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See American Association of Cost Engineers.

Graph (named for Wayne Abba) that is composed of four different indicators showing trends in historic and projected efficiency to date.

See activity-based costing.

See activity-based management.

Maximum number of nonconforming items that can be included in an acceptable lot, usually expressed as a percentage. See also lot.

Risk response strategy that prepares for and deals with the consequences of a risk, either actively (for example, by developing a contingency plan to execute if the risk event occurs) or passively (for example, by accepting a lower profit if some activities run over budget). See also avoidance and mitigation.

Requirements that a project or system must demonstrably meet before customers accept delivery.

Process by which a buyer or end-user determines that the item, product, or service presented for acceptance complies with its specification.

Statistical procedure used in quality control that involves testing a batch of products to determine whether the proportion of units having a particular attribute exceeds a given percentage. Sampling involves three determinations: batch size, sample size, and the maximum number of defects that will be allowed before rejecting the entire batch.

Step-by-step set of instructions for the preparation and operation of the acceptance test, and the evaluation of the acceptance test results.

Applying performance and capability measurements to project deliverables to ensure that they meet specifications and requirements and satisfy the customer.

(1) Total responsibility of an individual for the satisfactory completion of a specific assignment.

(2) State of assuming liability for something of value either through a contract or because of one’s position of responsibility.

See responsibility assignment matrix.

Set period of time, usually one month, in which project costs and revenues are posted for information and analysis.

List of debts owed based on the purchase of services, inventory, supplies, and so on.

List of monies due on current accounts based on the sale of products or services.

Formal recognition granted by a regulatory board to an organization identifying it as being qualified to perform ISO 9000 quality system assessments of other organizations.

Most rigorous and severe form of testing for reliability, maintainability, and other criteria. Term is derived from the fact that gold resists acids that corrode other metals; the “acid test” was used to identify metals purporting to be gold.

Obtaining supplies or services by and for the use of an organization through a purchase or lease, regardless of whether the supplies or services are already in existence or must be created, developed, demonstrated, or evaluated.

System for acquiring project equipment, material, and services in a uniform and orderly fashion and for managing that acquisition process.