The Postal Service developed the 2002 Annual Performance Plan through its structured management process and in consultation with Congress. The plan sets objectives for achievement for the year, as defined by specific goals, subgoals, indicators, and targets. Those 2002 goals and subgoals were approved by the Postal Service Board of Governors and were submitted to Congress in the United States Postal Service 2002 Annual Performance Plan. Some of the goals were changed subsequent to the Plan's release based upon management's assessment of actual 2001 performance. These modifications were detailed in the 2001 Comprehensive Statement on Postal Operations, Chapter V, 2001 Performance Report.

These performance measures go to the heart of the Postal Service’s mission. They help evaluate the Postal Service’s role as a government service providing universal postal service to the country. And they aim at the fulfillment of another element of our charter: that the Postal Service shall be self-sustaining, funding its operations through revenue generated by its products and services.

This report meets the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), which mandates that the report:

• Review the success of achieving the performance goals of the fiscal year.
• Evaluate the performance plan for the current fiscal year (2002) relative to the performance achieved towards the performance goals in the fiscal year covered by the report (2002).
• Explain and describe, where a performance goal has not been met (including when a program activity’s performance is determined not to have met the criteria of a successful program activity): why the goal was not met; those plans and schedules for achieving the established performance goal; and if the performance goal is impractical or infeasible, why that is the case and what action is recommended.
• Include the summary findings of those program evaluations completed during the year covered by the report.

This report includes a section highlighting the Postal Service’s performance in 2002, a table itemizing our performance against each subgoal, a section detailing the performance for each goal, and, a table listing changes made to the 2003 Plan’s goals and subgoals as a result of 2002 performance. A report on Evaluations of Programs, indicators and subgoals has been included in Chapter IV. Table 5.1, which follows, shows all goals, subgoals, indicators, and targets for 2002 and reports our performance to each target. Detailed discussion of Postal Service performance to specific indicators and subgoals of the 2002 Plan follows this table.