while ABI expense data is historical expense information, regardless of the year in which the expense was funded. For this are referred to as the ABI reason, “costs” “expenses” throughout analysis. SECTION 3: FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Codes In accordance with the Common Government-wide Accounting Classification (CGAC) structure, the USPTO uses codes to categorize labor and non-labor financial transactions against programs, projects, and activities. Programs, Projects, and Activities (PPAs) are a set of three individual codes used in combination to form an accounting string that provides business information, including hours worked and expenses incurred. Each code provides unique information and allows employees, analysts, and decision-makers to establish relationships between expenses and the work performed. Each PPA combination appears as one string in the USPTO financial management and time reporting systems. A Program is a group of activities directed towards a high-level process or system. Programs are often strategic in nature, relate to budget decisions, or have long-term outcomes. A is a planned undertaking in support of a program. Projects always have a beginning Project and end date. However, a project code is optional and not always used. An Activity is a group of tasks performed to produce or deliver products and services. Activities are always in support of projects and programs. A program code and activity code are required and used to track all labor and non-labor expenses at the USPTO. For example, Patent examination hours are recorded to a program code titled, and and an activity code “Patent Examination Application Management” titled “Prepare All
while ABI expense data is historical expense information, regardless of the year in which the expense was funded. For this reason, “costs” are referred to as “expenses” throughout the ABI analysis. SECTION 3: FOUNDATIONAL ELEMENTS Program, Project, and Activity (PPA) Codes In accordance with the Common Government-wide Accounting Classification (CGAC) structure, the USPTO uses codes to categorize labor and non-labor financial transactions against programs, projects, and activities. Programs, Projects, and Activities (PPAs) are a set of three individual codes used in combination to form an accounting string that provides business information, including hours worked and expenses incurred. Each code provides unique information and allows employees, analysts, and decision-makers to establish relationships between expenses and the work performed. Each PPA combination appears as one string in the USPTO financial management and time reporting systems. A Program is a group of activities directed towards a high-level process or system. Programs are often strategic in nature, relate to budget decisions, or have long-term outcomes. A Project is a planned undertaking in support of a program. Projects always have a beginning and end date. However, a project code is optional and not always used. An Activity is a group of tasks performed to produce or deliver products and services. Activities are always in support of projects and programs. A program code and activity code are required and used to track all labor and non-labor expenses at the USPTO. For example, Patent examination hours are recorded to a program code titled, “Patent Examination and Application Management” and an activity code titled “Prepare All
ABI_Patent_Unit_Expense.docx