M ACCOUNT

(OBSOLETE) Prior to Fiscal Year 1991 Unliquidated Obligations under an Appropriation were transferred to (or merged into) an M account at the end of the second full fiscal year following expiration. The M account remained available for the payment of unliquidated obligations charged to various year appropriation accounts. The M account ceased to exist as of 30 September 1993. See Expired Appropriation.

M-DAY

The day on which Mobilization is scheduled to begin.

MACHINE CONTROLLED TIME

That part of a Work Cycle that is entirely controlled by a machine and, therefore, is not influenced by the skill or effort of the worker.

MACHINE ELEMENT

A Work Cycle subdivision that is distinct, describable, and measurable, and, for which, the time is entirely controlled by a machine, and, therefore, not influenced by the skill or effort of the worker.

MACHINE HOUR

Operation equal to that of one machine for one hour.

MACHINE INSTRUCTION

An instruction that a machine can recognize and execute.

MACHINE TOOLS

Those items of Production equipment which are power driven, nonportable machines used for cutting, abrading, grinding, shaping or forming metal.

MAINTAINABILITY

1) A Characteristic of Design and installation which is expressed as the probability that an item will be retained in, or restored to, a specified condition within a given period of time, when the work is performed in accordance with prescribed procedures and resources. 2) The ability of an item to be retained in, or restored to, specified conditions when Maintenance is performed by personnel having specified skill levels, using prescribed procedures and resources, at each prescribed level of maintenance and Repair. 3) The Engineering discipline which assures maintained features are incorporated into the design. See Reliability, Availability and Maintainability.

MAINTAINABILITY ANALYSIS

That portion of the Logistics Support Analysis process relating to the Design Characteristics of an item, that influences its inherent ability to be maintained and supported in accordance with prescribed procedures and resources.

MAINTAINABILITY CHARACTERISTICS

The Design and installation Characteristics which influence Maintenance through the Expenditure of manpower, material, and time.

MAINTAINABILITY PARAMETERS

Quantitative and qualitative features which are specified or assigned in order that an item may be designed to meet defined Maintainability requirements or objectives. Examples of such parameters include Mean Time to Repair, Mean time Between Failures, scheduled Maintenance frequencies, integral Fault Detection, rapid Fault Isolation, and maintenance Manhours per operating hour, etc.

MAINTENANCE

1) All actions necessary for retaining an item in, or restoring it to, a specified condition. 2) All activities intended to keep equipment (hardware) or programs (software) in satisfactory working condition, including tests, measurements, replacements, adjustments, repairs, overhaul, and initial Provisioning of support items. See also Preventive Maintenance and Corrective Maintenance.

MAINTENANCE ACTION

Any one of a number of types of specific Maintenance operations necessary to retain an item in or restore it to a specified condition.

MAINTENANCE CAPABILITY

The Availability of those resources (Facilities, tools, test equipment, drawings, technical publications, maintenance personnel, and spare parts, etc.) required to carry out Maintenance.

MAINTENANCE CAPACITY

A quantitative measure of Maintenance Capability, usually expressed as the amount of Direct Labor Manhours that can be applied, within a specific industrial shop, or other entity, during a forty-hour week.

MAINTENANCE CONCEPT

1) The broad, planned approach to be employed in sustaining a system at a defined level of readiness, or in a specified condition, in support of the operational requirement. 2) A brief statement of the overall concept or policy which will Control the Maintenance Levels and the type of Maintenance Action to be employed for a system or segment thereof. 3) A description of Maintenance considerations and Constraints for a system or equipment under Development. A preliminary maintenance concept is developed and submitted as part of the preliminary system Operational Concept for each alternative solution candidate by the operating command with the assistance of the implementing and supporting commands. The maintenance concept is a major Driver in the Design of the system or equipment and the support planned for it.

MAINTENANCE FACTOR

1) The number of Failures per 100 End Items per year. 2) The number of demands per 100 flying hours.

MAINTENANCE LEVEL(S)

1) The three basic levels of Maintenance (Organizational Level Maintenance, Intermediate Level Maintenance, and Depot Level Maintenance), into which all maintenance activity is divided. The scope of maintenance performed within each level must be commensurate with the personnel, equipment, Technical Data, and Facilities provided. 2) That level at which maintenance is to be accomplished.

MAINTENANCE PLANNING

The process conducted to evolve and establish Maintenance Concepts and Maintenance Requirements for the entire Life Cycle of a material system. Maintenance planning is one of the principal Elements of Integrated Logistics Support, and includes the Development of the maintenance concept, Reliability and Maintainability parameters, Maintenance Level determinations, maintenance requirements, and supply support essential to the adequate and economical support of the system or equipment. Planning becomes more detailed as the system or equipment progresses through the Acquisition Life Cycle. Overall maintenance planning becomes a part of the Government's Integrated Logistic Support Plan (ILSP).

MAINTENANCE PROCEDURE

Any specified sequence of steps prescribed to accomplish a Maintenance activity.

MAINTENANCE RATIO

A measure of the total Maintenance Manpower burden required to maintain a system. The Ratio is expressed as the Cumulative number of Manhours of maintenance expended in Direct Labor during a given period of time, divided by the cumulative number of End Item operating hours during the same time. The maintenance ratio is generally expressed for specific levels of maintenance, and summarized for combined Maintenance Levels. All Maintenance Actions are considered, without regard to their effect on the Availability of the system. The manhours required to repair Components replaced, or to complete daily operational checks are not included in the ratio.

MAINTENANCE REQUIREMENT

A qualitative or numerical value, fixed by the operational and Maintenance Concepts and the system Design, and required by using and supporting organizations in order to maintain an item in a specified condition.

MAINTENANCE RESOURCES

Personnel, materials, tools and equipment, Facilities, Technical Data, and funding provided to carry out the Maintenance mission.

MAJOR ASSEMBLY

1) An item made up of lower level subassemblies. 2) An operation in the construction of a action which joins a number of subassemblies.

MAJOR DEFENSE ACQUISITION PROGRAM (MDAP)

An Acquisition Program, that is not a highly sensitive Classified program (as determined by the Secretary of Defense), and that is designated by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition as a major defense acquisition program, or is estimated by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition to require: (a) an eventual total Expenditure for Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation of more than $200 million in Fiscal Year 1980 Constant Dollars (approximately $300 million in fiscal year 1990 constant dollars); or, (b) an eventual total expenditure for Procurement of more that $1 billion in fiscal year 1980 constant dollars (approximately $1.8 billion in fiscal year 1990 constant dollars).

MAJOR DEFENSE SYSTEM

A combination of Elements that will function together to produce the capabilities required to fulfill a Mission Need, including hardware, equipment, software, or any combination thereof, but excluding construction or other improvements to Real Property. A system is considered to be a major system if it is estimated by the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition to require: (a) an eventual total Expenditure for Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation of more than $75 million in Fiscal Year 1980 Constant Dollars (approximately $115 million in fiscal year 1990 constant dollars); or, (b) an eventual total expenditure for Procurement of more that $300 million in fiscal year 1980 constant dollars (approximately $540 million in fiscal year 1990 constant dollars). See also Major System.

MAJOR MODIFICATION

A Modification which meets the criteria set for an Acquisition Category I or II program, or that is designated as such by the Milestone Decision Authority.

MAJOR SYSTEM

That combination of Elements that will function together to produce the capabilities required to fulfill a Mission Need. The elements may include, for example, hardware, equipment, software, construction, or other improvements or real property. Major system Acquisition programs are those programs that: (a) are directed as fulfilling a critical Agency mission; (b) entail the allocation of relatively large resources; and, (c) warrant special management attention. Additional criteria and relative dollar thresholds for the determination of agency programs to be considered major systems, may be established at the discretion of the agency head. See Major Defense System.

MAKE OR BUY

A determination by management as to which parts, Components, or equipment items will be fabricated (manufactured or "made") by the company and which items will be obtained from outside sources (purchased or "bought").

MAKE OR BUY PLAN

That part of a contractor's written plan for the Development or production of an End Item, which outlines the subsystems, major Components, assemblies, subassemblies, and parts that the contractor intends to manufacture or assemble himself, and those items that the contractor intends to purchase from others. See Make or Buy.

MANAGEMENT

1) A general term to denote central executive direction and Control of a work effort by an individual or organizational entity, that is specifically assigned to accomplish the function and is provided with the appropriate resources. Management consists of those continuing actions of planning, organizing, directing, coordinating, controlling, and evaluating the use of people, money, materials, and Facilities to accomplish missions and tasks. 2) The personnel in supervisory or management positions.

MANAGEMENT AND SUPPORT

One of six Research, Development, Test, and Evaluation Program Categories.

MANAGEMENT AUDIT

A periodic assessment of an organization's managerial planning, organizing, actuating, and controlling compared to what might be the norm for successful operation. Management auditors do not appraise individual performance.

MANAGEMENT INDICATOR

The use of specialized measures to develop an indicator that will relate actual accomplishment to desired level or planned activity. The indicator is frequently expressed as a rate comparing resources consumed per unit of output.

MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM (MIS)

1) An orderly and disciplined accounting and reporting methodology, usually mechanized, which provides for the accurate recording of Data, and the timely extrapolation and transmission of management information used in the decision making process. 2) Techniques, either manual or automated, that make information available to all echelons of Management, for decision making purposes.

MANAGEMENT RESERVE

A portion of the Total Allocated Budget withheld for Management control purposes, rather than designated for the accomplishment of a specific task or set of tasks. Management reserve is not a part of the Performance Measurement Baseline.

MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

1) A set of policies, methods, procedures, and reports having for its objective the orderly, routine, and economic performance of a Business operation or function. 2) A documented method for assisting managers in: (a) defining or stating policy, objectives, or requirements; (b) periodically measuring performance; (c) comparing that performance against stated objectives and requirements; and, (d) taking appropriate action. A Management system may encompass part or all of the above areas, and will require the generation, preparation, maintenance, and/or dissemination of information throughout the organization.

MANHOUR

A unit of work representing the productive effort of one person in one hour. The term manhour is synonymous with the term Labor Hour.

MANMONTH

A unit of work representing the productive effort of one person in one month. The term manmonth is synonymous with the term labor month.

MAN-MACHINE INTERFACE

The degree of Compatibility between the user (individual) and the equipment being used. See Soldier-Machine Interface.

MANPOWER

1) A general term that refers to either Equivalent Labor or Headcount. When specific interpretation is necessary, use of the qualifying definition is required. 2) The total supply of persons available and fitted for completing a specific task or job. Manpower requirements are usually indexed by job lists, slots, or billets, characterized by descriptions of the required people to fill them.

MANPOWER ESTIMATE REPORT (MER)

An Estimate of the number of personnel required to operate, maintain, support, and train for a program, upon full operational Deployment.

MANPOWER SCHEDULING AND LOADING

The effective and Efficient utilization and scheduling of available Manpower according to their skills, to ensure required operations are properly coordinated and executed.

MANUAL CHECKOUT

A CheckOut system which relies completely on manual operation, operator decision, and Evaluation of results.

MANUAL ELEMENT

A distinct describable, and measurable subdivision of a Work Cycle or operation performed by one or more human motions that are not controlled by process or machine.

MANUAL TEST EQUIPMENT

Test equipment that requires operator actions for each task (for example, connection to a signal to be measured, selection for suitable range, or insertion of stimuli).

MANUFACTURING

1) The process of making an item by hand, or especially, by machinery often on a large scale and with division of labor. 2) The effort and Costs expended in the fabrication, Assembly, and functional testing of a product, or End Item. Manufacturing includes all the processes necessary to convert raw material into finished items delivered to a customer's specification. 3) In most companies, a basic Functional Cost Category.

MANUFACTURING ANALYSIS

The review and Evaluation of Assembly and fabrication processes, to determine how effectively and Efficiently a contractor's Manufacturing operations have been planned and accomplished.

MANUFACTURING DATA

Information essential to Manufacturing, including the required performance of special/peculiar/unique manufacturing operations. Manufacturing Data may include techniques, procedures, and processes that describe how a part, parts, or an entire Assembly is manufactured.

MANUFACTURING DIRECT LABOR

Direct Labor performing Manufacturing functions.

MANUFACTURING MANAGEMENT PRODUCTION CAPABILITY REVIEW

A review accomplished by the Government during Source Selection to determine each competing contractor's existing and planned Manufacturing management system and production capacity to meet all known production requirements of the proposed system considering all current firm and projects Business.

MANUFACTURING PLAN

The narrative and descriptive information to define the Schedules, Facilities, Tooling, Fabrication, Assembly, test, personnel, and Capital items required to conduct a Manufacturing operation for a program, project, or product.

MANUFACTURING SPARES

Additional Spares (Components, parts, or subsystems) required to support the Manufacturing process and to guarantee delivery of the Contract quantity.

MANUFACTURING TECHNOLOGY (MANTECH)

Any action which has as its objective: (a) the timely establishment or improvement of the Manufacturing processes, techniques, or equipment required to support current and projected programs; and, (b) the assurance of the Availability to produce, reduce lead time, ensure economic availability of End Items, reduce Costs, increase Efficiency, improve reliability, or to enhance safety and anti-pollution measures.

MANYEAR

A unit of work representing the productive effort of one person in one year. The term manyear is synonymous with the term labor year.

MARKET(PLACE)

1) The Commercial world. 2) The realm of Business, trade, and Economics. 3) The environment in which buyers and sellers bargain to achieve their separate and mutual ends.

MARKET RESEARCH

The process used for collecting and analyzing information about the entire Market available to satisfy the minimum needs to arrive at the most suitable approach to acquiring, distributing, and supporting supplies and services.

MARKET SURVEY

Attempts to ascertain whether other qualified sources capable of satisfying the Government's requirement exist. This testing of the Marketplace may range from written or telephone contacts with knowledgeable federal and non-federal experts regarding similar or duplicate requirements, to the more formal sources-sought announcements in pertinent publications (i.e., technical/scientific journals, or the Commerce Business Daily), and solicitations for information or planning purposes.

MARKET VALUE

The value of anything as computed on the basis of Market quotations, or in the absence of Quotations, the amount which would induce a willing seller to sell and a willing buyer to purchase. See Established Market Price.

MARKING

Numbers, Nomenclature, or symbols stamped, painted on, or otherwise affixed to, items or containers for identification.

MARKUP

A line-by-line review and approval, disapproval, or modification of the defense Budget by congressional committees.

MASTER EQUIPMENT LIST (MEL)

Lists of equipment and End Items required to conduct a program and satisfy a Contract. The list covers title, quantity, type of use, Make or Buy, and Government versus customer furnished, etc.

MASTER SCHEDULE

The master phasing Schedule for a program or project, showing key Milestones and critical tasks.

MATCHED PARTS

Those parts, such as special application parts, which are machine matched or otherwise mated, and for which replacement as a matched set or pair is essential. See also Matched Set.

MATCHED SET

A group of two or more separate Components that function together in a single system and are normally removed, repaired, checked, adjusted, calibrated, and installed together. Replacement of a single component of a matched set normally requires check, adjustment, and/or Calibration of the matched set. See also Matched Part.

MATERIAL

1) A general term for raw, crude, partially processed items, or Components, which have not yet been brought into a definite functional shape or Configuration. 2) Property which may be incorporated into or attached to an End Item to be delivered under a Contract, or which may be consumed or expended in the performance of a contract. Material includes, but is not limited to, raw and processed material, parts, Components, assemblies, fuels and lubricants, and small tools and supplies which may be consumed in normal use during the performance of a contract. 3) As a Cost Element, material consists of raw material, purchased parts and equipment, subcontract items, and outside production items.

MATERIAL FIELDING PLAN (MFP)

A plan to ensure the smooth transition of a system from developer to User.

MATERIAL FIELDING AND TRAINING

The action of checking out equipment functions and operator and maintenance personnel training after production and before turnover to Users.

MATERIAL MANAGEMENT

The direction and Control of those aspects of Logistics which deal with Material, including the functions of identification, cataloging, standardization, requirements determination, procurement, inspection, quality control, packaging, storage, distribution, Disposal, maintenance, mobilization planning, industrial readiness planning, and item management classification. Material management encompasses material control, Inventory Control, inventory management, and supply management.

MATERIAL OVERHEAD

The Overhead cost which is attributable to purchasing, receiving, storing, warehousing, delivering, or expediting Materials.

MATERIAL REVIEW BOARD

The formal contractor-Government board established for the purpose of reviewing, evaluating, and disposing of specific non-conforming supplies or services, and for assuring the initiation and accomplishment of corrective action to preclude their recurrence.

MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP

A type of Guarantee extended to customers to cover Defects in the Manufacturing process. See Defect in Material or Workmanship.

MATERIEL

1) Weapons, equipment, supplies, etc., as distinguished from personnel. 2) All tangible items (including ships, tanks, self-propelled weapons, aircraft, etc., and related spares, repair parts, and support equipment; but, excluding real property, installations, and utilities) necessary to equip, operate, maintain, and support military activities, without distinction as to its application for administrative or combat purposes. 3) The organization which procures Materials.

MATERIEL SYSTEM

A final combination of subsystems, Components, parts, and Materials that make up an entity for use in combat or in support thereof, either offensively or defensively, to destroy, injure, defeat, or threaten the enemy. It includes the basic materiel items and all related equipment, supporting Facilities, and services required for operating and maintaining the system.

MATHEMATICAL MODEL

The general characterization of a process or concept, expressed in terms of mathematical equations which enable the manipulation of Variables to be accomplished in order to determine how the process or concept would behave in different situations. See Cost Model and Model.

MATHEMATICAL AND SCIENTIFIC COMPUTATIONS

Applications involving extensive use of mathematics and high order mathematical computations, including Computer Programming and the Design of Mathematical Models.

MATRIX

A rectangular array of numbers or things arranged in rows and columns. Each Variable in a matrix appears in both a row and a column.

MATRIX ORGANIZATION

An Organization combining the advantages of the pure Functional (traditional) Organizational structure and the Product Organizational structure. In a matrix organization, the Program Manager has total responsibility and accountability for program success, while Functional managers provide technical and business assistance to the Program Manager.

MEAN

The Average of a series of quantities or values, specifically, the quotient of their sum divided by the number of items in the series.

MEAN MAINTENANCE TIME

The total Preventive Maintenance and Corrective Maintenance time divided by the total number of preventive and corrective Maintenance Actions during a specified period of time.

MEAN TIME BETWEEN CORRECTIVE ACTIONS

The Mean of the distribution of the time intervals between Corrective Maintenance actions or, groups of actions, required to restore a failed or degraded item to a specified condition.

MEAN TIME BETWEEN FAILURES (MTBF)

For a particular interval, the total functional life of a population of an item divided by the total number of Failures within the population. The definition holds for time, rounds, miles, events, or other measures of life units. MTBF is a basic technical measure of Reliability.

MEAN TIME BETWEEN MAINTENANCE ACTIONS

The Mean of the distribution of the time intervals between Maintenance Actions, or groups of actions, required to restore an item to, or maintain it in, a specified condition.

MEAN TIME BETWEEN REPLACEMENTS

The Average operational time between replacements, either preventative, corrective, or both.

MEAN TIME TO REPAIR (MTTR)

The total elapsed time (clock hours) for Corrective Maintenance divided by the total number of corrective Maintenance Actions during a given period of time. MTTR is a basic technical measure of Maintainability.

MEASURE OF EFFECTIVENESS (MOE)

The quantitative expression (sometimes modified by subjective judgement) of the success of a system in achieving a specified objective.

MEDIAN

The middle value in a distribution, above and below which lie an equal number of values.

MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA)

1) In Contract Administration, an agreement between a Program Manager and a Defense Plant Representative Office, establishing scope of responsibility with respect to the Cost Schedule Control Systems Criteria surveillance functions and objectives, and/or other contract administration functions on a specific Contract or program. 2) Any written agreement in principle, between Government parties, concerning how a program will be administered. See also Memorandum of Understanding.

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU)

Official agreements concluded between the defense ministries of NATO nations and ranking below government-level international treaties. Defacto, such agreements are generally recognized by all partners as binding, even if no legal Claim could be based on the rights and obligations laid down in them. See also Memorandum of Agreement.

METHOD OF PROCUREMENT

The procedures followed to translate requirements into Contracts. The Government uses two major methods of Procurement: (a) formal Bid (Request For Proposal) advertising; and, (b) and Sole Source negotiation.

METHODOLOGY

1) The system of principles and procedures applied in a science or discipline. 2) A term used in Cost Estimating to describe the methods used to develop an Estimate (i.e., detailed, empirical, comparative, statistical, parametric, standards, etc.). See also Cost Estimating Methods, Estimating Techniques, and Estimating Methodology.

METHODS ENGINEERING

A technique that subjects each operation of a given piece of work to close Analysis in order to eliminate every unnecessary Element or operation and in order to approach the quickest and best method of performing each necessary element or operation. It includes the improvement and standardization of methods, equipment, and working conditions, operator training, the determination of standard times, and occasionally devising and administering various incentive plans.

METHODS STUDY

The systematic recording of all activities performed in a job or position of work including Standard Times for the work performed. Work simplification notes are written during the study. See also Methods Engineering.

METRIC SYSTEM

A decimal system of weights and measures. Basic metric units are the meter (39.37") for length and the gem (15.432 grains) for mass and weight.

METROLOGY

The science of the measurement of or determination of conformance to technical requirements, including the development of standards and systems for absolute and relative measurements.

MICROMANAGEMENT

1) The notion, perceived or real, of closely detailed scrutiny of a program or activities by one's superiors in the chain of command, or by Congress. Micromanagement results in second-guessing, reviews, changes, cuts, or detailed justifications in most cases. 2) A Management philosophy or style entailing the usurpation of authority or responsibility.

MIDPOINT

1) A point or position midway between two extremes. 2) The calculated Mean of Cumulative Average hours for the unit numbers assigned to the quantity of units that make up a release or production Lot. 3) In Learning Curve theory the midpoint is the unit number most representative of the Cost per unit for the lot. Normally this is the center unit of the lot, but for first lots the nonlinear effects can require more precise estimation. The cumulative Average midpoint equals the unit number of the unit at which the Cumulative average value would occur. The lot average midpoint equals the unit number of the unit at which the lot average value would occur.

MIDPOINT PRICING

Using a single set of rates that are the Average of a future time period, in lieu of progressively escalated rates to develop an escalated price Estimate.

MILESTONE

1) A date or event which signifies either the start or completion of a task, work item, or activity, and which may be used to measure project or contract performance. 2) The point when a recommendation is made and approval sought regarding starting, continuing, or proceeding to the next phase in the Acquisition Life Cycle. There are five major milestones separating the Acquisition Phases in the program's life. The milestones, which are designated by Roman numeral, are: 0 (Concept Direction), I (Concept Approval), II (Development Approval), III (Production Approval), and IV (Major Upgrade Decision).

MILESTONE BILLING

A plan, schedule, or table of Billing (request for payment) values associated with key Milestones and events.

MILESTONE DECISION AUTHORITY (MDA)

The individual designated to make decisions resulting from Milestone reviews of defense Acquisition Programs. Acquisition Category levels determine the level of the MDA. The MDA for category ID programs is the Under Secretary of Defense For Acquisition. The MDA for category IC and II programs is the DoD Component head or, if delegated, the Component Acquisition Executive. The MDA for category III and IV programs is at the lowest level deemed appropriate by the designation authority.

MILITARY CONSTRUCTION

An Appropriation category provided for the acquisition, construction, installation, and equipping of temporary or permanent public works, military installations, and Facilities for which authorizing legislation is required.

MILITARY EXPORT SALES

All sales of Defense Articles and defense services made by U.S. sources to foreign governments, foreign private firms, and international organizations, whether made by DoD or by U.S. industry directly to the foreign buyer. Such sales fall into two major categories: Foreign Military Sales and direct Commercial Sales.

MILITARY OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENTS

The formal expression of a military need, responses to which result in the Development or acquisition of items, equipments, or systems.

MILITARY PERSONNEL

1) All members of the Armed Services. 2) A DoD Appropriations category which provides funds for the pay, any special Allowances, individual clothing, subsistence, and permanent change of station travel for members of the military service on active duty.

MILITARY PROPERTY

Government-owned property designed for military operations, military property includes End Items and integral Components of military weapons systems, along with the related Peculiar Support Equipment, which is not readily available as a Commercial Item. It does not include Government material, special test equipment, special tooling, or Facilities.

MILITARY SPECIFICATION (MILSPEC)

Documents intended primarily for use in DoD Procurement, which are descriptions of the technical requirements for items, materials, and/or services, including the procedures by which it will be determined that the requirements have been met. Specifications for items and materials also contain preservation, packaging, packing, and marking requirements.

MILITARY STANDARDS (MILSTD)

1) Specifications and requirements documented and approved by DOD for use in the Procurement of systems, equipment, Components, raw materials, and services. 2) An established or accepted level or performance in the Military used as a yardstick in evaluating actual progress. See Standard.

MINIMUM ACCEPTABLE OPERATIONAL REQUIREMENT

The value for a particular Parameter that is required to provide a system Capability that will satisfy the validated Mission Need. This minimum acceptable value is also known as the performance Threshold.

MINIMUM BUY

The purchase of Material in standard bulk quantities, even though the Contract requirement is less than the standard quantity. This is done when price does not increase proportionately for quantities less than the standard quantity.

MINIMUM PRICE

The lowest Price at which a specific surplus item or Lot may be sold. Normally, the minimum price should not be less than the estimated scrap value of the item or lot.

MINIMUM REPLACEABLE UNIT (MRU)

The minimum Assembly quantity required to satisfactorily perform repairs on failed items. For example, in repairing an engine, all six spark plugs or piston rings would be changed instead of just one. The MRU in this case would be six.

MINIMUM REQUIRED ACCOMPLISHMENT(S)

The necessary tasks that must be completed during a phase in the Acquisition Life Cycle prior to the next Milestone decision review. Minimum required accomplishments are applied to programs in all Acquisition Categories.

MISSION

The Objective or task, together with the purpose, which clearly indicates the action to be taken.

MISSION ANALYSIS

A process to determine the Operational Capability of military forces that are required to carry out assigned Missions, roles, and tasks, in the face of the existing and/or postulated threat, with an acceptable degree of risk. Having ascertained the quality and quantity of the military forces required, a comparative assessment is made between those available and those required in order to identify the qualitative and quantitative deficiencies that may be related to the Element of risk involved.

MISSION AREA

1) A segment of the Defense Mission as established by the Secretary of Defense. Each DoD Component has mission areas (for example, the Navy is assigned antisubmarine warfare, while the Army manages ground combat) for which it must equip its forces. 2) A grouping of military activities by mission-related functions.

MISSION AREA ASSESSMENT (MAA)

The process by which warfighting deficiencies are determined, technological opportunities for increased System Effectiveness and/or Cost reduction are assessed, and Mission Needs are identified. MAA, which is also called Mission Area Analysis, overlaps Mission Need Determination.

MISSION CRITICAL COMPUTER RESOURCES (MCCR)

Computer Resources whose function, operation, or use: (a) involves intelligence activities; (b) involves cryptologic activities related to national security; (c) involves command and Control of military forces; (d) involves equipment which is an integral part of a weapon or weapons system; or, (e) is critical to direct fulfillment of military or intelligence Missions.

MISSION CRITICAL SYSTEM

A system whose Operational Effectiveness and Operational Suitability are essential to successful completion or to Aggregate residual combat Capability. If a mission critical system fails, the Mission likely will not be completed. Such a system may be an auxiliary or supporting system, as well as a primary mission system.

MISSION ELEMENT

A segment of a Mission Area critical to the accomplishment of mission area objectives, and corresponding to a recommendation for a major system Capability as determined by a DoD Component.

MISSION EQUIPMENT

Any item which is a functional part of a system or subsystem and is required to perform Mission operations.

MISSION NEED

A statement of Operational Capability required to perform an assigned Mission, or to correct a Deficiency in existing Capability to perform the mission.

MISSION NEED ANALYSIS

An assessment of alternatives in an operational context, identifying what force capabilities would be gained (or foregone) by pursuing any of a designated set of alternatives. The Analysis assesses the strengths and weaknesses of a military force when confronting a postulated threat in a specified scenario or set of circumstances, such as force structures, geographic locations, and environmental conditions.

MISSION NEED DETERMINATION (MND)

The process by which DoD Components determine deficiencies in current capabilities and opportunities to provide new capabilities in terms of Nonmaterial Solutions and/or materiel solutions. If it is determined that a Mission Need exists, this process leads to the development of a Mission Need Statement (MNS).

MISSION NEED STATEMENT (MNS)

A nonsystem specific statement of Operational Capability need, prepared in accordance with DoD Instruction 5000.2. The MNS is developed by the DoD Components, and is forwarded to the Joint Requirements Oversight Council (JROC) for validation and approval (for major efforts), or to the JROC for informational purposes (for nonmajor efforts). The JROC also assesses all MNS for joint service potential. MNS go to the Milestone Decision Authority for a determination on whether or not to convene a Milestone O review.

MISSION PROFILE

An accurate and complete specification of mission concept and objectives.

MISSION RELIABILITY

The Probability that a system will perform Mission essential functions, for a specific period of time, under conditions stated in the mission profile.

MISSION TIME

That Element of Uptime during which the item is performing its designated Mission.

MOBILIZATION

1) To make mobile or capable of movement. 2) To put into action. 3) To assemble and prepare for war or any type of emergency situation. See also Industrial Mobilization.

MOBILIZATION BASE

The total of all resources available, or which can be made available, to meet foreseeable wartime needs.

MOCKUP

1) A model, built to scale, of a machine, apparatus, or weapon. It is used in examining construction or critical clearances, testing a new development, or teaching personnel how to operate or maintain the actual machine, apparatus, or weapon. 2) A partial or full scale replica of an article or its Components, usually constructed of cheaper materials than required in the finished product, and used to provide physical interfaces between the structure and various systems such as Electronics, hydraulics, pneumatics, electrical, etc.

MODE

1) The most typical item in a series of quantities or values. 2) The quantity or value which appears most frequently in a numerical distribution or series.

MODEL

1) A representation of the reality of a situation or condition being studied. 2) A mathematical representation of an operation or management system capable of manipulation to achieve optimum solutions to stated problems. 3) A representation of an actual or conceptual system that involves mathematics, logical expressions, or Computer simulations that can be used to predict how the system might perform or survive under various conditions or in a range of hostile environments. 4) In Cost Estimating, a model consists of a series of equations, ground rules, Assumptions, relationships, constants, and variables which describe and define the situation or condition being studied. See also Cost Model and Mathematical Model.

MODIFICATION

1) Any change or alteration in appearance, performance, function, position, or effect. 2) A Configuration change to a produced Configuration Item. 3) In a Source Selection, a customer request to change a Proposal.

MODIFICATION REQUEST (MR)

An official notification used during Source Selection to notify potential contractors of a Government change in requirements after Proposalshave already been submitted.

MODIFICATION TIME

The time necessary to introduce any specific change(s) to an item, to improve its Characteristics or to add new ones.

MONETARY POLICY

Government use of Controls over bank lending power, the money supply, and/or interest rates.

MONITOR

1) To check, watch, or keep track of. 2) To check the operation and performance of an equipment or system, by Sampling the result of the operation.

MONTE CARLO ANALYSIS

The Analysis of system behavior Characteristics by evaluating the variation of randomly selected samples of the characteristics with changes in Discrete parameters.

MORTGAGE

A lien on land, buildings, machinery, equipment, and other property, fixed or movable, given by a borrower to the lender as security for his loan. Mortgages are sometimes called deeds of trust or defeasible conveyances.

MOTHERBOARD

A printed-wiring Assembly which interconnects arrays of plug-in printed-circuit assemblies or printed-wiring assemblies, motherboards are also know as platters. See also Backpanel.

MOTION STUDY

A study of the movements (whether of a part, a machine, or an operator) involved in performing an operation, for the purpose of determining the proper movements from the standpoints of maximum Economy and minimum operator fatigue.

MOVING AVERAGE

1) A continuously revised arithmetic Mean of a numerical series of quantities, or values, for a given period of time, each period being of equal length and expiring at a progressively more advanced date. 2) A forecasting technique used in time series Analysis.

MULTISERVICE TEST AND EVALUATION (T&E)

Test and Evaluation conducted by two or more DoD Components for systems to be acquired by more than one DoD Component or for a DoD component's systems that have interfaces with equipment of another DoD component.

MULTIYEAR APPROPRIATION

1) An Appropriation which is available for incurring Obligations for a definite period in excess of one fiscal year; i.e., for two or more years. 2) An obligation of funds to cover the procurement of items normally procured in individual single Fiscal Year Buys.

MULTIYEAR CONTRACT

A Contract covering more than one year's, but not in excess of five fiscal year's, requirements. Total contract quantities and annual quantities are planned for a particular level and type of funding. Each program year is annually budgeted and funded and, at the time of Award, funds need only to have been appropriated for the first year. The contractor, however, is protected against loss resulting from Cancellation by contract provisions which allow reimbursement of Costs included in the Cancellation Ceiling. The cancellation Ceiling includes coverage for the Current Fiscal Year procurement and Advance Funding requirements for the follow on fiscal year procurements. See also MultiYear Procurement.

MULTIYEAR FUNDING

A Congressional Authorization and Appropriation covering more than one Fiscal Year. The term should not be confused with two year or three year funds which cover only one fiscal year's requirement, but permit the Executive Branch more than one year to obligate the funds.

MULTIYEAR PROCUREMENT

1) A method of competitively purchasing up to five years' requirements in one Contract, which is funded annually as Appropriations permit. If necessary to cancel the remaining quantities in any year, the contractor is paid an agreed-upon portion of his unamortized Nonrecurring Costs. Multiyear procurements, which must be approved by Congress, are an exception to DoD Full Funding policy. 2) A generic term describing situations in which the Government contracts, to some degree, for more than the Current Year's requirement. Examples include Multiyear Contracts, Block Buys, and Advance Procurements. Generally, advance Long-Lead item procurements, in support of a single year's requirement, would not be considered a multiyear procurement.