14.2. The Planning Phase
14.2.1. Step One – Form the Team
14.2.1.1. Ensure Senior Management Involvement and Support
14.2.1.2. Form the Team and Team Charter
14.2.1.3. Identify and Analyze Stakeholders, Nurture Consensus
14.2.1.4. Develop a Communication Plan
14.2.1.5. Develop and Maintain Knowledge Base over the Project Life
14.2.1.6. Plan and Schedule Topical Team Training
14.2. The Planning Phase
Figure 14.2.1.F1. Model of Step One
14.2.1. Step One – Form the Team
The acquisition team should be a customer-focused, multi-functional team that plans and manages the service requirement throughout its life cycle. We will refer to the multi-functional team as the acquisition team during this guide. The requirement may be for a single function or for multiple functions. Estimated dollar value is not the sole determinant of the amount of effort devoted to the acquisition. Previously, it was common for contracting and other functional experts to work independently in “functional stove pipes” when acquiring services. This method is outdated and costly. Service acquisition requires a team effort. It is essential that all stakeholders be involved throughout the service acquisition life cycle, from the planning and development phase through the execution phase. The duties, expertise, and contributions of each team member are important to the success of any service acquisition. Many functional experts should make up an acquisition team.
14.2.1.1. Ensure Senior Management Involvement and Support
Early in your acquisition efforts you should make sure you’ve got senior leadership support. It is important to understand leadership’s concerns and expectations for your acquisition. What priority does this requirement have in their portfolio of service requirements? Your leadership can help you get the right people on your team and overcome roadblocks when necessary when they understand your team is committed to the success of their mission.
14.2.1.2. Form the Team and Team Charter
The goal of every acquisition team should be to obtain quality, timely contract services in both a legal and cost-effective manner, placing the responsibility for quality performance on the contractor. Nonetheless, achieving this goal can be challenging. The interdisciplinary nature of your acquisition efforts means no single individual or function is likely to have all the requisite knowledge and experience in the majority of cases. Therefore, personnel such as the program manager, contracting officer, contracting officer's representative (COR), responsible fiscal officer, and legal counsel (among others) should form the acquisition team as soon as possible in order to:
- Develop a team vision and charter for the acquisition.
- Develop an effective level of dialogue and teamwork.
- Analyze stakeholders and create a communication plan.
- Develop a project plan and the timeline for the acquisition. A project plan provides the detail of what has to be accomplished and who is responsible to accomplish each task.
Although the composition of the acquisition team may vary depending on the nature of the requirement, a few key members are essential to the success of any contract. They are as follows:
The Customer/User: The customer's representative or functional manager normally brings to the team detailed knowledge of the user requirements. They are responsible for defining the required performance outcomes or results. The requirements definition most likely will include an assessment of the risk that the government might assume when relying on commercial specifications and common marketplace performance and quality standards. The customer/user plays an important role in deciding what tradeoffs are necessary when considering a commercially available service to fulfill an agency requirement. Your customer/user is the key individual in determining the organization’s needs and in providing the historical data and perspective.
Program Manager/Technical Specialist/Project Manager: The program manager (PM) is the acquisition team leader and is responsible for ensuring that the acquisition plan is properly executed and the desired results are achieved. The PM provides coordination and facilitates communication among the acquisition team members, closely tracks the milestone schedule, and provides leadership and guidance to overcome and resolve any problems or delays. This individual is responsible for drafting the PWS, which means ensuring that performance requirements are clearly and concisely defined and articulated. PMs identify, plan, and control various areas, such as delivery requirements, scheduling, market research, COR nomination, cost estimating, budgeting, and specific project formulation. The PM normally participates in the source selection as well. This individual serves as the principal technical expert, is most familiar with the requirement, best able to identify potential technical tradeoffs, and whether the requirement can be met by a commercial solution.
The Contracting Officer: The warranted contracting officer is responsible for performing all relevant contract functions, to include assisting in requirements development and market research. Within this context, the contracting officer does not determine the government's need, but is responsible for advising the PM in preparing a PWS. This individual serves as the principal business advisor and principal agent for the government responsible for developing the business strategy, solicitation, conducting the source selection, and administrating the resultant contract and business arrangement.
Performance Assessment Personnel (Quality Assurance Personnel): Performance assessment personnel are known by many names, such as COR, or quality assurance evaluator (QAE), but their duties are essentially the same. They serve as the on-site technical manager responsible for assessing actual contractor performance against contract performance standards. The COR provides the team with their field experience and surveillance of service contracts (Frequently, this individual is the same person who initiates the program requirements and normally serves as the primary person responsible for assessing performance). They provide guidance to the PM to ensure contract requirements are described in a manner which enables the government to objectively and effectively assess the contractor’s work performance in terms of outcome. They serve as the "eyes and ears" of the contracting officer and when applicable, the COR performs the actual surveillance of the contractor's work. A letter of appointment signed by the contracting officer provides scope and limitations of the COR’s authority.
Small Business Specialist (SBS): The SBS serves as the principal advisor and advocate for small business engagement. This individual serves as the chief analyst on small business laws, regulations and command policy. They can provide insight for market research and an understanding of industry small business capability. He or she may also serve as the liaison with the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Cost/Price Analyst: The cost/price analyst evaluates the financial price and cost-based data for reasonableness, completeness, accuracy, and affordability. Alternatively, some agencies utilize cost engineering personnel from within an engineering division to conduct cost/price analysis from a technical standpoint.
Finance/Budget Officer: The finance/budget officer serves as an advisor for fiscal and budgetary issues.
Legal Advisor: The legal advisor ensures that the commercial practices, and terms and conditions contemplated are consistent with the government’s legal rights, duties, and responsibilities; will review the acquisition documents for legal sufficiency; and provides advice on acquisition strategies and contract terms to the PBA team.
Miscellaneous Others: In addition to individuals mentioned above, personnel from outside the agency may also be useful, depending on their area of expertise. This includes individuals from agencies such as the Defense Contract Management Agency, Defense Logistics Agency, the Defense Contract Audit Agency, and the Environmental Protection Agency, to name a few.
Team Charter and Vision Statement
Developing a team charter is an important step in getting the team focused on the objectives to be accomplished and to assign key roles and responsibilities. Everyone involved must understand how they will contribute to achieving the required mission results. The charter starts with the acquisition team’s vision statement. The vision statement should capture the high level objective of the team’s effort and be an objective that unites the team.
Use the project plan (Appendix B) and tailor it for your specific acquisition. This will help you identify all the actions needed to complete each step of the seven step process. It also enables you to assign responsibility for specific actions and develop a time line for how long it will take you to get to performance management. Examples of a team charter and project plan are available in the Service Acquisition Mall (SAM, Appendix C) (http://sam.dau.mil/).
14.2.1.3. Identify and Analyze Stakeholders, Nurture Consensus
Every acquisition has stakeholders. Your acquisition team should identify who are the key stakeholders that will be impacted by your acquisition. Stakeholders often fall into three major categories:
Internal - These are within your organization either as customers for the service being procured or leaders of activities your effort will be supporting.
Governance – These are individuals or organizations that must approve your requirement and acquisition strategies. They are often at higher headquarter levels outside your immediate organization. Their involvement is often dictated by agency policy.
External – These are stakeholders not directly tied to your acquisition. They can be local communities, industry, or anyone else who might be affected or have an interest in your actions.
14.2.1.4. Develop a Communication Plan
Once you have identified your key stakeholders, how will you communicate with them and keep them advised of your progress? A communication plan is a good way to target specific communications to specific stakeholders. Well informed stakeholders can be effective advocates for your actions. Your communication plan should determine the method and frequency of communications. The “Comm Plan” is a living document and should also be adjusted over time as new stakeholders are discovered and you move through the different phases of the service acquisition process.
14.2.1.5. Develop and Maintain Knowledge Base over the Project Life
Depending on the size and complexity of your service requirement it can take up to two years from this point in the process to step seven where you are finally receiving the service. During this period team members will leave and new ones arrive. It’s important for the new team members to understand the decisions that have been made and the rationale that supported them. That’s why developing a project library that can be easily shared among the acquisition team, will help new team members get on board quickly and provide everyone with a common understanding of the project and decisions made.
14.2.1.6. Plan and Schedule Topical Team Training
As part of your project plan identify which individuals will need specialized training such as for the COR or for individuals involved with your source selection. Consult current DoD directives for COR training requirements. Also consider requesting DAU’s Service Acquisition Workshop (SAW) as a total team training event. There are many training resources available at the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), but if classroom training is needed, plan early.
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