Performance Management at FedRAMP¶

Government programs follow a standardized performance management process set in law and policy. The overall policy is set by the Office of Personnel Management whose resources can be reviewed on the Performance Management section of their website.

GSA's Office of Human Resources Management (OHRM) defines policy for performance plans and appraisals within GSA following OPM guidance. The overall GSA Employee Performance Plan and Appraisal system can be viewed on gsa.gov.

FedRAMP follows a standardized performance plan process for all employees, based on three critical elements. All employees have the same performance plan with expectations adjusted based on positions and grade. These performance elements will apply to all members of the FedRAMP Cybersecurity Service.

Delivery¶

FedRAMP’s mission is to ensure civil servants have access to the modern tools they need, following the modernization directives from the FedRAMP Authorization Act and OMB Memorandum M-24-15. To deliver on this mission we must deliver incrementally, improve relentlessly, and mandate responsibly. We reconsider any standard practice that could lead to unexpected or undesirable outcomes, prioritize progress and momentum, embrace change and uncertainty, and learn by taking action. The fact that it’s hard shouldn’t prevent us from trying.

Each member of our team is responsible for delivering work that advances our mission based on individual positions and grades. Specific expectations, tasks, outputs, and goals must be clearly set for all team members, but we have the same expectations for how all team members will focus on delivery. This element shows how FedRAMP will assess the delivery performance of each team member.

Level 1: Unacceptable¶

Inconsistent Execution: Regularly fails to meet deadlines or requires excessive oversight and reminders to complete routine tasks, hindering team momentum and mission progress.
Low Quality & High Rework: Produces work with significant gaps or technical errors that necessitate substantial revision by others; struggles to adapt to new, mission-aligned delivery methods.
Passive Communication: Fails to proactively flag delivery hurdles or provide status updates until prompted, causing unexpected delays in authorization or modernization milestones.
Avoidance of Difficulty: Focuses on non-essential tasks over critical mission priorities; shows reluctance to embrace uncertainty or take action on difficult requirements.

Level 3: Fully Successful¶

Mission-Aligned Delivery: Often accepts difficult tasks and delivers with the support of team members and leadership.
Security-First Mindset: Applies a rigorous security-first approach to all products, providing clear technical reasoning that ensures safe and effective tool access for civil servants.
Proactive Momentum: Communicates progress and challenges early, effectively prioritizing work and incorporating policy changes into daily work.
Continuous Improvement: Actively improves technical skills and adopts new delivery methods to increase organizational throughput and overall mission effectiveness.
Consistent Execution: Regularly delivers work products that meet requirements and continuously negotiated deadlines.

Level 5: Outstanding¶

Strategic Innovation: Proactively identifies and resolves complex technical or operational hurdles before they impact delivery, creating high-impact solutions that significantly exceed mission expectations.
Relentless Optimization: Continuously improves organizational effectiveness through unassigned but thoughtful enhancements to processes, documentation, tools, and workflows that benefit the entire team without negative impacts.

Teamwork¶

FedRAMP delivers as a team. We spread the work, keep each other standing, and if someone gets knocked down we help them get back up and push through. If something needs to get done, we make sure it gets done. We optimize for results, not individual accomplishments.

Each member of our team is responsible for supporting the entire team based on individual positions and grades. Specific expectations for teamwork will vary by position and grade but we have the same expectations for every individual on how they will go about working with the team. This element shows how FedRAMP will assess the teamwork performance of each team member.

Level 1: Unacceptable¶

Hinders Collaboration: Struggles with effective coordination by failing to work cooperatively or undertaking uncoordinated actions that delay team efforts.
Poor Communication: Inconsistently shares information and updates, requiring frequent prompting to communicate necessary details or failing to brief the team.
Resists Direction: Accepts feedback and organizational direction reluctantly, struggling to implement changes or support team strategies and mission goals.
Distracting: Demonstrates limited awareness of team dynamics, offering poorly-timed or unhelpful contributions that distract from collective priorities.

Level 3: Fully Successful¶

Constructive Contribution: Consistently helps the team deliver by contributing constructively to discussions and shared tasks with simple and effective solutions, bringing team members along respectfully.
Reliable Sharing: Readily shares relevant information, knowledge, and resources to facilitate team progress without creating unnecessary information burdens.
Goal Alignment: Demonstrates a strong understanding of team goals and aligns individual efforts to support them, even when tasks are difficult.
Supportive: Supports team members in achieving shared objectives by offering assistance when needed and stepping in directly to help when appropriate.

Level 5: Outstanding¶

Guiding Others: Provides exceptional mentorship and leadership by guiding less experienced team members and earning leadership opportunities on key initiatives.
Proactive Engagement: Proactively takes on difficult or undesirable tasks to help other team members even when not directly assigned to do so.
Optimizes for Results: Prioritizes collective results over individual recognition, identifying and solving team-wide challenges before they impact the mission and sharing the success with the entire team.

Vibes¶

FedRAMP cares about how the work we do affects people, whether they are on our team, in our agency, or one of our many stakeholders. We foster an environment where our team is able to focus without unnecessary distractions, curiosity drives improvement, empathy guides stakeholder engagement, and continuous learning is a shared responsibility.

Focusing on productive and supportive Vibes ensures the program remains a good place to work, where Teamwork and Delivery are supported, and all of us are deeply invested in each other’s success. This element measures how employees approach their work, handle challenges, and contribute to the collective Vibes of the program.

Level 1: Unacceptable¶

Negativity: Frequently expresses persistent negativity or complaints that disrupt team focus or morale.
Closed-Mindedness: Demonstrates a closed mindset by dismissing or ignoring new ideas, feedback, or different viewpoints without meaningful consideration.
Friction: Fails to contribute to a positive and inclusive team culture, occasionally creating friction through uncooperative or dismissive behavior.
Public Drama: Airs grievances or concerns about decisions in public settings instead of working through team leads and supervisors as appropriate.

Level 3: Fully Successful¶

Mission-Oriented: Maintains a solution-focused attitude even during high-pressure periods, modeling resilience and focusing on program improvement rather than venting about obstacles.
Growth Mindset: Acknowledges mistakes as growth opportunities and takes proactive steps to adjust behavior or processes to prevent recurrence.
Knowledge Sharing: Shares useful insights and "lessons learned" with colleagues (e.g., during meetings or in shared docs) to elevate the collective expertise of the team.
Active Curiosity: Consistently demonstrates curiosity by asking insightful questions to understand underlying goals, stakeholder needs, and the broader program mission.

Level 5: Outstanding¶

Building Curiosity: Actively supports others in developing a curiosity-driven approach, helping team members connect their daily tasks to the broader mission and stakeholder success.
Constructive Evolution: Drives systemic program evolution by identifying inefficient "status quo" practices and spearheading the research and adoption of superior alternatives that significantly improve organizational throughput or morale.
Creating Resilience: Proactively strengthens team resilience by sharing tools and modeling behaviors that help everyone stay focused and productive during challenging or uncertain periods.