ACQUISITION PLANNING
Acquisition planning is best accomplished using a team approach, either formally or informally. Major acquisitions are planned using a formal approach with appointed members and a structured approach. Less-than-major acquisitions are generally planned informally using an ad hoc approach. The planner should be the coordinator and information gatherer, interfacing with the other personnel as needed to gather the information necessary to put together an initial picture of the pending acquisition.
Manager Alert
Acquisition planning should be a team effort, not one individual’s responsibility.
To plan an acquisition, certain questions must be addressed initially:
• What is the real requirement, and when is it needed?
• What results are required, and how will success be measured or determined?
• What is it likely to cost, and what funds are available?
What Is the Real Requirement, and When Is It Needed?
Generally, when acquiring equipment, supplies, or other hardware items, the requirement is readily apparent, but this is not always the case. When the agency wants what it previously bought, the requirement is easily defined, but consideration should always be given to whether something better, different, or more refined is really needed. Consideration should be given to the effect of technological changes since the previous procurement as well as the possibility that use of the product has changed. User input can be important in determining the real requirement.
When acquiring services, the need to carefully consider the real requirement is even greater, because how the requirement is stated can affect how offerors respond. For example, stating a services requirement as a requirement for IT resources instead of describing the requirement in terms of what those resources are expected to do can limit offerors to responding in terms of bodies rather than technology.
To obtain the best results from a team approach, the planner should query those who would be involved in both the procurement and the resulting contract to get their concept of what the requirement is and the results intended. These varying concepts can then be brought to the table for a common resolution.
Manager Alert
When defining requirements, it is important to identify all potential stakeholders and capture their specific needs and requirements.
Initially, acquisition planners must ensure that they have accurately identified both the need to be satisfied by the acquisition and what must be acquired to meet that need. Except when necessary for program purposes, planners should identify the requirement in terms of the required results rather than how the work is to be accomplished.
The planners must also determine when the users need the requirement and the projected term of the contract. This is necessary for developing a timeline for accomplishing the various tasks necessary to complete the acquisition, such as conducting market research, developing a description of the requirement (e.g.,SOW, PWS), conducting the competition, source selection, and contract award.
How Will Success Be Measured or Determined?
Acquisition planning must include a determination of how contract success will be measured. Specifics are not necessary in the initial acquisition planning, but the required capabilities or performance characteristics of equipment or supplies should be determined. When acquiring services, advance planning should identify the broad performance standards of the services being acquired and whether performance-based contracting methods will be used. The initial determinations will be enhanced by the results of market research before development of the SOW or PWS.
What Is It Likely to Cost, and What Funds Are Available?
Once the requirement is identified, the planners must develop an estimate of what it might cost. This cost estimate must then be reconciled with the agency’s projected budget to determine what funds are likely to be available when the requirement enters the procurement process. During the planning process, cost estimates are adjusted frequently to reflect budget fluctuations and refined as the requirement itself is more clearly defined. The availability of funds may require an adjustment to the requirement, but it is better to make such adjustments after the requirement is fully defined rather than try to build a requirement to a projected budget figure.