A glossary of terms and the A-Z of acronyms used in government contracting.
Overview
If you've ever sat in a government contracting meeting and heard a stream of unfamiliar acronyms and industry jargon, you're not alone. From EVMS and IBR to DCAA and BCWP, the GovCon world is filled with specialised terms that can be difficult to keep track of. That's why we've created this glossary: to provide clear, straightforward explanations of the key terms and acronyms used across government contracting.
Glossary of GovCon Terms & Acronyms
0/100
An earned value technique where a task earns zero credit until it is fully finished, at which point it earns 100% of its budgeted value. It's a conservative way to recognize progress only on completion.
50/50
An earned value technique where half of a task's budgeted value is earned when the work starts, and the remaining half is earned when it's completed.
8(a)
A small business set-aside program run by the Small Business Administration that helps socially and economically disadvantaged businesses compete for federal contracts.
ACWP
Actual Cost of Work Performed — the real cost incurred for the work completed on a contract to date, used alongside BCWP and BCWS in earned value management.
BAC
Budget at Completion — the total planned budget for the entire scope of work on a contract or program.
BCWP
Budgeted Cost of Work Performed — also known as earned value, this represents the budgeted value of the work that has actually been completed.
BCWS
Budgeted Cost of Work Scheduled — also known as planned value, this represents the budgeted value of the work that was scheduled to be completed by a given point in time.
CA
Control Account — a management control point where budget, actual cost, and earned value are integrated for a specific scope of work.
CAM
Control Account Manager — the person responsible for managing the budget, schedule, and performance of a specific control account.
CAS
Cost Accounting Standards — a set of rules that ensure uniformity and consistency in how contractors measure, assign, and allocate costs to government contracts.
CBB
Contract Budget Base — the negotiated contract value plus the estimated value of any authorized but unpriced work.
CDRL
Contract Data Requirements List — the compiled list of deliverables a contractor is required to submit to the government under a contract.
CLIN
Contract Line Item Number — a separately identifiable and priced item, product, or service listed within a contract.
CMMC
Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification — a Department of Defense certification framework that verifies a contractor's cybersecurity practices meet required standards for handling sensitive information.
CP
Critical Path — the longest sequence of dependent activities in a project schedule, which determines the shortest possible project duration.
CPI
Cost Performance Index — a metric that measures the cost efficiency of work performed, calculated as earned value divided by actual cost.
CPM
Critical Path Method — a scheduling technique used to analyze the logic and sequence of activities in a project schedule to identify the critical path.
CV
Cost Variance — the difference between earned value and actual cost (BCWP minus ACWP), indicating whether a project is over or under budget.
DCAA
Defense Contract Audit Agency — the federal agency responsible for auditing contractors' accounting systems and practices to ensure compliance with government requirements.
DCMA
Defense Contract Management Agency — the federal agency that oversees contract administration for the Department of Defense and other federal agencies.
DFARS
Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement — a supplement to the FAR that adds defense-specific procurement requirements for contractors working with the Department of Defense.
DUNS
Data Universal Numbering System — a unique business identifier number formerly required for federal contracting registration, now transitioning to the Unique Entity ID (UEI).
EAC
Estimate at Completion — the projected total cost of a project or contract based on performance to date and expected future costs.
EF
Early Finish — the earliest possible date an activity can be completed, based on the project schedule's logic.
ES
Early Start — the earliest possible date an activity can begin, based on the project schedule's logic.
ETC
Estimate to Complete — the projected cost required to finish all remaining work on a contract.
EVM/EVMS
Earned Value Management / Earned Value Management System — a project management methodology (and the system that supports it) that integrates scope, schedule, and cost data to objectively measure program performance.
EVT
Earned Value Technique — a defined method (such as 0/100 or 50/50) for calculating how much earned value credit a task receives as work progresses.
FAR
Federal Acquisition Regulation — the primary set of rules governing how federal agencies purchase goods and services, forming the foundation of government procurement.
FedRAMP
Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program — a government-wide program that standardizes security assessment and authorization for cloud products and services used by federal agencies.
G&A
General and Administrative — indirect business costs, such as executive salaries and overhead, that aren't directly tied to a specific contract but support overall operations.
GSA
General Services Administration — the federal agency that manages government-wide contract vehicles, including GSA Schedule contracts, that simplify procurement for other agencies.
HUBZone
Historically Underutilized Business Zone — a Small Business Administration program that provides federal contracting preferences to businesses located in and employing people from economically distressed areas.
IBR
Integrated Baseline Review — a formal review conducted jointly by the government and contractor to confirm that a program's performance measurement baseline is realistic and achievable.
IMS
Integrated Master Schedule — a comprehensive, time-phased schedule that reflects all the work required to complete a program, integrating tasks across the entire effort.
IPMDAR
Integrated Program Management Data and Analysis Report — the standardized reporting format contractors use to submit earned value and schedule performance data to the government.
LF
Late Finish — the latest date an activity can be completed without delaying the overall project schedule.
LOE
Level of Effort — support-type work that is measured by the passage of time rather than by discrete, measurable output.
LS
Late Start — the latest date an activity can begin without delaying the overall project schedule.
MS
Milestone — a significant point or event in a project schedule, often marking the completion of a major deliverable or decision point.
NAICS
North American Industry Classification System — the coding system used to classify businesses by industry, which determines eligibility for specific government contracts and small business size standards.
NCC
Negotiated Contract Cost — the total agreed-upon cost of a contract as negotiated between the contractor and the government.
NCMA
National Contract Management Association — a professional organization that provides training, certification, and resources for contract management professionals.
NTE
Not to Exceed — a ceiling that establishes the maximum allowable cost or price for a contract or task order.
OBS
Organizational Breakdown Structure — a hierarchical chart that shows how a program's work is organized by the responsible teams or departments.
ODC
Other Direct Costs — project costs beyond labor and materials, such as travel, equipment, or subcontractor expenses, that are billed directly to a contract.
PMB
Performance Measurement Baseline — the time-phased budget plan against which a program's cost and schedule performance is measured.
POC
Point of Contact — the designated individual responsible for managing communication on a specific contract or task.
POP
Period of Performance — the defined timeframe during which work on a contract is authorized to be performed.
QBD
Quantifiable Backup Data — the supporting documentation and rationale used to justify cost and schedule estimates or actuals.
RAM
Responsibility Assignment Matrix — a chart that maps out roles, responsibilities, and accountability across a program's organizational and work breakdown structures.
RFP
Request for Proposal — a formal solicitation document issued by a government agency inviting contractors to submit proposals for a specific requirement.
RIO
Risk, Issues, and Opportunities — a register used to track and manage uncertainties that could affect a program's cost, schedule, or performance.
SAM.gov
System for Award Management — the official U.S. government website where businesses register in order to be eligible to bid on and win federal contracts.
SDVOSB
Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business — a federal contracting designation that provides set-aside opportunities for small businesses owned and controlled by service-disabled veterans.
SOO
Statement of Objectives — a document that describes a program's broad goals and desired outcomes, giving contractors flexibility in how they propose to achieve them.
SOW
Statement of Work — a document that describes the specific deliverables, tasks, and performance standards required under a contract.
SPI
Schedule Performance Index — a metric that measures schedule efficiency, calculated as earned value divided by planned value.
SV
Schedule Variance — the difference between earned value and planned value (BCWP minus BCWS), indicating whether a project is ahead of or behind schedule.
TF
Total Float — the amount of scheduling flexibility available for an activity before it would delay the overall project completion date.
VAC
Variance at Completion — the difference between the budget at completion and the estimate at completion (BAC minus EAC), showing the projected budget over- or under-run.
WBS
Work Breakdown Structure — a hierarchical decomposition of a project's total scope of work into smaller, manageable components.
:format(webp))
:format(webp))
:format(webp))