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Business Blueprint: the second phase of the ASAP (Accelerated SAP) Methodology. The Business Blueprint provides a common strategy of how business processes are to be mapped into one or more SAP systems. The Business Blueprint documents provide in detail the scope of business scenarios, business processes, process steps, and the requirements of an SAP solution implementation.

Business Intelligence (BI): also known as “Business Warehouse” or “BW”. Refers to the new reporting tool for MIDAS that will provide increased and expanded reporting capabilities for FSA employees. Reports using this tool will have a one-day lag on data and information will not be real-time.

BPO: Business Process Owner. Expert on the information in their business process area.

Common Land Unit (CLU): the smallest unit of land that has a permanent, contiguous boundary, a common land cover and land management, a common land owner, and a common producer in agricultural land associated with USDA farm programs.

Conservation Reserve Program (CRP): a voluntary program through which you can receive annual rental payments and cost-share assistance to establish long-term resource conserving covers on eligible farmland.

Critical Success Factors (CSF): an element that is necessary for a project to achieve its mission. For example, a CSF for a successful Information Technology (IT) project might be user involvement.

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS): technology which is ready-made and available for sale, lease, or license to the general public. The term often refers to computer software or hardware systems and may also include free software with commercial support.

Customer Relationship Management (CRM): CRM is the SAP module that we will be using for Business Partner and to manage our FSA programs such as MAL. It will contain master data utilized across FSA and will be available to all employees.

Enterprise Architecture (EA): a rigorous description of the structure of an enterprise. The term enterprise refers to a complex, socio-technical system that comprises interdependent resources of people, information, and technology that must interact with each other and their environment in support of a common mission.

Enterprise Central Component: ECC is the SAP module that will manage the financial side of our FSA programs.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP): an integrated computer-based system used to manage internal and external resources, including tangible assets, financial resources, materials, and human resources. Its purpose is to facilitate the flow of information between all business functions inside the boundaries of the organization and manage the connections to outside stakeholders.

Full Operational Capability (FOC): FOC is declared when the capability has been fully developed since its IOC stage.

Highly Erodible Land (HEL): cropland, hayland, or pasture that can erode at excessive rates. It would contain soils that have an erodibility index of eight or more.

Initial Operating Capability (IOC): the state achieved when a capability is available in its minimum usefully deployable form.

Landscape: signifies the layout of the systems in an environment. Landscape is the highest node within the system landscape hierarchy.

Lean Six Sigma (LSS): a recognized industry best practice for business improvement which focuses on increasing the speed and quality of a process.

Marginal Pastureland (MPL): non-cropland immediately adjacent and parallel to either a perennial or seasonal stream, or permanent body of water.

PPF: Post Processing Framework

Proof of Concept (POC): realization of a certain method or idea(s) to demonstrate its feasibility and/or its capability of being useful. This is usually considered a milestone on the way to a fully functioning prototype.

SAP: Systems Applications and Products in Data Processing. SAP is a COTS software solution.

USDA Connect: the Department-wide web-based collaboration, productivity and networking tool.