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v3.6.0.2

Summary of significant accounting policies (Details) $ in Thousands |  | 12 Months Ended
--- | --- | ---
May 19, 2016 shares | Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) Plan shares | Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) | Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Unbilled accounts receivable |  | $ 138,478 | $ 113,906 |
Capitalized interest [Abstract] |  |  |  |
Interest costs incurred |  | 8,300 | 7,800 | $ 7,500
Interest costs capitalized |  | $ 2,200 | $ 2,900 | $ 2,500
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Increase in number of shares of common stock available for issuance (in shares) | shares | 3,800,000 |  |  |
Buildings [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |  |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Estimated useful lives |  | 31 years |  |
Buildings [Member] | Maximum [Member] |  |  |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Estimated useful lives |  | 39 years |  |
Building Improvements [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |  |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Estimated useful lives |  | 10 years |  |
Building Improvements [Member] | Maximum [Member] |  |  |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Estimated useful lives |  | 39 years |  |
Furniture and Equipment [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |  |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Estimated useful lives |  | 3 years |  |
Furniture and Equipment [Member] | Maximum [Member] |  |  |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Estimated useful lives |  | 15 years |  |
Software [Member] |  |  |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Estimated useful lives |  | 3-7 years or product life |  |
Leasehold Improvements [Member] |  |  |  |
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Estimated useful lives |  | Lesser of the asset life or lease term |  |
2006 Plan [Member] | Stock Options [Member] |  |  |  |
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Common stock authorized for issuance under the plan (in shares) | shares |  | 18,900,000 |  |
Common stock available for future awards (in shares) | shares |  | 6,100,000 |  |
Contractual life of awards |  | 10 years |  |
Exercise period of options, maximum |  | 10 years |  |
Assumptions used in valuing the stock options granted [Abstract] |  |  |  |
Expected dividend yield |  | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00%
Expected average life of options |  | 4 years 3 months 18 days | 4 years 3 months 18 days | 4 years 6 months
2006 Plan [Member] | Stock Options [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |  |  |
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Exercise price of option as percentage of fair market value at grant date, minimum |  | 100.00% |  |
Assumptions used in valuing the stock options granted [Abstract] |  |  |  |
Expected volatility |  | 31.00% | 34.00% | 35.00%
Risk-free interest rate |  | 0.93% | 1.27% | 1.14%
2006 Plan [Member] | Stock Options [Member] | Maximum [Member] |  |  |  |
Assumptions used in valuing the stock options granted [Abstract] |  |  |  |
Expected volatility |  | 33.00% | 35.00% | 38.00%
Risk-free interest rate |  | 1.22% | 1.61% | 1.65%
Emergent Plans [Member] |  |  |  |
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Number of stock based employee compensation plans | Plan |  | 2 |  |
Revenues [Member] | U.S. Government [Member] |  |  |  |
Concentration Risk [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Concentration risk percentage |  | 83.00% | 86.00% | 83.00%
Accounts Receivable [Member] | U.S. Government [Member] |  |  |  |
Concentration Risk [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Concentration risk percentage |  | 83.00% | 83.00% |
Unbilled [Member] |  |  |  |
Accounts, Notes, Loans and Financing Receivable [Line Items] |  |  |  |
Unbilled accounts receivable |  | $ 48,039 | $ 18,171 |

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- Definition The estimated measure of the percentage by which a share price is expected to fluctuate during a period. Volatility also may be defined as a probability-weighted measure of the dispersion of returns about the mean. The volatility of a share price is the standard deviation of the continuously compounded rates of return on the share over a specified period. That is the same as the standard deviation of the differences in the natural logarithms of the stock prices plus dividends, if any, over the period. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 718 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 2 -Subparagraph (f)(2)(ii) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6415400&loc=d3e5070-113901 + Details
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