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THE STATEMENT OF WORK (SOW): A BRIEF REVIEW OF RESOURCES FROM THE WEB “A properly developed statement of work represents 80% of a successful public solicitation. The remaining 20% is just mechanics.” Terry Davenport The Statement of Work is critical to the success of any procurement process. It is, however, a neglected area. Many, if not most, of the 80,000 public entities in the This document identifies SOW resources. It is not comprehensive but only a beginning. If you know of other resources that should be included in this document, please send an email to Michael Asner. My email is: institute@rfpmentor.com Different Types of SOWs A lot of information has been published about SOWs. For example, NASA provides guidance for writing work statements. In one of their highly readable documents1 they define three types of statements of work: a. Design/detail; b. Level of effort; and c. Performance-based. Design/detail statements of work tell the contractor how to do the work. “Do these things, finish these tasks, and we will pay you.” If the government specifies the wrong tasks, or defines tasks improperly, the supplier still gets paid. Level-of-effort SOWs are used to “rent bodies”, sometimes very skilled and educated bodies. “Provide us with a qualified engineer to inspect bridges and we will pay you for 100 hours of effort.” The real deliverable under this type of contract is an hour of work. If it engineer consumes the 100 hours and has not finished the job, then the buyer can either extend the contract or hire another engineer. Performance-based statements of work are the preferred method for acquiring complex combinations of goods and services. “Accomplish these results and we will pay you.” In using a performance-based statement of work, the requirements people do not dictate how the work is to be accomplished. The contractors are given the freedom to determine how to meet the Government's performance objectives. However, contractors get paid only when the results meet or exceed these objectives. RFPs employ all three types, although level-of-effort RFPs have fallen into disrepute since they impose few conditions on the contractor and no incentive for finishing quickly. On the other hand, performance-based RFPs are becoming increasingly popular as they transfer many risks to the contractors and demand specific results. In searching the web, we found a number of different types of resources: 1. Training – There appear to be 2 types of training: instructor-led, and web or CD-based. This report identifies 6 sources of instructor-led live training, and one source of CD-based training. The CD-based training is a new product which we released Sept. 15, 2005. 2. Templates – We identified 4 different templates, of varying complexity and sophistication. 3. Guides & Manuals – We identified 5 different ‘how to’ manuals published by federal, state and local jurisdictions and available on the web. 4. Other Stuff – This category contains all of the entries which didn’t fit easily into the other categories. It contains books, kits, and other web sites. The full report is 23 pages long. It is contained in Issue 50 of The RFP Report. It can be viewed and downloaded from our website:
Click on RFP Report. ***************************************************************** **********ANNOUNCING A NEW TRAINING CD********** How to Develop an Effective Statement of Work: A Best Practices Training CD by Terry Davenport http://www.rfpmentor.com/institute.html one hour PowerPoint presentation narrated by Terry Davenport 60 page Resource Guide License $195 "If I could choose one person to write a Statement of Work for me, it would be Terry. As Contract Administrator for Western States Contracting Alliance, he wrote Statements of Work for major procurements involving hundreds of millions of dollars. And they were solid and they worked!" Jim O'Neill, CPPO, FNIGP Director of Procurement, Past President of NIGP ********************************************************************* *****ANNOUNCING A NEW INTERACTIVE WEBCAST***** How To Develop An Effective Statement Of Work: A Best Practices Webcast by Terry Davenport http://www.rfpmentor.com/webcast.html A live, 90 minute, interactive web conference that you can join from your office on Thursday, November 17th, 2005 Many procurements fail, are unnecessarily complex, or result in complaints and litigation because the Statement of Work was deficient. Terry Davenport knows the key to success is simple: prepare a SOW that balances functionality with budgetary requirements, policy restrictions and the legal issues. This seminar will show you the step-by-step process that leads to an effective statement of work. Our Agenda By the end of the seminar, you will have learned a step-by-step process for creating an effective statement of work. This process is described and illustrated with examples from Terry’s 60-page Resource Guide. (Each participant gets a copy of the Resource Guide.) * Workshop Objectives * Important Definitions * Market Research * Do’s and Don’ts * Purpose/Objectives * Scope of Solicitation * Invitation for Bid Specifications * RFP Specifications * Contract Scope of Work * Contract Protections * Examples * Questions to Guide SOW Development * How to Use Example Directives Participants (buyers and program personnel) will gain an understanding of the components of the SOW for various types of solicitations as well as useful guidance and writing tips for each. The 60-page Resource Guide is a handy reference tool. This course will take the mystery and misery out of the statement of work development process. It has been designed for use by both buyers and program/user personnel. |
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