Associate Contractor Agreement (ACA)
A contractual document coordinating the work between two developing organizations both of which are sub-contracting from the same superior organization but otherwise having no direct contractual relationship with respect to the Prime Contract in question. An ACA is developed by concurrence between the two at the direction of their immediate contractual superior which may, or... read more
Integration
In legacy System Engineering, the horizontal and vertical work required to ensure that the various parts of the system worked together through coordinated development of requirements, interfaces, as-designed characteristics, procedures, analyses, and tests. More recently, the relatively simple act of aggregating the various parts into their next higher assemblies.
Interface (I/F)
The abstract partition separating two or more items into individually identifiable things in the minds of the people working on, with, or around them. As a “logical device”, an I/F describes characteristics of the items, including (but not limited to) measures, states, physical characteristics, and functionality, any or all of which can be either coordinated... read more
Interface Control Document (ICD)
A formal document characterizing an interface. As a formal document, the ICD typically exists only when two legally distinct organizations must coordinate on the development of items that must coexist to some degree of interest to a contractual customer shared by both organizations.
Interface Description Document (IDD)
A normative ICD addressing the salient details of the completed design, often referred to in the legacy as a “Part II ICD”.
Interface Requirements Document (IRD)
A prescriptive ICD addressing the requirements for the as-yet-un-designed items. Referred to in the legacy as a “Part I ICD”.
Interface Requirements Specification (IRS)
A type of specification unique to Software Systems Engineering, where the “interface” was originally a component (e.g., a Graphical User Interface), but that has been generalized to combine the concepts of ICD and Specification which were, in the hardware legacy, two completely different things.
Multi-lateral ICD
A type of ICD having addressing characteristics jointly held by more than a single CI. Contrast with unilateral ICD.
Part I Interface Control Document
A legacy term for an Interface Requirements Document.
Part II Interface Control Document
A legacy term for an Interface Description Document.
Unilateral ICD
An ICD that establishes one side of an interface, where the other sides have no input (but must necessarily comply). Contrast with multi-lateral ICD.