NCMA CPCM flashcards
NCMA CPCM · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Contract Management Standard (CMS)
- A descriptive framework organizing contract management into Pre-Award, Award, and Post-Award phases, each with guiding principles, competencies, and outcomes defining competent practice.
- CMBOK
- The Contract Management Body of Knowledge, a reference compiling competency areas such as contract planning, cost and price analysis, negotiation, administration, and closeout.
- Guiding principle
- A CMS element within a phase that groups related competencies; for example, requirements definition and acquisition planning sit under Pre-Award.
- Competency
- An observable activity a contract manager performs within a guiding principle; the CMS pairs each competency with an expected outcome statement.
- Market research
- The process of gathering information about market capabilities and prices before finalizing requirements, informing acquisition strategy, competition, and contract type selection.
- Independent Government Cost Estimate
- The government's own estimate of a reasonable price for the requirement, used for budgeting and price reasonableness but not disclosed to offerors.
- Acquisition plan
- A document describing requirements, acquisition strategy, competition approach, contract type, source selection method, milestones, and risks for a procurement.
- Best-value tradeoff
- A source selection approach permitting award to other than the lowest-priced offeror when the evaluated technical benefit warrants the price premium.
- LPTA
- Lowest price technically acceptable source selection: offerors meeting minimum technical requirements compete on price alone, and award goes to the lowest price.
- Sealed bidding
- A competitive method requiring a firm-fixed-price contract, clear and complete specifications, and award based on price without discussions.
- Price analysis
- Comparing proposed prices to other prices such as competitive offers, prior contract prices, catalogs, or the IGCE, without examining individual cost elements.
- Cost analysis
- Examining individual cost elements such as labor, materials, indirect rates, and profit to determine reasonableness when price analysis alone is insufficient.
- Cost realism analysis
- An evaluation of whether proposed costs are realistic for the work, used in cost-reimbursement contracts and distinct from cost reasonableness.
- Negotiation objective
- The contracting officer's target price or position, supported by cost or price analysis, that the negotiation aims to achieve.
- Minimum acceptable position
- The walk-away point in a negotiation, the least favorable outcome the contracting officer is authorized to accept.
- Defective pricing
- A situation where certified cost or pricing data submitted by a contractor is not accurate, complete, and current, allowing a downward price adjustment.
- Constructive change
- An informal government direction or action that changes the contract without a formal modification and may entitle the contractor to an equitable adjustment.
- Changes clause
- A contract clause permitting the government to change work within the general scope; the contractor performs and then negotiates an equitable adjustment.
- Termination for convenience
- Government termination when it is in the government's interest; the contractor recovers costs incurred, work done, and reasonable profit on work performed, not anticipated profit.
- Termination for default
- Termination due to contractor failure to perform; the contractor may be liable for excess reprocurement costs, and the action may convert to convenience if government-caused.
- Contract closeout
- The final post-award process covering final inspection, settlement of subcontracts, final payment, release of claims, and property disposition.
- Conflict of interest
- A situation where personal, financial, or other interests could impair, or appear to impair, a contract manager's objectivity in performing duties.
- Procurement integrity
- Rules restricting disclosure of source selection and proprietary proposal information and regulating post-government employment contacts with contractors.
- Gratuities prohibition
- The rule that contract managers generally may not accept anything of value from contractors or offerors, subject only to narrow exceptions.
- Impartiality rule
- The requirement to avoid actions giving an unfair competitive advantage, including misuse of nonpublic or source selection information.
- Unauthorized commitment
- An agreement made by a person without contracting authority; it requires ratification by an official with authority before the government is bound.
- Contract file documentation
- The records needed to justify decisions from requirement identification through closeout, including the basis for competition, price, and award.
- Out-of-scope modification
- A change beyond the general scope of the contract; it constitutes a new procurement and must be competed as required rather than modified.
- Certified cost or pricing data
- Cost data that is accurate, complete, and current, required above the applicable threshold when adequate price competition is absent and no exception applies.
- Should-cost analysis
- An estimate of what the work should cost based on efficient practices and reasonable inputs, used to set negotiation targets rather than to set price directly.
- BATNA
- The best alternative to a negotiated agreement; a stronger alternative increases a negotiator's leverage and willingness to walk away.
- Integrative negotiation
- A negotiation approach that seeks mutual gain by trading issues the parties value differently, rather than dividing a fixed amount.