FEDERAL
SECTOR REPORT
June 1999
(c) P2C2 Group,
Inc.
The
Changing
World of Federal Procurement
AN INSIDE LOOK.
I am spending 20 weeks this year as a full-time (consulting)
project
manager
for the Executive Office of the President, drafting about 35 Statements
of
Work for Y2K projects that encompass about 60 systems and the White
House
information technology infrastructure. I will be looking for a new
long-term
consulting assignment (hint, hint) that will begin in August, but in
the
meantime I am having an opportunity to view the federal contracting and
procurement
process through the eyes of the government. I will use this newsletter
to
share a few insights that I have learned.
Statements of Objectives
The
most recent government contracting officer with whom I am working is on
detail from the Air Force, and she prefers to issue brief Statements of
Objectives, rather than the traditional, lengthy Statements of
Objectives. The Y2K manager at the EOP, who is detailed from the Army,
hasn't totally bought off on this approach, but I have attempted to
incorporate some of her ideas into our technical specifications.
A
Statement of Objectives (SOO) simply defines what the customer wants to
accomplish. What are the required outcomes? With a SOO, it is the
responsibility of the contractor to determine how the work will
be carried out--so long as it achieves the government's defined
objectives. In contrast, traditional Statements of Work are usually
prescriptive, specifying exactly how the contractor must execute the
work requirements.
Colleges
and other nonprofits that compete for government grants will recognize
the SOO approach. When I write proposals for grants, the government
simply states the program goals, a few regulations, and the evaluation
criteria for rating the proposal. It is the responsibility of the grant
writer to devise a methodology and management plan that accomplishes
the government's objectives (reflected in a high score on evaluation
criteria).
Contractors
working for commercial customers will also recognize this approach.
Large corporations aren't going to take the time to write a 300-page
Request for Proposals. In several pages, they are likely to state the
problem, what they want to accomplish, and the standards that the
contractor must follow. The quality of the solution, the attractiveness
of the price, and the contractor's reputation (i.e., past performance)
may determine whether the bid wins.
Standards and Deliverables
Even
though we are producing Statements of Work, our project is attempting
to take a less wordy and less prescriptive approach. One of our tactics
has been to cite standards, define deliverables carefully (called CDRLs
at Defense), and require rigorous testing of the contracted "computer
solutions." Thus, the tasks are focused on the "bottom line." What is
the work supposed to accomplish? Does the workmanship meet the agency's
or industry's standards (such as IEEE standards)? Does the solution
work in the real world? The Y2K process is also requiring Independent
Validation and Verification. The government wants results--not just a
truckload of equipment or a boatload of contractor labor hours.
Tough Customer
During
the 1980s, a friend who was an agency Information Systems director
lamented that "only the government would pay full price and accept
crap." Those days are over. The government is becoming a tough and
demanding customer. Accountability for contract performance is much
more stringent than in the past, and future proposal competitions
require a good record of "past performance" including references of
former customers.
Vehicles
The
government wants to reduce the cost of preparing and managing
procurements. IDIQ contracts that permit flexible tasking, GSA
schedules, and government-wide (GWAC) contracts available through other
agencies are attractive options. They help cut down on government labor
costs for supporting the acquisition process.
