The Acquisition Program Baseline (APB) covers which key areas?

• A. Cost, Schedule, Performance
• B. Cost, Schedule, Quality
• C. Schedule, Performance, Risk
• D. Cost, Time, Performance

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is that the Acquisition Program Baseline defines the program’s commitments in three areas that drive execution and assessment: cost, schedule, and performance. The APB sets the approved cost estimate, the target schedule milestones, and the required performance—or the system capabilities the program must deliver. These three dimensions provide a clear, measurable frame for tracking progress, evaluating variances, and guiding management decisions as the program progresses.

Quality isn’t the standard metric organized in the APB, and risk is managed separately as part of program risk management. While schedule is sometimes colloquially thought of as “time,” the established terminology for the APB uses “schedule.”