Just as important as keeping the team together is assigning roles and responsibilities to the parties. Contracting officers have certain responsibilities that can't be delegated or assumed by the other members of the team. These include, for example, making any commitment relating to an award of a task, modification, or contract; negotiating technical or pricing issues with the contractor; or modifying the stated terms and conditions of the contract. Some roles and responsibilities are decreed... for example, agencies are required to establish capability and training requirements for contracting officers technical representatives (COTRs).

Make sure the people assigned the most direct roles for monitoring contract performance have read and understand the contract and have the knowledge, experience, skills, and ability to perform their roles. In performance-based organizations, they are held accountable for the success or failure of the program they lead. They should know the program needs in depth, understand the contractor's marketplace, have familiarity with the tools the contractor is using to perform, have good interpersonal skills... and the capability to disagree constructively.

Enhanced professionalism in contract performance management is on the horizon. In November 2003, the Services Acquisition Reform Act (SARA) was passed with a number of noteworthy provisions. As called for in SARA, a fund has been established (in FY2005) to ensure Government program managers are properly trained and certified to manage large projects. The fund is managed under the direction of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy and the Federal Acquisition Institute's Board. Certified project managers' names will appear on OMB Form 300 submissions. See http://www.pubklaw.com/legis/SARA2003ssa.pdf. Information on certification programs can be found at www.pmi.org. These requirements are part of a larger effort to link budget to performance, and to improve project management in order to reduce or eliminate wasteful spending.