The MEF typically uses the term SOAM rather than Operations, Administration and Maintenance.

However, a detailed explanation of the term Operations, Administration and Maintenance is provided in IETF RFC 6291.

The abstract of RFC 6291 is as follows:

 

At first glance, the acronym "OAM" seems to be well-known and well understood. Looking at the acronym a bit more closely reveals a set of recurring problems that are revisited time and again. This document provides a definition of the acronym "OAM" (Operations, Administration, and Maintenance) for use in all future IETF documents that refer to OAM. There are other definitions and acronyms that will be discussed while exploring the definition of the constituent parts of the "OAM" term.