Abacus Contract Management Definitions"Parametric analysis" employs equations that describe relationships between cost, schedule, and measurable attributes of systems, hardware, and software. The equations describe how a product's physical, performance, and programmatic characteristics affect its cost and schedule. "Parol evidence rule" is a legal rule that restricts the introduction of oral testimony to change the terms of a written contract. The law presumes that all aspects of the contract and everything that took place prior to the execution of it are incorporated into the written document. "Partial payments" for accepted supplies and services that are only a part of the contract requirements are authorized under 41 U.S.C. 255 and 10 U.S.C. 2307. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-125, Prompt Payment (sic), requires agencies to pay for partial delivery of supplies or partial performance of services unless specifically prohibited by the contract. Although partial payments generally are treated as a method of payment and not as a method of contract financing, using partial payments can assist contractors to participate in Government contracts without, or with minimal, contract financing. When appropriate, contract statements of work and pricing arrangements shall be designed to permit acceptance and payment for discrete portions of the work, as soon as accepted (but see 32.903(f)(2)). "Partial payments" for accepted supplies and services that are only a part of the contract requirements (i.e., partial deliveries) are authorized under 41 U.S.C. 255 and 10 U.S.C. 2307. In accordance with 5 CFR 1315.4(k), agencies must pay for partial delivery of supplies or partial performance of services unless specifically prohibited by the contract. Although payments for partial deliveries generally are treated as a method of payment and not as a method of contract financing, using partial delivery payments can assist contractors to participate in contracts without, or with minimal, contract financing. When appropriate, contract statements of work and pricing arrangements must permit acceptance and payment for discrete portions of the work, as soon as accepted (see 32.906(c)). "Partial termination" means the termination of a part, but not all, of the work that has not been completed and accepted under a contract. "Partial termination" means the termination of a part, but not all, of the work that has not been completed and accepted under a contract. "Participating personally and substantially in a Federal agency
procurement" means-- "Partnering" is Government and Industry committed to working together to achieve a common goal as efficiently and effectively as possible, while maximizing quality and minimizing cost. "Partnering" constitutes a mutual commitment by the parties about how they will interact during the course of the contract with the primary objective of facilitating improved contract performance and goal achievement through enhanced communications. Partnering is a commitment between government and industry to improve communications and avoid disputes. It is accomplished through an informal process with the primary goal of providing the customer with quality weapons, supplies, and services-on time and at a reasonable price. "Past consideration" means value received prior to the present contract -- generally insufficient to support a promise. "Patents" are processes, machines, articles of manufacture, and compositions of matter. "Patent defect" means any defect which exists at the time of acceptance and is not a latent defect. "Patent infringement bond." See "Bond." "Pay-as-you-go cost method" means a method of recognizing pension cost only when benefits are paid to retired employees or their beneficiaries. "Payment." See Intranet Acquisition Lifecycle: Contract Payment. "Payment bond." See "Bond." "Payment date" means the date on which a check for payment is dated or, for an electronic funds transfer, the settlement date. "Payment information" means the payment advice provided by the Government to the contractor that identifies what the payment is for, any computations or adjustments made by the Government, and any information required by the Prompt Payment Act. "PCR" means Procurement Center Representative. "PD2." See Procurement Desktop Defense. "PDF" means "portable document format," a widely used standard developed by Adobe, enabling any document to be viewable and printable without needing the original software used in authoring the document. DjVu is a competing technology developed by LizardTech. "Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard is one of four naval shipyards serving naval forces under the cognizance of the Naval Sea Systems Command. "Penal sum" or "penal amount" means the amount of money specified in a bond (or a percentage of the bid price in a bid bond) as the maximum payment for which the surety is obligated or the amount of security required to be pledged to the Government in lieu of a corporate or individual surety for the bond. "Penalty" does not include restitution, reimbursement, or
compensatory damages. "Pension plan" means a deferred compensation plan established and maintained by one or more employers to provide systematically for the payment of benefits to plan participants after their retirements, provided that the benefits are paid for life or are payable for life at the option of the employees. Additional benefits such as permanent and total disability and death payments, and survivorship payments to beneficiaries of deceased employees, may be an integral part of a pension plan. "Pension plan participant" means any employee or former employee of an employer or any member or former member of an employee organization, who is or may become eligible to receive a benefit from a pension plan which covers employees of such employer or members of such organization who have satisfied the plan's participation requirements, or whose beneficiaries are receiving or may be eligible to receive any such benefit. A participant whose employment status with the employer has not been terminated is an active participant of the employer's pension plan. "PEO" means Program Executive Officer. "People's Republic of China," as used in this provision, means the government of the People's Republic of China, including its political subdivisions, agencies, and instrumentalities. "Performance-based contracting" means structuring all aspects of an acquisition around the purpose of the work to be performed with the contract requirements set forth in clear, specific, and objective terms with measurable outcomes as opposed to either the manner by which the work is to be performed or broad and imprecise statements of work. "Performance-based payments" are contract financing payments made on the basis of-- "Performance bond." See "Bond." "Period of detention" begins with the day of capture and continues until the captured person is returned to the place of employment, the United States, or is able to be returned to the jurisdiction of the United States, or until the person's death is established or legally presumed to have occurred by evidence satisfactory to the Contracting Officer, whichever occurs first. "Person" means any natural person, corporation, partnership, unincorporated association, State or local government, and any agency, instrumentality, or subdivision of such a government. "Person" means a corporation, partnership, business association of any kind, trust, joint-stock company, or individual. "Person," as used in this section, means an individual,
corporation, company, association, authority, firm, partnership, society, State, and local government, regardless of whether such entity is operated for profit or not for profit. This term excludes an Indian tribe, tribal organization, or any other Indian organization with respect to expenditures specifically permitted by other Federal law. "Personal property," as used in this subpart, means property of any kind or interest in it except real property, records of the Federal Government, and naval vessels of the following categories: battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers, destroyers, and submarines. "Personal services contract" means a contract that, by its express terms or as administered, makes the contractor personnel appear to be, in effect, Government employees (see 37.104). "Personal services contract" is characterized by the employer-employee relationship it creates between the Government and the contractor's personnel. The Government is normally required to obtain its employees by direct hire under competitive appointment or other procedures required by the civil service laws. Obtaining personal services by contract, rather than by direct hire, circumvents those laws unless Congress has specifically authorized acquisition of the services by contract. "Petition" means the pleading by which a law suit is initiated. "Pilot Mentor-Protege Program" established under Section 831 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1991 (Pub. L. 101-510; 10 U.S.C. 2302 note). The purpose of the Program is to provide incentives for DoD contractors to assist small disadvantaged businesses in enhancing their capabilities and to increase participation of such firms in Government and commercial contracts. "Pitch" is the amount of horizontal space used for each character
of fixed-width fonts, often specified in characters per inch. "Plaintiff" means one who institutes a law suit. "Planned item" means any item selected for industrial preparedness planning under the criteria of DoDI 4005.3, Industrial Preparedness Planning. "Planned producer" means an industrial firm which has agreed by either non-binding memorandum of understanding or binding contract/contract clause to provide production capacity data, to maintain existing capacity for a negotiated period of time, and to accept contracts for planned items upon the request of the Government. "Planner" means the designated person or office responsible for
developing and maintaining a written plan, or for the planning function in those acquisitions not requiring a written plan. "Plans and specifications" means drawings, specifications, and other data for and preliminary to the construction. "Plant clearance," as used in this subpart, means all actions relating to the screening, redistribution, and disposal of contractor inventory
from a contractor's plant or work site. The term "contractor's plant" includes a contractor-operated Government facility. "Plant clearance officer," as used in this subpart, means an authorized representative of the contracting officer assigned responsibility for plant clearance. "Plant clearance period," as used in this subpart, means the period beginning on the effective date of contract completion or termination and
ending 90 days (or such longer period as may be agreed to) after receipt by the contracting officer of acceptable inventory schedules for each property classification. The final phase of the plant clearance period means that period after receipt of acceptable inventory schedules. "Plant equipment," as used in this part, means personal property of a capital nature (including equipment, machine tools, test equipment, furniture, vehicles, and accessory and auxiliary items) for use in manufacturing supplies, in performing services, or for any administrative or general plant purpose. It does not include special tooling or special test equipment. "Plant reconversion costs" are those incurred in restoring or rehabilitating the contractor's facilities to approximately the same condition existing immediately before the start of the Government contract, fair wear and tear excepted. Reconversion costs are unallowable except for the cost of removing Government property and the restoration or rehabilitation costs caused by such removal. However, in special circumstances where equity so dictates, additional costs may be allowed to the extent agreed upon before costs are incurred. Care should be exercised to avoid duplication through allowance as contingencies, additional profit or fee, or in other contracts. "PMIC." See "Precious Metals Indicator Code." "Point" is a unit of measurement, often used to measure type
size, equal to 0.013837 inch (approximately equal to 1/72"). "Pollution prevention" means any practice that-- "Polygraph Protection Act." See "Employee Polygraph Protection Act." "Pool," as used in this subpart, means a group of concerns (see 19.001) that have-- "Portsmouth Naval Shipyard" is one of four naval shipyards serving naval forces under the cognizance of the Naval Sea Systems Command. "Positions that will be filled from within the Contractor's organization" means employment openings for which the Contractor will give no consideration to persons outside the Contractor's organization (including any affiliates, subsidiaries, and parent companies) and includes any openings the Contractor proposes to fill from regularly established "recall" lists. The exception does not apply to a particular opening once an employer decides to consider applicants outside of its organization. "Possessions," as used in the phrase "United States or its possessions," includes Puerto Rico. "Possessions" includes the Virgin Islands, Johnston Island, American Samoa, Guam, Wake Island, Midway Island, and the Guano Islands, but does not include Puerto Rico, leased bases, or trust territories. "Postconsumer material" means a material or finished product that has served its intended use and has been discarded for disposal or recovery, having completed its life as a consumer item. Postconsumer material is a part of the broader category of "recovered material." For paper and paper products, postconsumer material means "postconsumer fiber" defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as-- "Postconsumer material" means a material or finished product that has served its intended use and has been discarded for disposal or recovery,
having completed its life as a consumer item. Postconsumer material is a part of the broader category of "recovered material." "Post-employment restrictions" are covered by 18 U.S.C. 207 and 5 CFR parts 2637 and 2641, that prohibit certain activities by former Government employees, including representation of a contractor before the Government in relation to any contract or other particular matter involving specific parties on which the former employee participated personally and substantially while employed by the Government. Additional restrictions apply to certain senior Government employees and for particular matters under an employee's official responsibility. "Potential offeror." For a discussion on the difference between "potential offeror" and "prospective offeror," see FAC 2001-06, Item III - Definitions for Sealed Bid and Negotiated Procurements, issued 20 Mar 2002, effective 4 Apr 2002. "Power of attorney" means the authority given one person or corporation to act for and obligate another, as specified in the instrument creating the power; in corporate suretyship, an instrument under seal that appoints an attorney-in-fact to act in behalf of a surety company in signing bonds (see also "attorney-in-fact" at 28.001). "Practical application" means to manufacture, in the case of a composition or product; to practice, in the case of a process or method; or to
operate, in the case of a machine or system; and, in each case, under such conditions as to establish that the invention is being utilized and that its benefits are, to the extent permitted by law or Government regulations, available to the public on reasonable terms. "Preaward survey" means an evaluation of a rospective
contractor's capability to perform a proposed contract. "Precedent" means prior rulings in similar cases, used as authority for ruling in the case at the bar. "Precious metals," as used in this subpart, means uncommon and highly valuable metals characterized by their superior resistance to corrosion
and oxidation. Included are silver, gold, and the platinum group metals--platinum, palladium, iridium, osmium, rhodium, and ruthenium. "Precious Metals Indicator Code (PMIC) " means a single-digit, alpha-numeric code assigned to national stock numbered items in the Defense Integrated Data System Total Item Record used to indicate the presence or absence of precious metals in the item. PMICs and the content value of corresponding items are listed in DoD 4100.39-M, Federal Logistics Information System (FLIS) Procedures Manual, Volume 10, Chapter 4, Table 160. "Precontract costs" means costs incurred before the effective date of the contract directly pursuant to the negotiation and in anticipation of the
contract award when such incurrence is necessary to comply with the proposed contract delivery schedule. These costs are allowable to the extent that they would have been allowable if incurred after the date of the contract (see 31.109). "Preponderance of the evidence" means proof by information that, compared with that opposing it, leads to the conclusion that the fact at issue is more probably true than not. "Price" means cost plus any fee or profit applicable to the contract type. "Price analysis" is the process of examining and evaluating a proposed price without evaluating its separate cost elements and proposed profit. "Pricing" means the process of establishing a reasonable amount or amounts to be paid for supplies or services. "Pricing adjustment," as used in paragraph (a) of the clauses entitled "FAR 52.215-11Price Reduction for Defective Cost or Pricing Data--Modifications," "FAR 52.215-12 Subcontractor Cost or Pricing Data," and "FAR 52.215-13 Subcontractor Cost or Pricing Data--Modifications," means the aggregate increases and/or decreases in cost plus applicable profits. "Prima facie case" means evidence sufficient to support a favorable verdict if not rebutted by the other side. "Primary sponsor" means the lead agency responsible for managing, administering, or monitoring overall use of the FFRDC under a multiple sponsorship agreement. "Prime contract" means a contract or contractual action entered into by the United States for the purpose of obtaining supplies, materials, equipment, or services of any kind. "Prime Contractor" means a person who has entered into a prime contract with the United States. "Prime contractor" means any person who holds, or has held, a Government contract subject to E.O. 11246. "Prime contractor" means any person holding a contract with a contracting agency, and, for the purposes of subparts B and C of this part, includes any person who has held a contract subject to the Executive Order. "Prime Contractor employee" means any officer, partner, employee, or agent of a prime contractor. "Prime contractor performance requirements (limitations on subcontracting)." See 13 CFR 125.6. "Printed or copied double-sided," as used in this subpart, means printing or reproducing a document so that information is on both sides of a
sheet of paper. "Privacy Act." See "DoDD 5400.11, Department of Defense Privacy Program, and DoD
5400.11-R, Department of Defense Privacy Program." "Privately owned U.S.-flag commercial vessel" means a vessel-- "Privity of contract" means the relationship between parties to contract. "Proceeding," includes an investigation. "Procurement" (see "acquisition"). "Procurement Integrity." See FAR 3.104 Procurement Integrity; DFARS 203.104 Improper Business Practices and Personal Conflicts of Interest - Safeguards - Procurement Integrity; DoD Directive 5500.7 Standards of Conduct 2 Nov 1994; DOD 5500.7-R Joint Ethics Regulation 6 Aug 1998; Section 27 of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 423) (more commonly referred to as the Procurement Integrity Act); and the Department of Justice Procurement Integrity Act [Departmental] Web Site. "Procurement List" means a list of supplies
(including military resale commodities) and services that the Committee has determined are suitable for purchase by the Government
under the Javits-Wagner-O'Day Act. "Procuring activity." Navy activities with contracting authority in excess of $500,000 may be considered "procuring activities" solely for the purpose of enabling their competition advocate to exercise the approval authority provided by FAR 6.304(a)(2). "Procuring activity" means a component of an executive agency having a significant acquisition function and designated as such by the head of
the agency. Unless agency regulations specify otherwise, the term "procuring activity" is synonymous with "contracting activity." "Production scrap" means material left over from the normal production process that has only remelting or reprocessing value, e.g., textile and metal clippings, borings, and faulty castings and forgings. "Professional and consultant services," as used in this subsection, means those services rendered by persons who are members of a particular profession or possess a special skill and who are not officers or
employees of the contractor. Examples include those services acquired by contractors or subcontractors in order to enhance their legal, economic, financial, or technical positions. Professional and consultant services are generally acquired to obtain information, advice, opinions, alternatives, conclusions, recommendations, training, or direct assistance, such as studies, analyses, evaluations, liaison with Government officials, or other forms of representation. "Professional employee," as used in this subpart, means any person meeting the definition of "employee employed in a bona fide . . . professional capacity" given in 29 CFR part 541. The term embraces members of those professions having a recognized status based upon acquiring professional knowledge through prolonged study. Examples of these professions include accountancy, actuarial computation, architecture, dentistry, engineering, law, medicine, nursing, pharmacy, the sciences (such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and teaching). To be a professional employee, a person must not only be a professional but must be involved essentially in discharging professional duties. "Profit center" means (except for Subparts 31.3 and 31.6) the smallest organizationally independent segment of a company charged by management
with profit and loss responsibilities. "Program Executive Officer (PEO)" is a military or civilian official who has responsibility for directing several major defense acquisition programs and for assigned major system and non-major system acquisition programs. A PEO has no other command or staff responsibilities within the Component, and only reports to and receives guidance and direction from the DoD Component Acquisition Executive. (DoDD 5000.1) "Program Manager" means the individual designated in accordance with criteria established by the appropriate Component Acquisition Executive to manage an acquisition program, and appropriately certified under the provisions of the Defense Workforce Improvement Act. A PM has no other command or staff responsibilities within the Component. (DoDD 5000.1). "Program Research and Development Announcement" is intended to be used when the area of interest is more specialized [than a Broad Agency Announcement] but still has general application and is associated with the needs of a program or programs. It may be appropriate for exploratory research that has general application and is not system specific. "Progress payments," as used in this clause, means payments made before completion of work in progress under a job order. "Progress payments based on costs" are made on the basis of costs incurred by the contractor as work progresses under the contract. This form of contract financing does not include-- "Progress payments based on a percentage or stage of completion"
are authorized by the statutes cited in 32.101. This type of progress payment
may be used as a payment method under agency procedures. Agency procedures must
ensure that payments are commensurate with work accomplished, which meets the
quality standards established under the contract. Furthermore, progress payments
may not exceed 80 percent of the eligible costs of work accomplished on undefinitized contract actions. "Projected average loss" means the estimated long-term average loss per period for periods of comparable exposure to risk of loss. "Projected benefit cost method" means either-- "Proper invoice" means an invoice that meets the minimum standards specified in 32.905(b). "Proper invoice" must include the items listed in the clauses 52.232-25, Prompt Payment (Feb 2002), 52.232-26, Prompt Payment for Fixed-Price Architect-Engineer Contracts (Feb 2002), or 52.232-27, Prompt Payment for Construction Contracts (Feb 2002). Also see other terms and conditions contained in the contract for invoice submission. "Property" means items that fall within one of the generic categories listed in DoD 4140.1-R, DoD Materiel Management Regulation, Chapter 6.2, Exchange or Sale of Nonexcess Personal Property. "Property," as used in this part, means all property, both real and personal. It includes facilities, material, special tooling, special test equipment, and agency-peculiar property. "Property," as used in this clause, includes all of the following described items acquired or produced by the Contractor that are or should be allocable or properly chargeable to this contract under sound and generally accepted accounting principles and practices: "Property administrator," as used in this subpart, means an authorized representative of contracting officer assigned to administer the contract requirements and obligations relating to Government property. "Proposal" means any offer or other submission used as a basis for pricing a contract, contract modification, or termination settlement or for securing payments thereunder. "Proposal modification" is a change made to a proposal before the solicitation's closing date and time, or made in response to an amendment, or
made to correct a mistake at any time before award. "Proposal revision" is a change to a proposal made after the solicitation closing date, at the request of or as allowed by a Contracting Officer as the result of negotiations. "Proscribed information" means- "Prospective offeror." For the difference between "potential offeror" and "prospective offeror," see FAC 2001-06, Item III - Definitions for Sealed Bid and Negotiated Procurements, issued 20 Mar 2002, effective 4 Apr 2002. ''Protection and advocacy services," means services that - "Protest" means a written objection by an interested party to any
of the following: "Provide" means either to furnish, as in Government-furnished
property, or to acquire, as in contractor-acquired property. "Provision or solicitation provision --" means a term or condition used only in solicitations and applying only before contract award. "Provisioned item" means any item selected under provisioning procedures. "Provisioned items order (PIO)" means an undefinitized order issued under a contract which includes the Government's requirements for
provisioned items. (Provisioned items with firm prices are acquired by supplemental agreement or by separate contract.) "Provisioning" means the process of determining and acquiring the range and quantity of spare and repair parts, and support and test equipment required to operate and maintain an end item for an initial period of service. "Provisioning activity" means the organization responsible for selecting and determining requirements for provisioned items. "Provisioning requirements statement" means the contractual document listing the specific provisioning requirements for that contract. The statement normally includes: "Provisioning technical documentation" means the data needed for the identification, selection, determination of initial requirements, and cataloging of support items to be acquired through the provisioning process. It includes such things as provisioning lists and logistics support analysis summaries. Descriptive data such as drawings and photographs are referred to as "supplementary provisioning technical documentation." "PTAC." See Procurement Technical Assistance Center. "Public body" means any State, Territory, or possession of the United States, any political subdivision thereof, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, any agency or instrumentality of any of the foregoing, any Indian tribe, or any agency of the Federal Government. "Public building" or "public work" means building or work, the construction, prosecution, completion, or repair of which, as defined in this
section, is carried on directly by authority of, or with funds of, a Federal agency to serve the interest of the general public regardless of whether title thereof is in a Federal agency. "Public building" means any building owned by the United States that is generally suitable for office or storage space or both for the use of
one or more Federal agencies or mixed ownership corporations, its grounds, approaches, and appurtenances. "Public relations" means all functions and activities dedicated to-- "Public work" [or "public building"] means building or work, the construction, prosecution, completion, or repair of which, as defined in this
section, is carried on directly by authority of, or with funds of, a Federal agency to serve the interest of the general public regardless of whether title thereof is in a Federal agency. "Publication" means-- Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is one of four naval shipyards serving the naval forces under the cognizance of Naval Sea Systems Command. "Purchase card". See "Governmentwide commercial purchase card." "Purchase order," when issued by the Government, means 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. "Purchases" means procurement of off-the-shelf items from the offset recipient. "Purposes other than governmental purposes" means those that are not unique to a government. Need a definition? Clarification? Suggest a new term or definition? |