An emerging concern in the acquisition community is "knowledge management." There are many definitions, but the simplest may well be "the right knowledge in the right place at the right time and in the right context." Knowledge management is a people issue, not a technology issue.

Consider the need to manage the project's knowledge base in this light: Acquisitions often take months, and the contracts that are awarded are often performed over years. People join the team and people leave, taking their knowledge with them.

Further, those people that began the project and those that oversee the project are often different. All too often, when a contract is awarded, the acquisition team "pats itself on the back" and walks away. The project is passed into the care of a contract administrator who doesn't know the history of the project, why decisions were made, and why the contract is structured or worded the way it is. Modification may begin right away. And we wonder why contract performance is sometimes a problem?

The approach needs to shift from a focus on contracting to a focus on both acquisition and project management. Where possible, the same key members of the team (program manager, project manager, and contracting officer) should be part of the integrated project team from the initial discussions of mission-based need, through contract performance, and indeed to contract closeout. With this continuity, and a focus on maintaining the project's knowledge base, the likelihood of success is exponentially greater.