Literacy — Acronym Decoder

One-line cheat sheet for the acronyms of this discipline. When you see an acronym you do not recognize, check here first — then check the glossary for the full story.

Acronym	Stands for	One-line meaning
8(a)	(Section 8(a) of the Small Business Act)	SBA's business-development program for socially and economically disadvantaged small businesses.
BAA	Broad Agency Announcement	A research solicitation that invites ideas rather than one specific product.
BOE	Basis of Estimate	The written justification behind a cost number in a price.
BPA	Blanket Purchase Agreement	A standing agreement under which agencies place repeated orders.
CAGE	Commercial and Government Entity	Your 5-character DoD/NATO identity code.
CDRL	Contract Data Requirements List	The schedule of data deliverables (reports, manuals) a contract requires.
CPARS	Contractor Performance Assessment Reporting System	The federal registry of how you actually performed on past contracts.
DD-254	DoD Contract Security Classification Specification	The form that passes security-classification rules to contractors.
DFARS	Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement	The DoD rulebook layered on top of the FAR.
FAR	Federal Acquisition Regulation	The rulebook for how the government buys things.
FPDS	Federal Procurement Data System	Where contract award data lives (awards are published here).
GSA	General Services Administration	The agency that runs shared procurement vehicles (Schedules, and more).
HUBZone	Historically Underutilized Business Zone	An SBA program giving preferences to businesses in designated areas.
IDIQ	Indefinite-Delivery / Indefinite-Quantity	A standing contract you win once; the agency places orders against it.
JV	Joint Venture	Two or more firms pursuing a contract as one team or entity.
LPTA	Lowest Price Technically Acceptable	An evaluation where price decides it, once the technical bar is passed.
MAS	Multiple Award Schedule	The modern name for the GSA Schedule program.
NAICS	North American Industry Classification System	The 6-digit code that says what industry you are in.
NOFO	Notice of Funding Opportunity	The grants-world announcement of a funding competition.
OCI	Organizational Conflict of Interest	A bias risk when a firm's other work taints impartiality or gives unfair advantage.
OMB	Office of Management and Budget	The executive office that shapes the federal budget and grants policy.
OTA	Other Transaction Agreement	A fast, flexible agreement shape for prototypes and research.
pWin	Probability of Win	Your disciplined estimate of how likely you are to win a pursuit.
PWS	Performance Work Statement	An outcome-focused description of the work in a performance-based contract.
R&D	Research and Development	The work that SBIR/STTR fund.
RFI	Request for Information	The agency is shopping; no award yet.
RFP	Request for Proposal	The full competition document for a contract buy.
RFQ	Request for Quote	A pricing request, usually for simpler buys.
SAM	System for Award Management	The master federal registry; you register here to receive federal money.
SBA	Small Business Administration	The agency that runs small-business programs and certifications.
SBIR	Small Business Innovation Research	A phased R&D program for small businesses.
SOW	Statement of Work	The description of the actual work in a contract solicitation.
STTR	Small Business Technology Transfer	An R&D program that requires a research-institution partner.
UEI	Unique Entity ID	Your 12-character identity in federal systems (replaced DUNS).
WOSB	Woman-Owned Small Business	A small-business certification with set-aside preferences.
VOSB	Veteran-Owned Small Business	A small-business certification with set-aside preferences.

The framework acronyms (the doctrine's own)

Acronym	Stands for	One-line meaning
ORBITAL	Objective, Resources, Budget, Indicators, Transport, Activities, Logistics	The seven-axis skeleton of a pursuit.
DREAM	Discover, Relate, Empower, Advise, Motivate	How you engage the customer and the mission.
GROWTH	Gauge, Research, Organize, Write, Target, Health	The production arc of a single pursuit.
SPARK	Seek, Play, Apply, Research, Know	The SPARK Learning System's five-move learning method.
C.A.S.E.	Cognitive Acquisition Systems Engineering	The Launchpad discipline for engineering acquisition as a designed system.
A.N.D.R.O.I.D.	(trademarked Launchpad framework name; letter expansion not published in the canon)	The Launchpad "harness" operations framework (M7 The Harness).

The unofficial truth

Acronyms are how this discipline compresses experience into a word. Do not try to memorize all of them at once. Read the doctrine and the modules, and keep this page open; the acronyms will become familiar the way the letters of a keyboard become familiar — without you noticing the learning.