In this subpart—

Agency means an agency as that term is defined in 5 U.S.C. 3132(a)(1) and an Office of Inspector General, which is a separate agency for all provisions of the Senior Executive Service under the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. App 6(d)).

Annual summary rating means the overall rating level that an appointing authority assigns at the end of the appraisal period after considering (1) the initial summary rating, (2) any input from the executive or a higher level review, and (3) the applicable Performance Review Board's recommendations. This is the official final rating for the appraisal period.

Appointing authority means the department or agency head, or other official with authority to make appointments in the Senior Executive Service (SES).

Appraisal period means the established period of time for which a senior executive's performance will be appraised and rated.

Critical element means a key component of an executive's work that contributes to organizational goals and results and is so important that unsatisfactory performance of the element would make the executive's overall job performance unsatisfactory.

Initial summary rating means an overall rating level the supervisor derives, from appraising the senior executive's performance during the appraisal period in relation to the critical elements and performance standards and requirements, and forwards to the Performance Review Board.

Oversight official means the agency head or the individual specifically designated by the agency head who provides oversight of the performance management system and issues performance appraisal guidelines.

Performance means the accomplishment of the work described in the senior executive's performance plan.

Performance appraisal means the review and evaluation of a senior executive's performance against critical elements and performance standards and requirements.

Performance management system means the framework of policies and practices that an agency establishes under subchapter II of chapter 43 of title 5, United States Code, subpart A, and this subpart for planning, monitoring, developing, evaluating, and rewarding both individual and organizational performance and for using resulting performance information in making personnel decisions.

Performance requirement means a description of what a senior executive must accomplish, or the competencies demonstrated, for a critical element. A performance requirement establishes the criteria to be met to be rated at a specific level of performance and generally includes quality, quantity, timeliness, cost savings, manner of performance, or other factors.

Performance standard means a normative description of a single level of performance within five such described levels of performance ranging from unsatisfactory performance to outstanding performance. Performance standards provide the benchmarks for developing performance requirements against which actual performance will be assessed.

Progress review means a review of the senior executive's progress in meeting the performance requirements. A progress review is not a performance rating.

Senior executive performance plan means the written critical elements and performance requirements against which performance will be evaluated during the appraisal period by applying the established performance standards. The plan includes all critical elements, performance standards, and performance requirements, including any specific goals, targets, or other measures established for the senior executive.

Strategic planning initiatives means agency strategic plans as required by the GPRA Modernization Act of 2010, annual performance plans, organizational work plans, and other related initiatives.

System standards means the OPM-established requirements for performance management systems.