ACQUISITION PLANNING

“Acquisition planning should begin as soon as the agency need is identified, preferably well in advance of the fiscal year in which contract award or order placement is necessary.” To accomplish this goal, a planner is needed. The FAR defines a planner as “the designated person or office responsible for developing and maintaining a written plan, or for the planning function in those acquisitions not requiring a written plan.” Depending on the size or importance of a pending acquisition, an individual may be specifically appointed as the planner, or the function may be assumed to be part of a person’s job description.

Generally, the planner is a technical person in the office or program generating the requirement. There are, however, a number of other persons whose expertise will be required during the course of the acquisition, such as contracting, fiscal, and legal personnel. Consideration should also be given to consulting users (personnel who will be using the product or receiving the services resulting from the acquisition) as well as other technical personnel, from within the agency or from other agencies with similar requirements, who can provide necessary expertise.

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. While the term “team approach” brings to mind an image of endless meetings, this need not be the case. 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. Generally meetings are needed only when decisions must be made.

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 what you want is what you bought before, the requirement is easily defined, but consideration should always be given to whether you really need something better, different, or more refined. Consider the effect of technology changes since the previous procurement as well as the possibility that the utilization of the product has changed. User input can be important to the determination of 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 information technology (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.

Do not automatically use the same description of the requirement that was used on a previous acquisition. Even if it appears that the agency’s requirement has not changed, technological advances or innovations may have changed how that requirement can be met. Using the previous description of the requirement may inhibit offerors from proposing the latest advances. Proper planning and preparation will ensure that the description of the requirement is flexible enough to take advantage of what the marketplace has to offer.

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.

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., a statement of work, performance work statement), 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 or not 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 performance work statement (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.

The answers to these questions will form a basis for the acquisition planning. Acquisition planning is not done overnight. It is a step-by-step process that takes time to accomplish. FAR Part 7 provides guidance on what areas should be considered and what should be in a written acquisition plan. Most agencies have adopted local procedures to implement FAR Part 7; however, FAR Part 7 is only part of the picture. FAR 7.102 states that agencies shall perform acquisition planning and conduct market research for all acquisitions. Market research is addressed in FAR Part 10, but it is an integral part of the acquisition planning process.