Acceptance
A contractual event held for each deliverable copy1 of a CI to establish concurrence between supplier and customer that the subject CI meets (or acceptably deviates from) the previously established Acceptance Requirements for its correct manufacture. An acceptance event is associated with each Serial Number or Lot Number, depending on how the item is procured... read more
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
Audit
A formal examination determining the degree to which pre-specified criteria have been met by a purportedly responsive article, design, process or combination thereof. An audit occurs “after the fact”, when the developmental project is claimed to have been completed. Contrast with Review, with which there can be some bureaucratic overlap.
Authentication
A contractual process used to formalize concurrence at PDR by the Acquisition Customer with development requirements allocated to a CI. In effect, it forced the Developer to admit to intended capability for each CI and also (importantly) forced the Acquisition Customer to commit to paying for development if compliance were shown at FCA. More recently,... read more
Certification
The legally binding act of promising large sums of shareholder money and/or loss of personal freedom if what you said was true turned out not to be. Also, the act of accepting such a promise, often on behalf of the tax-paying citizen.
Command Media
A term for the organization-specific collection of process standards we are supposed to know and follow.
Four Rules for Engineers
Don’t lie1. Don’t cheat. Don’t steal. When somebody gives you something stupid to do, get it off your desk as fast as possible. Guidance with respect to Rule 4: Rule 4 does not necessarily mean you have to do the stupid thing. It could mean talking the action owner back onto this planet, or it... read more