Acquisition Activities

Manage the acquisition of custom or commercially available products or services that will be added to the HS Agency's technical inventory.

Introduction Activities Roles and Responsibilities Artifacts Additional Resources

- IT Products and Data - Contracting Strategy Document - Project or Product Requirements - Contractor Management Plan - Contractor Status Reports Perform Make or Buy Analysis Solicit and Select a Supplier Agree to Terms Manage the Relationship Accept the Product or Service Prepare for the Transition - IT Products and Data - Contracting Strategy Document - Contractor Management Plan - Contractor Procurement Documentation - Status - Acquisition Team - Supplier - Support Organization - User Representatives - IT Decision Makers - Other Key Stakeholders

Introduction

These acquisition activities can be performed within the context of each project, or as a single project serving many other projects. These activities establish and manage a formal agreement to obtain IT products (and services) from suppliers external to the HS Agency. Any type of technology element can be obtained, such as (but not limited to):

• Complete software applications or parts (office automation products, user interface controls, or business components)

• Packaged solutions (including a system transferred from another State)

• Information appliances ( PDA or cell phone)

• Complete, integrated platforms (a server or client workstation)

• Network equipment and infrastructure (routers, switches, firewalls)

• Data stores and content (databases and Web pages)

• Development or technical operations tools or environments ( IDEs, systems management)

• Documentation necessary to install, operate, and maintain the product

• Specialized consulting services (on-site support, maintenance support, including products withdrawn from the market).

• Application services from an ASP

Many types of agreements may be used to obtain the items, depending on the nature of the supplier relationship, such as:

• Contracts (commercial suppliers build to specification)

• Licenses (users within and external to the HS Agency)

• Memorandums of Understanding (other State or local Government entities)

The acquisition activities focus on the management aspects of the supplier relationship. They interface with the other project activities, as needed:

• Engineering activities for technical support, such as producing specifications used as a basis for contracting, testing received products before acceptance, or adapting the products for use within the HS Agency.

• Support activities for managing the configuration of the received products and oversight of the provider quality through product and process reviews.

• Project management activities for oversight of acquisition activities.

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Activities

Key activities performed on one or more fabrication projects are described below:

1. Perform Make or Buy Analysis. Generally, analysis to make or buy an IT product or service is performed early in the planning for a plateau (see the Develop the IT Evolution Plan activities). Projects may be defined and executed to perform this analysis when it involves significant effort or time. Some items to consider during the analysis:

   • Include how the product will be adapted to meet the needs of the HS Agency. For example, a transfer from another State requires analysis of changes to incorporate specific laws and regulations that apply to the HS Agency. The analysis also addresses how the transferred technology fits within the HS Agency's Technical Architecture.
   • Use a contracting scorecard to identify all the relevant business objectives and issues.
   • Collect some general information about the availability and capability of potential suppliers (see the Solicit and Select a Supplier activities). Establish the feasibility of acquiring the items with reasonable competition to assure best value for the State.
   • Determine the essential criteria needed to meet the business objectives by performing a trade study of the possible alternatives and deciding which alternatives are acceptable.

   The outputs of this activity include the trade study results, a documented make or buy decision, a list of those products and services to be purchased, and the procurement strategy.

2. Solicit and Select a Supplier. Perform a systematic evaluation of qualified suppliers to determine their ability to meet technical requirements and other selection criteria as part of a solicitation package. If a list of qualified suppliers does not exist use an RFI to identify potential suppliers. Information about the suppliers may be part of the make or buy analysis.

   In the course of generating the solicitation package and evaluating the suppliers' responses to the solicitation, you may generate the following:

   • Supplier evaluation criteria. An adaptation of essential criteria from a contracting scorecard, modified to address relevant suppliers' capabilities as determined from their proposals.

   • Solicitation package. An RFP, including the product or service requirements, type of contract (fixed price, cost plus), SOW, terms and conditions, proposal evaluation criteria, and proposal process instructions.

   • List of solicited suppliers and their proposals.

   • Evaluations of each supplier's ability to satisfy the essential criteria.

   • Technical and nontechnical risks associated with each supplier, such as conformance to the HS Agency's Technical Architecture, cost, or delivery schedule.

   This activity concludes when you identify a first-choice supplier and, if possible, alternative suppliers. Failure to find a qualified supplier necessitates reconsideration of the make or buy decision and possibly replanning the plateau.

3. Agree to Terms. Establish a formal agreement (contract) between the HS Agency and the supplier. Create a CMP during negotiations with the supplier. This plan is the basis upon which the HS Agency tracks and controls the supplier's performance in accordance with the agreement. Base the supplier agreement and the CMP on the high-level requirements and risks identified during the selection activities.

   The work products resulting from this activity include the following:

   • A signed supplier agreement including, explicitly or by reference, an SOW, product specifications, Service Level Agreements, a top-level project plan, change request and approval procedures, acceptance criteria and responsibilities, process and product quality requirements, and legal terms and conditions. This agreement could be in the form of a purchase order, contract, Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), or partnership agreement.

   • A CMP, which includes all the activities, schedules, roles and responsibilities, measurements to be collected and analyzed, interface mechanisms, review procedures, and support functions that your organization performs in dealing with the supplier during the contract.

   • Updates of other projects' plans that have been impacted by the supplier agreement and CMP for the current plateau.

   If acceptable terms cannot be established, you may select the next-choice suppliers.

4. Manage the Relationship. Monitor and evaluate the supplier's progress and performance against the supplier agreement or SOW. Perform these functions in accordance with the CMP. Include periodic tracking of cost, schedule, risks, quality, and technical performance. Conduct periodic in-process and formal reviews of both management and technical achievements in accordance with the CMP.

   This activity begins once a supplier agreement is executed. Use supplier-developed plans for tracking purposes. Keep the CMP and other affected project plans consistent with any changes in the supplier plans. Record corrective actions or risk mitigation activities and track them to closure.

   Periodic outputs from this activity include the following:

   • Reports on the progress, risks, and status of the supplier

   • QA reports from reviewing the supplier's process and work products

   • Reports from technical and management review meetings

   • Action items list

   • Documentation of work product and document deliveries

   The most important output from the supplier is the delivery of the contracted end product or service. Continue this management activity until the end product is successfully delivered, all contracted services have been rendered in accordance with the SOW, and all corrective actions have been closed.

5. Accept the Product or Service. Formal acceptance tests, reviews, and configuration audits are performed before the HS Agency accepts the purchased products. Tests are conducted in accordance with approved test plans. The supplier may perform the tests and submit results (with HS Agency oversight), or HS Agency project engineering activities may perform the tests. Tests must verify objectively that the established requirements are met and any deviations are noted. Produce a report noting the acceptance conditions (deviation from criteria, criticality, and any corrective actions to be taken). Once accepted, place the product and any associated by-products (test plans and results) under CM (see the support activities).

6. Prepare for the Transition. Acquired products can be deployed in several ways. The product may be fielded by itself (a packaged solution), or it may be incorporated into another product and deployed along with it (e.g., a Web server as part of a larger distributed system or a set of components to be used in an application). Planning and managing the introduction and retirement of products into the operational environments is a part of the technology deployment processes. The acquisition activities should identify the following to help prepare for deployment:

   • Identify when the contract is scheduled to terminate and the supplier's obligations to support the deployment. Issues that do not surface during acceptance testing may appear only during deployment. Note any risks associated with supplier support during deployment.

   • Identify any special skills or knowledge needed to maintain or operate the acquired products.

   • If multiple units will be received over a long period of time (e.g., workstation upgrades), identify the timetables for receipt; how each unit will be verified (manufacturer changes in components, such as video cards); and any storage of spare parts or specialized equipment needed before deployment (testing or system management).

   • Identify licensing issues or other agreements that may affect deployment cost and timetables.

   • Initiate life-cycle maintenance or service contracts.

   • When outsourcing, the transition may involve planning for and executing the transfer of data, facilities, equipment, and personnel to the control of the supplier before they perform the service.

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Roles and Responsibilities

The key roles and their responsibilities are as follows:

• Acquisition Team. The Contracting Officer and the Project Officer have primary responsibility for the acquisition activities.
• Supplier. These individuals, from outside the HS Agency, provide the IT products and data. This may include contractors; Vendors; or other State Agencies or organizations, as necessary.
• Support Organization. These individuals participate by providing oversight of the processes used by the supplier and managing the configuration and quality of the delivered products.
• User Representatives. These individuals help establish requirements and provide feedback on the delivered products as they develop. These individuals may be direct users of the product (i.e., business users) or other IT staff that will incorporate the product into another product (e.g., components placed into an application).
• IT Decision Makers. These individuals have authority to select and enter into agreements with the suppliers. This may include members of the IT Evolution Management Team, the HS IT Division, or other executives ( CIO).
• Other Key Stakeholders. These individuals support the acquisition activities by providing subject matter expertise, as needed. This may include IT staff, Technical Architecture Team members, and IT project staff, among others.

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Artifacts

The following information is used or produced by these activities. Templates, examples, and checklists for identifying and documenting items are available through the Additional Resources section at the end of this page.

• IT Products and Data. This is the main result of these activities. Products are received from the suppliers and placed under CM.
• Contracting Strategy Document. This document is prepared as the result of a make or buy analysis and used to guide the solicitation, selection, and management of the suppliers.
• Project or Product Requirements. These are allocated to the acquisition tasks to guide the technical and nontechnical criteria for the acquired products. These are allocated through the IT Project Plan. This includes the appropriate parts of the A-TARS.
• Contractor Management Plan. This document is produced and used as the basis of managing the supplier relationship.
• Contractor and Procurement Documentation. This represents the supplier agreements and obligations including the contract, legal terms and conditions, the SOW, licenses, and other formal agreements.
• Contractor Status Reports. This information is furnished by the supplier, indicating progress and issues against the supplier's plans.
• Status. Status against the CMP and any supplier issues are analyzed, consolidated, and forwarded to the project management activities for review.

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Additional Resources

Resources applicable to this activity are cataloged below. Lists of all available resources may be found in the Resources portion of the IT Planning and Management Guides.

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