E2.1.1.  Acquisition Category (ACAT).  Categories established to facilitate decentralized decision-making and execution, and compliance with statutorily imposed requirements. The categories determine the level of review, decision authority, and applicable procedures. DoD 5000.2-R, Part 1, (reference (h)) provides the specific definition for each acquisition category (ACAT I through III).

E2.1.2.  Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD).  The primary goal of an ACTD is to assess the military utility of a significant new capability and to conduct the assessment at a scale size adequate to clearly establish operational utility and system integrity.

E2.1.3.  Approval.  To give formal or official sanction. The formal or official sanction of the identified need described in the requirements documentation.

E2.1.4.  Architectures.  The structure of components, their relationships, and the principles and guidelines governing their design and evolution over time.

E2.1.5.  Assessment (Assess).  The act or result of determining the contribution or disposition of an activity, product, or condition, based on an appraisal of the state of IT and NSS interoperability.

E2.1.6.  C4I Support Plan.  A mechanism to identify and resolve implementation issues related to an acquisition program's C4ISR infrastructure support and IT and NSS interface requirements. It identifies IT and NSS needs, dependencies, and interfaces for programs in all acquisition categories, focusing attention on interoperability, supportability, and sufficiency concerns.

E2.1.7.  Capstone Requirements Document (CRD).  A document that contains capabilities-based requirements that facilitate and guide the development of individual ORDs by providing a common framework and operational concept. It is an oversight tool for overarching requirements for a system-of-systems or family-of-systems.

E2.1.8.  Certification (Certify).  A formal statement of adequacy provided by a responsible Agency attesting that a system has met its interoperability and supportability requirements.

E2.1.9.  Common Operating Environment (COE).  The COE establishes an integrated software infrastructure that facilitates the migration and implementation of functional mission applications and integrated databases across information systems. The COE provides architecture principles, guidelines, and methodologies that assist in the development of mission application software by capitalizing on a thorough, cohesive set of infrastructure support services.

E2.1.10.  Conformance Testing.  Testing the extent to which a system or subsystem adheres to or implements a standard.

E2.1.11.  Defense Agencies.  All agencies and offices of the Department of Defense, including the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Defense Commissary Agency, Defense Contract Audit Agency, Defense Finance and Accounting Service, Defense Information Systems Agency, Defense Intelligence Agency, Defense Legal Services Agency, Defense Logistics Agency, Defense Threat Reduction Agency, Defense Security Cooperation Agency, Defense Security Service, National Imagery and Mapping Agency, National Reconnaissance Office, and National Security Agency.

E2.1.12.  DoD Component.  The Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Military Departments, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Combatant Commands, the Inspector General of the Department of Defense, the Defense Agencies, DoD Field Activities, and all other organizational entities within the Department of Defense.

E2.1.13.  DoD 5000 Series.  Refers collectively to DoD Directive 5000.1, DoD Instruction 5000.2, and DoD 5000.2-R.

E2.1.14.  Electromagnetic Environmental Effects (E3).  The impact of the electromagnetic environment upon the operational capability of military forces, equipment, systems, and platforms. It encompasses all electromagnetic disciplines, including electromagnetic compatibility/electromagnetic interference; electromagnetic vulnerability, electromagnetic pulse; electromagnetic protection; hazards of electromagnetic radiation to personnel, ordnance, and volatile materials; and natural phenomena effects of lightning and p-static.

E2.1.15.  Evaluation (Evaluate).  Measuring or quantifying the value, characteristics, or capabilities of something against established standards, (as in "Test and Evaluation"). The determination of, or act of determining the relative degree to which IT and NSS interoperability is achieved.

E2.1.16.  Family-of-Systems (FoS).  A set or arrangement of independent systems that can be interconnected or related in various ways to provide different capabilities. The mix of systems can be tailored to provide desired capabilities that depend on the situation.

E2.1.17.  Information Assurance (IA).  Information operations that protect and defend information and information systems by ensuring their availability, integrity, authentication, confidentiality, and non-repudiation. This includes providing for restoration of information systems by incorporating protection, detection, and reaction capabilities.

E2.1.18.  Information Exchange Requirements (IERs).  The requirement for information to be passed between and among forces, organizations, or administrative structures concerning ongoing activities. Information exchange requirements identify who exchanges what information with whom, as well as why the information is necessary, and how it will be used.

E2.1.19.  Information Superiority.  The capability to collect, process, and disseminate an uninterrupted flow of information while exploiting or denying an adversary's ability to do the same.

E2.1.20. Information Systems Security (INFOSEC).  The protection of information systems against unauthorized access to or modification of information, whether in storage, processing, or transit, against the denial of service to authorized users, or against the provision of service to unauthorized users. It includes those measures necessary to detect, document, and counter such threats.

E2.1.21. Information Technology (IT).  Any equipment, or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment, that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information by the executive agency. This includes equipment used by a Component directly, or used by a contractor under a contract with the Component, which (i) requires the use of such equipment, or (ii) requires the use, to a significant extent, of such equipment in the performance of a service or the furnishing of a product. The term "IT" also includes computers, ancillary equipment, software, firmware and similar procedures, services (including support services), and related resources. Notwithstanding the above, the term "IT" does not include any equipment that is acquired by a Federal contractor incidental to a Federal contract. The term "IT" includes National Security Systems (NSS).

E2.1.22.  Information Technology Architecture (ITA).  An integrated framework for evolving or maintaining existing information technology and acquiring new information technology to achieve the Agency's strategic goals and information resources management goals.

E2.1.23.  Integrated Architecture.  An architecture consisting of multiple views or perspectives (operational view, systems view, and technical view) that facilitates integration and promotes interoperability across FoS/SoS and compatibility among related mission area architectures.

E2.1.23.1.  The operational architecture view is a description of the tasks and activities, operational elements, and information flows required to accomplish or support a warfighting function.

E2.1.23.2.  The systems architecture view is a description, including graphics, of systems and interconnections providing for, or supporting, warfighting functions.

E2.1.23.3.  The technical architecture view is the minimal set of rules governing the arrangement, interaction, and interdependence of system parts or elements, whose purpose is to ensure that a conformant system satisfies a specified set of requirements.

E2.1.24.  Interoperability.  Interoperability is the ability of systems, units or forces to provide data, information, materiel, and services to and accept the same from other systems, units, or forces and to use the data, information, materiel, and services so exchanged to enable them to operate effectively together. IT and NSS interoperability includes both the technical exchange of information and the end-to-end operational effectiveness of that exchange of information as required for mission accomplishment.

E2.1.25.  Joint Mission Areas (JMAs).  JMAs represent a functional group of joint tasks and activities that share a common purpose and facilitate joint force operation and interoperability. JMAs provide a logical way to organize the JOA and provide the context for defining FoS/SoS relationships sharing a common mission area.

E2.1.26.  Joint Operational Architecture (JOA).  Description of tasks and activities, operational elements, and information flows required to accomplish or support military operations; defines the types and frequency of information exchanged, which tasks and activities are supported by information exchanges, and nature of information exchanges in detail sufficient to ascertain specific interoperability requirements.

E2.1.27.  Joint Systems Architecture (JSA).  The identification and description of all DoD systems and their interconnections necessary to accomplish the tasks and activities described in the Joint Operational Architecture.

E2.1.28.  Joint Technical Architecture (JTA).  The JTA consists of the minimal set of rules governing the arrangement, interaction, and interdependence of system parts or elements, whose purpose is to ensure that a conformant system satisfies a specified set of requirements. The JTA defines the service areas, interfaces, and standards (JTA elements) applicable to all DoD systems, and its adoption is mandated for the management, development, and acquisition of new or modified fielded IT and NSS systems throughout the Department of Defense.

E2.1.29.  Key Performance Parameter (KPP).  Those capabilities or characteristics considered most essential for successful mission accomplishment. Failure to meet a KPP threshold can be cause for the concept or system selection to be reevaluated or the program to be reassessed or terminated. Failure to meet a Capstone Requirements Document KPP threshold can be the cause for the FoS/SoS concept to be reassessed or the contributions of the individual systems to be reassessed.