ENTERPRISE PERFORMANCE TESTING (EPT) THE FEDERAL STUDENT AID (FSA) INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) ENVIRONMENT, WHICH EXTENSIVELY INTEGRATES MANY TECHNOLOGIES, IS RELATIVELY COMPLEX. PROPERLY AND CORRECTLY CONDUCTING EPT FOR CHANGES MADE TO THIS ENVIRONMENT, PRIOR TO INCORPORATING THE CHANGES INTO PRODUCTION, WILL ENABLE POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC DEFECTS RARELY DETECTABLE DURING FUNCTIONAL TESTING, TO BE IDENTIFIED AND AVOIDED.