Prevention
PPDMS	Personal Property Disposal and Marketing System
PPE	Personal Protective Equipment
PPI	See "Past Performance Information"
PPIRS	Past Performance Information Retrieval System
PPM	Personal Property Management
PPMO	Personal Property Management Office
PPMS	Personal Property Management System
PPS	Project for Public Spaces
PPS	Pre-Purchased Stock
PQDR	Product Quality Deficiency Report
PR	Press Release
PR	Procurement Request
PRC	Price Reduction Clause
Price	The amount of money that a buyer pays a seller for the delivery of a product or the performance of a service
Price analysis	The process of examining and evaluating a proposed price without evaluating its separate cost elements and proposed
Price evaluation preference	The price evaluation preference for HUBZone small business concerns shall be used in acquisitions conducted using full and open competition. PEP is given to offers from HUBZone concerns by adding a 10% factor to all offers that are not exempt from the PEP. The factor of 10 percent shall be applied on a line item basis or to any group of items on which award may be made. Other evaluation factors, such as transportation costs or rent-free use of Government property, shall be added to the offer to establish the base offer before adding the factor of 10 percent. [FAR 19.1307]
Price negotiation memorandum	Documentation completed by the CO stating the principal elements of a negotiated agreement. The memorandum is to be included in the contract file.
Pricing	The process of establishing a reasonable amount or amounts to be paid for supplies or services.
PRIME	Plastics Removal in Marine Environment Program
Procurement	See also "Acquisition." Procurement is a subset of acquisition usually referring to the functions and duties associated with the contracting series (1102) such as Contracting Officer, contract specialist, procurement analyst, price analyst, etc. For example, determining the contract type is a procurement function; awarding the contract is a procurement function; determining contractor responsibility is a procurement function, etc.
Procurement acquisition lead time	The amount of time it takes to award a contract action once the action is received in the procurement office.
Procurement Center Representative	The Small Business Administration representative who assists small businesses in obtaining federal contracts.
Procurement planning	The phase of an acquisition that involves the establishment of processes, timelines and evaluation procedures that result in a contract for the actual purchase of the agency's identified & bona fide need.
Procurement Request	A package of documents containing all necessary funds, approvals, determinations and other information necessary to initiate the acquisition process.
Profit maximization	Profit maximization pricing depends on the relationship between demand and price. It is based on twin assumptions. First, that demand falls as prices rise. And, second, that demand grows as prices fall.
Program Management, Administration, Clerical, and Technical Services	A series of contracts for administrative support that may be used by all DHS agencies.
Progressive awards	Consider dividing the total required quantity of an item among different contractors when there are suppliers who may offer the best price per unit but cannot fulfill the entire requirement.
Promotional	In promotional pricing, individual products are priced to enhance the sales of an overall product line, rather than to assure the profitability of each product.
Proposal analysis	Used to ensure that the final agreed-to-price is fair and reasonable.
Protected Critical Infrastructure Information	The Protected Critical Infrastructure Information Program is an information-protection program that enhances information sharing between the private sector and the Government. The Department of Homeland Security and other Federal, state and local analysts use PCII to analyze and secure critical infrastructure and protected systems, identify vulnerabilities and develop risk assessments, and enhance recovery preparedness measures.
PS	Professional Services
PSC	Product and Service Code
PSI	Potentially Shippable Increment; an abstract collective unit implemented functionality that provides meaningful value to the users/stake-holders
PSS	Physical Security Specialist
PSX	Professional Services Expo
PTA	Presidential Transition Act of 1963
PTA	Privacy Threshold Assessment
PTAC	Procurement Technical Assistance Center
PTST	GSA Presidential Transition Support Team
PTST-O	The Presidential Transition Support Team (Outgoing Administration)
PTT	The Presidential Transition Team (Incoming Administration)
PUB	Publication
Purchase order	When issued by the Government, a purchase order is an offer by the Government to buy supplies or services, including construction and research and development, upon specified terms and conditions, using simplified acquisition procedures.
PWGSC	Public Works and Government Services Canada
PWS	Performance Work Statement
Q&A	Questions and Answers
Q2	Technology Transformation Services
QA	FAS Office of Administration
QA	See "Quality assurance"
QAE	Quality Assurance Evaluator
QAP	Quality Assurance Plan
QASP	Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan
QB	FAS Office of the Controller
QBS	Qualifications-Based Selection
QC	Office of Customer Accounts and Stakeholder Engagement
QC	Quality Control
QC	FAS Office of Customer Accounts and Research (also known as CAR)
QCP	Quality Control Plan
QD1F	Office of Systems Management
QE	Office of 18F
QF	FAS Office of Assisted Acquisition Services (also known as AAS)
QFOB1FC	Office of Assisted Acquisition Services
QH	Office of TTS Investment
QI	FAS Chief Information Officer (also known as CIO)
QM	FAS Office of Travel, Motor Vehicle, and Card Services (also known as TMVCS)
QMCC	Office of Travel, Transportation and Logistics
QN	Office of TTS Acquisition
QO	Office of TTS Operations
QP	FAS Office of Strategy Management
QP	Office of Enterprise Strategy Management
QPC	Quality Partnership Council
QPOF	Office of Enterprise Management
QR	Office of Professional Services & Human Capital Categories
QRS	Quick Response Sprinklers
QS	FAS Office of General Supplies and Services (also known as GSS)
QSI	Quality Step Increase
QT	FAS Office of Integrated Technology Services (also known as ITS)
QT	Office of Information Technology Category
QT1B	Technology Governance and Management Division
QT2CB	The SCRM division w/in ITC
Quality assurance	Quality assurance refers to planned and systematic production processes that provide confidence in a product's suitability for its intended purpose.
Quality assurance plan	A plan to monitor quality processes to assure achievement of quality requirements. The plan is prepared by the contractor.
Quality assurance surveillance plan	A plan prepared by the Government to monitor the contractor and measure performance in attaining the requirements of the work statement. It is developed at the beginning of contract performance.
Quality control plan	A plan prepared by the contractor that details the steps and processes to build quality into a product or service.
QV	FAS Office of Acquisition Management
QV	Office of Policy and Compliance
QV0A	Acquisition Workforce Division
QV0E	Acquisition Policy Division
QV0I	Acquisition Oversight Division
QX	Office of TTS Products and Programs
QY	Office of Presidential Innovation Fellows
R&A	Repairs and Alterations
R&D	See "Research and development"
R&ITH	Rejected and Invalid Transaction Handling
RA	Regional Administrator
RAM	Regional Account Manager
RAMP	Remedial Action Management Program
Rate of return pricing	When using rate of return pricing, the unit selling price is determined by adding the estimated unit cost of a product to a desired profit per unit. The desired unit profit is calculated based on the desired rate of return, the financial investment required to provide the product, and the estimated sales volume.
RC	Regional Commissioner
RC	Room Criteria
RCA	Root Cause Analysis
RCC	Regional Control Center
RCP	Records Center Program
RCRA	Resources Conservation and Recovery Act
RCS	Routing Control System
RD	Regional Director
RDD	Required Delivery Date
READ	Real Estate Acquisition Division
Reasonable	A cost is reasonable if, in its nature and amount, it does not exceed that which would be incurred by a prudent person in the conduct of competitive business. The Contracting Officer has the ultimate responsibility for determining whether a particular cost is reasonable; however, the COR generally has technical experience related to the work that is being performed under the contract and can certainly assist the Contracting Officer in determining reasonableness. Accordingly, to support the Contracting Officer, invoices are routed to the COR for review, with respect to the reasonableness and allocability of costs claimed for reimbursement.
REC	Regional Emergency Coordinator
Records SME	Recordkeeping Subject Matter Expert
Redetermination	The process of changing the initial price of a contract based on events that occur after the contract is awarded. The prices of a firm fixed price contract are considered fair and reasonable for an initial period of the contract but due to external or internal factors, the price will not be considered fair and reasonable for subsequent periods of that contract.
REDI	Regional Emergency Disaster Inventory
REPLO	Regional Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer
Request for information	A request by the Government to obtain market information about a Government requirement.
Request for proposal	A formal request by the Government asking offerors to submit a proposal for a government requirement. RFPs are used in negotiated acquisitions to communicate government requirements to prospective contractors and to solicit proposals. RFPs for competitive acquisitions describe the: Government's requirement, anticipated terms and conditions that will apply to the contract, information required to be in the offeror's proposal, and evaluation criteria - factors and significant subfactors that will be used to evaluate the proposal and their relative importance, such as technical compliance, experience, and past performance. [FAR 15.203 Requests for proposals]
Request for quotation	RFQs are used by the ordering activity to schedule contractors that offer services that will meet the agency's needs. RFQs include a Statement of Work (SOW) including (1) work to be performed; (2) Location of work; (3) Period of performance; (4) Deliverable schedule; (5) Applicable performance standards; and (6) any special requirements, such as, security clearances, travel, special knowledge. RFQs also include evaluation criteria - factors and significant subfactors that will be used to evaluate the proposal and their relative importance, such as technical compliance, experience, and past performance. [FAR 8.405-2(c) Request for Quotation procedures] See RFP also.
RESC	Regional Emergency Support Coordinator
Research and development	Investigative activities with the intention of making a discovery that can either lead to the development of new products or procedures, or to improvement of existing products or procedures. Research and development is one of the means by which business can experience future growth by developing new products or processes to improve and expand their operations.
Responsiveness	Responsiveness is a determination by the CO that an offer conforms to the material requirements of a sealed bid or solicitation. Responsiveness does not apply to negotiated procurements. To be considered responsive, a bid or offer must be: received, opened, and not rejected at the time and place set forth in the Invitation for Bid, Request for Proposal, or Request for Quotation.
RF	Refused Freight
RFB	Request for Bids
RFC	Request for Comments
RFI	Request for Information
RFO	Request for Offers
RFP	Request For Proposal
RFQ	Request for Quotation
RFS	Request for Services
RGS	Rigid Galvanized Steel
RHPO	Regional Historic Preservation Officer
RI	Routing Indicator
RIF	Reduction-in-Force
RIT	Relocation Income Tax
RITA	Relocation Income Tax Allowance
RLP	Request for Lease Proposals
RMAN	Recovered Materials Advisory Notice
RMASS	Risk Management and Analysis Support Services
Roadmap	An abstracted plan for business or technology change, typically operating across multiple disciplines over multiple years. Normally used in the phrases Technology Roadmap, Architecture Roadmap, etc.
ROADS	Requisitioning, Ordering and Documentation System
ROD	Report of Discrepancy
RoE	Rules of Engagement
ROI	Return on Investment
ROMs	Rough Order of Magnitude
ROW	Rent on the Web
RPA	Robotic(s) Process Automation
RQ	Rate Quote
RQS	Request for Qualification Statements
RR	Receiving Report
RRCC	Regional Response Coordination Center
RRP	Regional Response Plan
RSAP	Requirement Specific Acquisition Platform
RSC	Relocation Services Company
RSS	Remote Storage Site
RSSPSSM	Requirements and Specifications for Special Purpose and Support Space Manual
RST	Regional Support Team
RTE	Release Train Engineer
RTM	Requirements Traceability Matrix
RTO	Responsible Transportation Officer
RWA	Reimbursable Work Authorization
S3	Simple Storage Service -
SAA	Sound Absorption Average
SaaS	Software as a Service
SAB	Sprint Allocated Baseline
SAFe	Scaled Agile Framework
SAG	Sustainability Advisory Group
SAIC	Science Applications International Corporation
SAISO	Senior Agency Information Security Official
SAM	System for Award Management
SAML	Security Assertion Markup Language
SAP	See "Simplified acquisition procedures"
SAPI	Strategy and Action Plan Initiative
SAR	Security Assessment Report
SAS	Single Award Schedule
SASP	State Agencies for Surplus Property
SASy	Sales Automation System
SAT	Simplified Acquisition Threshold
SATCOM	Satellite Communications
SB	Small Business
SBA	Small Business Administration
SBAC	Small Business Advisory Committee
SBCCI	Southern Building Code Congress International, Inc.
SBIR	Small Business Innovative Research Program
SBM	Serena Business Manager
SBOMs	Software Bills of Materials
SBP	Small business programs
SBS	See "Small business specialist"
SBU	Small Business Utilization
SBU	Sensitive But Unclassified
SBUC	Small Business Utilization Center
SC	Sales Center
SC2	Supply Chain Support Cell
SCA	Service Contract Act
SCAP	Security Content Automation Protocol
SCAT	Strategic Campus Action Team
SCC	Security Control Center
SCE	Senior Career Executive
SCF	See "Simplified contract format"
SCM	Source Control Management tool
SCM	Supply Chain Management
SCO	State Coordinating Officer
SCORE	Service Core of Retired Executives
SCR	Silicon-controlled Rectifier
SCR	Service Catalog Request
SCR	Software Change Request
SCRIF	Supply Chain Risk Information Flag
SCRM	Supply Chain Risk Management
SDB	See "Small disadvantaged business concern"
SDD	Stock Direct Delivery
SDEP	Single Digital Entry Point
SDF	Screen Design Facility - a utility used to create UIs for programs on the Unisys ClearPath system
SDL	Service Delivery Lead
SDL	Service Desk Lead
SDM	Service Delivery Manager
SDM	Spatial Data Management
SDP	Service Delivery Point
SDV	Service Disabled Veteran
SDVOSB	Service Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business
SEA	Service Educational Activities
SEC	Securities Exchange Commission
SecDevOps	Security-Development-Operations - a methodology that integrates security and operations expert personnel along with developers into a unified development team
Section 8(a)	Also known as the 8(a) Business Development Program, Section 8(a) authorizes the Small Business Administration (SBA) to enter into all types of contracts with other agencies and let subcontracts for performing those contracts to firms eligible for program participation. The SBA's subcontractors are referred to as “8(a) contractors.”
Senior Procurement Executive	The individual who is responsible for management direction of the acquisition system of the executive agency, including implementation of the unique acquisition policies, regulations, and standards of the executive agency.
Serverless	Serverless is the native architecture of the cloud that enables customers to only be concerned about developing and running software code and shift all of the cloud operational responsibilities to Cloud Service Providers (CSP), improving their own agility and innovation. Serverless offers practically endless scaling, allowing customers to pay only for the resources and services they use. Customers do not need to keep the frontend and database servers running when nothing is happening on their site. Serverless allows customers to build and run applications and services without worrying about servers to manage, software to install, or runtimes to maintain or administer.
Serverless Computing	Serverless computing atomizes pay-for-what-you-use such that instead of paying for machine running hours you pay for individual service calls. Since execution is the responsibility of the service provider, serverless necessarily means that the service provider takes responsibility for operating the systems that host those services. Serverless does not mean that, behind the scenes, there are no servers operating. It does mean that what is in operation behind the service is abstracted (black-boxed) and not the responsibility of the user. AWS offers several services in the serverless category including Fargate for containers, Lambda for functions, API Gateway for RESTful service interfaces, SQS for messaging, S3 for storage and the list goes on. Serverless computing is often conflated with "Lambda functions" but it is more than that. Serverless computing happens whenever the operation of traditional servers is removed from the consumer's responsibilities.
Service	A "service" is fundamentally a "façade" for functionality that is black-boxed (something you don't need to understand) behind it. The term "service" is overloaded and therefore should, for the most part, be qualified. For instance, a "cloud service" would refer to a service offered by a "cloud provider"; API Gateway is a cloud service offered by AWS. "Shared services" are services that the GSA enterprise uses over and over in our solutions; MCaaS is a shared service. A "web service" generally refers to a collection of RPC endpoints that are exposed using the SOAP/XML protocol and a "RESTful service" is similar but instead uses the HTTP protocol and a "resource" paradigm. When discussing a particular architecture, one might talk about "notional services" and "technical services" which have different objectives and are used to communicate different things. In many cases, the terms service, façade, interface and API might be used interchangably, so it's important to qualify to clarify unless the context of the discussion is very strong.
Service	Further describes what the Federal government does at a secondary or component level (FEAF).
Service Contract Act	The Service Contract Act of 1965 requires general contractors and subcontractors performing services on Federal government prime contracts in excess of $2,500 to pay service employees in various classes no less than the wage rates and fringe benefits found prevailing in the locality as determined by Department of Labor, or the rates contained in a predecessor contractor's collective bargaining agreement. This is also known as Prevailing Wage.
Service-disabled veteran	A veteran, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(2), with a disability that is service-connected, as defined in 38 U.S.C. 101(16).
Service-disabled veteran- owned small business concern	An SDVOSB concern is at least 51 percent owned and operated by one or more service-disabled veterans, as defined at 38 U.S.C. 101(2); or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more service-disabled veterans; and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more service-disabled veterans.
SES	AWS Simple Email Service - a service providing application integration to generate emails as well as receive and programmatically process incoming emails.
SF	Standard Form
SFA	Sales Force Automation
SFO	Solicitation for Offers
SFTP	Secure File Transfer Protocol -- a TCP/IP based protocol for handling file transfers between systems, secured by SSL
SHARES	Shared Resources
SHPO	State Historic Preservation Officer
SIC	Standard Industrial Classification
Simplified acquisition procedures	Acquisition procedures for requirements above the micro-purchase threshold of $3,000 and under $100,000 described in FAR Part 13 designed to (a) reduce administrative costs; (b) improve opportunities for small, small disadvantaged, women-owned, veteran-owned, HUBZone, and service-disabled veteran-owned small business concerns to obtain a fair proportion of Government contracts; (c) promote efficiency and economy in contracting; and (d) avoid unnecessary burdens for agencies and contractors. SAP procedures are permitted for commercial items up to $550,000.
Simplified acquisition threshold	$150,000, except for acquisitions of supplies or services that, as determined by the head of the agency, are to be used to support a contingency operation or to facilitate defense against or recovery from nuclear, biological, chemical, or radiological attack (41 U.S.C. 428a), the term means $300,000 for any contract to be awarded and performed, or purchase to be made, inside the United States; and $1 million for any contract to be awarded and performed, or purchase to be made, outside the United States.
Simplified contract format	Format for contracts less than $100,000 in value.
SIN	Special Item Number
SIOA	Supvervisory Industrial Operations Analysts
SIOC	Strategic Information and Operations Center
SIP	Schedule Input Program
SIPOC	Supply-Input-Process-Output-Customer
SIT	System Integration Testing
SITREP	Situation Report
SITSIM	Situation Summary
SLA	Service-Level Agreement
SLAT	Simplified Lease Acquisition Threshold
SLAT	Service Level Agreement
SLO	Service Level Objective
SLP	Site Location Policies
SM	Scrum Master
SMACNA	Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association
Small Business Administration	The Small Business Administration is a United States Government agency that provides support to small businesses. The mission of the SBA is to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses.
Small business concern	A concern, including its affiliates, that is independently owned and operated, not dominant in the field of operation in which it is bidding on Government contracts, and qualified as a small business under the criteria and size standards in 13 CFR part 121 (see 19.102). Such a concern is “not dominant in its field of operation” when it does not exercise a controlling or major influence on a national basis in a kind of business activity in which a number of business concerns are primarily engaged. In determining whether dominance exists, consideration must be given to all appropriate factors, including volume of business, number of employees, financial resources, competitive status or position, ownership or control of materials, processes, patents, license agreements, facilities, sales territory, and nature of business activity. See 15 U.S.C. 632.
Small business specialist	A person who works for a Federal agency and monitors the achievement of socioeconomic goals assigned to the agency.
Small disadvantaged business concern	A small business concern that is at least 51 percent unconditionally owned by one or more individuals who are both socially and economically disadvantaged, or a publicly owned business that has at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals and that has its management and daily business controlled by one or more such individuals. This term also means a small business concern that is at least 51 percent unconditionally owned by an economically disadvantaged Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian Organization, or a publicly owned business that has at least 51 percent of its stock unconditionally owned by one of these entities, that has its management and daily business controlled by members of an economically disadvantaged Indian tribe or Native Hawaiian Organization, and that meets the requirements of 13 CFR 124.
SmartPay	SmartPay
SME	Subject Matter Expert
SN	ServiceNow
SNAP	Significant New Alternatives Policy
SNOW	ServiceNow
SNS	AWS Simple Notification Service - a subscription-publication based messaging framework and service provided by AWS.
SO	Service Order
SOA	Service Oriented Architecture
SOAP	Simple Object Access Protocol -- a simple text and XML-based messaging scheme that usually uses HTTP.
Socially disadvantaged	Socially disadvantaged individuals are individuals who have been subjected to racial or ethnic prejudice or cultural bias because of their identity as a member of a group without regard to their qualities as individuals. See FAR 19.001.
Sole source	A contract for the purchase of supplies or services that is entered into or proposed to be entered into by an agency after soliciting and negotiating with only one source.
Solicitation	Any request to submit offers or quotations to the Government. Solicitations under sealed bid procedures are called “invitations for bids.” Solicitations under negotiated procedures are called “requests for proposals.” Solicitations under simplified acquisition procedures may require submission of either a quotation or an offer.
SOO	Statement of Objective
SOP	Special Order Program
SOP	Standard Operating Procedure
SORN	System of Records Notice(s)
Source selection authority	The SSA is responsible for choosing the offeror whose proposal provides the best value to the Government. The SSA is typically the Contracting Officer, unless otherwise designated by the Head of the Contracting Authority
Source selection evaluation board	The SSEB evaluates proposals from technical, functional, and cost perspectives and provides input to the SSA.
SOW	Statement of Work
SPA	Special Priorities Assistance
SPD	Strategic Partner Delivery
SPE	Senior Procurement Executive
Special Item Number	The types of supplies and services offered under various GSA Schedules are listed according to their Special Item Number (SIN). Many different tasks can be performed under each SIN.
Special provision	Offers are invited on the basis of both FOB origin and FOB destination, and the Government will award on the basis the contracting officer determines to be most advantageous to the Government. An offer on the basis of FOB origin only or FOB destination only is acceptable, but will be evaluated only on the basis submitted.
SPLC	Standard Point Location Code
Split awards	Splitting awards for a line item among two or more contractors is appropriate to maintain competitive sources. The split may be shared on a percentage basis, with the most favorable offer receiving the highest percentage of the requirement.
SPORTS	Sports, Promotional, Outdoor, Recreational, Trophies, and Signs
Sprint	Sprint = Includes Analysis, design, development, testing, QA, documentation, and production of releasable code in a 2-3 week iteration. Estimation method uses Small, Medium, and Large scale for user stories (S, M, L being defined in solution).
SQL	Structured Query Language
SRA	Scientific Review Administrator
SRE	Site Reliability Engineering
SRE	Systems Reliability Engineer
SRO	Standing Route Order
SRO	Senior Records Officer
SRP	Sales Reporting Portal (FAS Vendor Reporting and Payment system)
SSA	Source Selection Authority
SSEB	See "Source selection evaluation board"
SSI	Sensitive security information
SSL	Secure Socket Layer - a technology that works with TCP/IP to secure data transactions between two points
SSO	Single Sign-On
SSP	System Security Plan
SSQ	Schedules Sales Query
SSR	Summary Subcontracting Report
STAR	Strategic Targeted Account Review
STARS	Streamlined Technology Acquisition Resources for Services
Statement of need	A general overview of the circumstances and requirements that initially created the need to acquire supplies or services by contract. This information, compiled by the Program Office, is the technical genesis (i.e., the “what, why, and when” relative to the technical requirements) of the acquisition plan.
Statement of objectives	A Government prepared document incorporated into the solicitation that states the overall performance objectives. It is used in solicitations when the Government intends to provide the maximum flexibility to each offeror to propose an innovative approach.
Statement of work	A document that captures and agrees the work activities, deliverables and timeline that a vendor will execute against in performance of work for a customer.
STC	Sound Transmission Class
STE	Secure Telephone Equipment
STTR	Small Business Technology Transfer Program
STU-III	Secure Telephone Equipment-Third Generation
Subcontractor	A business that performs part or all terms of a contract for, or alongside, a contractor.
Suggested sources list	When the solicitation is not posted as “full and open competition” on Federal Business Opportunities, suggested sources should be included with the procurement package.
SVC	Switched Virtual Circuit
SVS	Switched Voice Service
SWOT	Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
SWS	Solicitation Writing System
System for Award Management	A consolidated procurement system that will combine eight legacy Federal Procurement Systems and the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA). SAM will be developed in stages, starting with Entity Management (CCR/FedReg and ORCA) and the exclusions portion of Performance Information (EPLS). SAM is expected to launch in winter 2012.
T-NUMBERS	T for Transportation Schedule Numbers
T&A	Time and Attendance
T&C	Terms and Conditions
T&E	Travel and Expense
T&M	See "Time-and-materials"
T&T	Travel and Transportation
T3	Train-the-Trainer
TA	Travel Authorization
TAA	Trade Agreement Act
TABB	Testing, Adjusting, and Balancing Bureau
TAC	Transportation Account Code
TAMS	Transportation Audit Management System
TAPS	Temporary Administrative and Professional Staffing Services - Schedule 736
TAR	Test Analysis Report
TAS	Treasury Account Symbol
Task order	An order for services placed against an established contract or with Government sources.
TBC	Total Building Commissioning
TCS	Temporary Change of Station
TD	Transportation Document
TDD/TTY	Telecommunications Device for the Deaf/Teletypewriter
TDL	Technical Delivery Lead (Manager)
TDR	Transactional Data Report
TDR	Transportation Discrepancy Report
TDRS	Transportation, Delivery, and Relocation Solutions - Schedule 48
TDY	Temporary Duty
Technical evaluation group/panel	The group that evaluates the technical portion of competitive proposals.
Technology	A Technology is intended to describe those component parts of Business Applications that work together to deliver a business capability.
TEG	Technology Evaluation Guideline
TEG/TEP	See "Technical evaluation group/panel"
TEMS	Telecommunication Expert Management Services
TEP	Technology Evaluation Process
Termination	(1) "Termination for convenience” means the exercise of the Government's right to completely or partially terminate performance of work under a contract when it is in the Government's interest. (2) “Termination for default” means the exercise of the Government's right to completely or partially terminate a contract because of the contractor's actual or anticipated failure to perform its contractual obligations. (3) “Termination inventory” means any property purchased, supplied, manufactured, furnished, or otherwise acquired for the performance of a contract subsequently terminated and properly allocable to the terminated portion of the contract."
TEST	This is a test
Test Driven Development	Test-driven development refers to a style of programming in which three activities are tightly interwoven: coding, testing (in the form of written unit tests) and design (in the form of refactoring). It can be succinctly described by the following set of rules: - Write a single unit test describing an aspect of the program - Run the test, which should fail because the program lacks that feature - Write just enough code, the simplest possible, to make the test pass - Refactor the code until it conforms to the simplicity criteria - Repeat, accumulating unit tests over time
TFRS	Telework Facility Reimbursement Sheet
TI	Tenant Improvement
Time-and-materials	A contractual arrangement whereby payment is made on the basis of (1) actual hours of direct labor expended, at fixed hourly rates which include all overheads and profit, and (2) actual cost of materials and equipment usage.
Time-and-materials contract	Pay the contractor at a fixed hourly rate for labor performed under the contract. Reimburse the contractor for the allowable actual cost of materials.
TIN	Tax/Taxpayer Identification Number
TINA	See "Truth in Negotiations Act"
TM	Technical Manual
TMC	Travel Management Center
TMF	Technology Management Fund
TMP	Transition Management Plan
TMS	Travel Management System/Travel Management Service
TMSS	Transportation Management Services Solution
TMVCS	FAS Office of Travel Motor Vehicle and Card Services (also known as QM)
TO	Task Order
TOBY	The Office Building of the Year
Tool	Refers to a collection of software which provides an interface to the business user and relays instructions to software that supports and/or performs at least one business function i.e., data entry, data processing, updating, query and reporting for an organization's information systems. An application must have a unique set of supported business functions, responsible POCs (business, technical, organizational), constituent tools/technologies (databases, servers, other software), managed data sets, funding sources, and users. An application's costs should include all infrastructure and planning/project management costs directly associated with that application (FISMA, ATO, security scanning/monitoring, infrastructure/hosting support, change requests, FTE hours).
TOPS	Telecommunications Ordering and Pricing System
TOR	Task Order Request
TOS	Tender of Service
Total net present value	A financial analysis tool. Under the concept, the net present value of a dollar received today is more than the net present value of a dollar paid at the future time, because the holder of the money can collect interest.
TPFDD	Time-Phased Force Deployment Data
TPFDL	Time-Phase Force Deployment List
TPN	Trading Partner Network
TPS	Two-Way Paging Service
TQSE	Temporary Quarters Subsistence Expenses
Transportation Security Administration	The TSA is an agency within DHS consisting of 50,000 security officers, inspectors, directors, and air marshals who protect the nation's transportation systems for safe travel TSA looks for bombs at checkpoints in airports, we inspect rail cars, patrols subways with law enforcement officials, and works to make all modes of transportation safe.
Truth in Negotiations Act	The Truth in Negotiations Act, or TINA, is a law that was enacted to provide for full and fair disclosure by contractors in the conduct of negotiations with the Government. The most significant provision included in TINA is the requirement that contractors submit certified cost or pricing data for negotiated procurements above a defined threshold.
TS	Telecommunications Services
TSA	See "Transportation Security Administration"
TSO	Transportation Service Order
TSP	Transportation Service Provider
TSS	Travel Services Solutions
TTOS	Touchtone Telephone Ordering System
TTS	Technology Transformation Service
TTY	Text Telephone
TV	Television
U-MAS	University of Multiple Awards Schedules Virtual Campus
U.S.	United States
U.S. Coast Guard	The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of seven uniformed services. It is unique among the military branches in that it has a maritime law enforcement mission (with jurisdiction both domestically and in international waters) and a federal regulatory agency mission as part of its mission set. It operates under the Department of Homeland Security during peacetime, and can be transferred to the Department of the Navy by the President or Congress during a time of war. The overall mission of the Coast Guard is to protect the public, the environment, and the United States economic and security interests in any maritime region in which those interests may be at risk, including international waters and United States coasts, ports, and inland waterways.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection	CBP is one of the Department of Homeland Security's largest and most complex components, with a priority mission of keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S. It also has a responsibility for securing and facilitating trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of U.S. regulations, including immigration and drug laws.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement	A federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security , responsible for identifying, investigating, and dismantling vulnerabilities regarding the nation's border, economic, transportation, and infrastructure security. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., ICE is charged with the investigation and enforcement of over 400 federal statutes within the United States, and maintains attaches at major U.S. embassies overseas. Consequently, ICE special agents possess the broadest investigative authority within the United States government.
U.S. Secret Service	A United States federal law enforcement agency that falls under the United States Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. Secret Service has two distinct areas of responsibility: (1) Treasury roles, covering missions such as prevention and investigation of counterfeiting of U.S. currency and U.S. treasury bonds notes and investigation of major fraud and (2) Protective roles, ensuring the safety of national VIPs such as the President, past presidents, vice presidents, presidential candidates, their families, foreign embassies (per an agreement with the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Diplomatic Security (DS) Office of Foreign Missions (OFM)).
U.S. Small Business Act	The authority under which the Small Business Administration (SBA) and agencies consult and cooperate with each other in formulating policies to ensure that small business interests will be recognized and protected.
U.S. Small Business Jobs Act	The Jobs Act amended the Business Opportunity Development Reform Act of 1988 (Public Law 100-656) by repealing the Small Business Competitiveness Demonstration Program. This Federal law extended the SBA loan provisions while offering billions more in lending support, tax cuts, and other opportunities for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
U/D/S	Utilization, Donation, and Sales Programs
U&D	Utilization and Donation Programs
UAT	User Acceptance Testing
UC	Unified Command
UCA	See "Undefinitized contract action"
UCF	See "Uniform contract format"
UCL/LCL	Control Limits demonstrating how processes performs
UFAS	Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards
UFC	Uniform Freight Classification
UI	Unit of Issue
UL	Underwriters Laboratory
Undefinitized contract action	A contracting instrument that does not define the costs and terms before the Contractor begins work.
UNICOR	See "Federal Prison Industries"
Uniform contract format	The standard format of a Government contract valued at over $100,000.
United States Code	The USC is the codification of the general and permanent rules published in the Federal Register by the executive departments and agencies of the Federal Government. It is divided into 50 titles that represent broad areas subject to Federal regulation.
UPS	Uninterruptible Power System
URL	Uniform Resource Locator
US&R	Urban Search and Rescue
USACE	United States Army Corps of Engineers
USAF	United States Air Force
USC	United States Code
USCDG	US Courts Design Guide
USCG	United States Coast Guard
USDA	United States Department of Agriculture
USFS	United States Forest Service
USGCB	United States Government Configuration Baseline
USGS	United States Geological Survey
USL/LSL	Customer's Performance Parameters
USMS	United States Marshall Service
USPHS	United States Public Health Services
USPS	United States Postal Service
USSS	See "U.S. Secret Service"
USSGL	U.S. Standard General Ledger
UST	Underground Storage Tank
VA	Department of Veterans Affairs
Value analysis estimate	A value analysis estimate results from a specialized review of the function of a product and its related price. It may literally involve taking the item apart to determine how it is made and why it costs what it does.
VAR	Value-Added Reseller
VAT	Valid Accounting Transaction
VAV	Variable Air Volume
VCO	Voice Carry Over
VE	Value Engineering
VetBiz	Veterans Online Business Registry
Veteran-owned small business concern	Al VOSB concern is at least 51 percent owned and operated by one or more veterans, as defined at 38 U.S.C. 101(2); or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more veterans; and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more veterans.
VETS	Veteran's Technology Services
VIP	Very Important People
Visual analysis estimate	A visual analysis estimate results from a visual inspection of an item, or drawing of an item, to estimate its probable value.
VITA	Volunteers in Technical Assistance
VITAP	Visual Invoice Tracking and Payment
VITM	DOD Virtual IT Marketplace/ESI BPA Item
VL	Value Lodging
VMAS	Vehicular Multiple Award Schedule
VOC	Volatile Organic Compound
VOC	Voice of the Customer
VOLAG	Voluntary Agency
VOSB	See "Veteran-owned small business concern"
VPC	Virtual Private Cloud
VPCaaS	Virtual Private Cloud as a Service is an extension of an enterprise's network into the cloud. Virtual private clouds are typically layers of isolation within public clouds. These layers may include network security, DNS, connectivity back to the enterprise's network, connectivity to the enterprise's SecTools for security monitoring, cloud service provider's log forwarding to the enterprise's Security, and inter-VPC networking
VRAP	Vendor Risk Assessment Program
VSC	Vendor Support Center
WAMA	Washington Area Music Association
WAN	Wide Area Network
Warranty	Promise or affirmation given by a contractor to the Government regarding the nature, usefulness, or condition of the supplies or performance of services furnished under the contract.
WAWF	Wide Area Workflow
WCW	Worldclass Workforce
WD	Wage Determination
WDC	Wholesale Distribution Center
WDOL	Wages - Department of Labor
WDPDS	Wireless Digital Packet Data Service
WIFCON	Where in Federal Contracting
WIP	Work In Progress
WITS	Washington Interagency Telecommunications System
WL	Wetlands
WM	Waste Management
WMD	Weapon of Mass Destruction
WOB	Woman-owned Business
Women-owned small business concern	A WOSB concern is at least 51 percent owned by one or more women; or, in the case of any publicly owned business, at least 51 percent of the stock of which is owned by one or more women; and whose management and daily business operations are controlled by one or more women; or a small business concern eligible under the Women-Owned Small Business Program in accordance with 13 CFR part 127. See FAR Subpart 19.15.
WOSB	See "Women-owned small business concern"
WPA	Works Progress Administration
WPS	Wireless Priority Services
WQ	National Capital Region in Washington, DC
WTA	Withholding tax allowance
XLP	Cross Linked Polyethylene
XML	eXtensible Markup Language
YCA	Y-Class of Service/Coach, C-Contract, A-Award
ZEF	Zero Environmental Footprint