Breakout Session # 306 Linda Baier, CPCM, Contracting Officer

2. Acquisition Planning: The Foundation of the Procurement Breakout Session #306 Linda Baier, CPCM, Contracting Officer U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission April 11, 2006 2:45 – 3:45 pm NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

3. The right result that meets goal House Contract Builder Details Blueprint RESULT Best practices AWARD Evaluate the right things SOLICITATION Ask for the right things Agreement Discussion COLLABORATION ACQUISITION PLANNING What is goal? How long? How much? Type? What? Why? Who? Where? Options? Building up from the foundation… NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

4. The Story of the Three Little Pigs • One built his house with straw • One built his house with wood • One built his house with stone • Then along came a windbag of a wolf and blew them all down but one… It’s all about planning ahead! NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

5. Gets you what you need • when you need it • at the best value The result of good planning What Is Planning? A process of thinking through all the steps to go from concept to end result by asking Who, What, When, Why… • Good planning begins as soon as the concept is defined NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

6. Acquisition Planning Defined “The process by which the efforts of all personnel responsible for an acquisition are coordinated and integrated through a comprehensive plan for fulfilling the agency needs in a timely manner and at a reasonable cost. It includes developing the overall strategy for managing the acquisition.” --FAR Part 2.101 NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

7. Acquisition Planning = plan of action NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

8. In other words… It’s similar to preparing the blueprints for a house – it starts from concept and covers everything through completion. It considers the need, location, environment, special issues, the goal(s) being met, cost estimate, acquisition strategy, best practices, lessons learned, potential vendors, milestones, and gets intra-agency agreement. An Acquisition Plan (AP) considers all the factors needed to get the best end result. NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

9. Start AP at the concept stage because - “Early meetings encourage maximum input from interested parties because all participants are working all options before any options have been foreclosed...” -- NASA “Procurement Information Circular, Feb 2001” NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

10. When is an AP required? • FAR Part 7 prescribes the policies and procedures for developing acquisition plans. • FAR Sub-Part 7.102 states “Agencies shall perform acquisition planning and conduct market research for all acquisitions…”. • Formal AP is required for all procurements exceeding $500K. • Recommend APs for any complex procurement no matter the dollar value, and all new requirements. NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

11. The Formal AP • The FAR states what is to be included • Approvals are required • The actual format is not dictated • Recommend using a template • There is no page limit • When preparing APs, always start new with the template to reduce variations NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

12. Informal APs • For every procurement you should answer the basic questions: who (recommended sources), what (specifications), when (delivery or POP), how (describe the process), where (location of performance or delivery), and why (objectives, mission). • Thinking through the process identifies data that is missing. • Write your thought process in your file. NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

13. Make the AP Meaningful • Know your mission • Tie your goals to your mission • Tie the procurement objectives to your goals • Tie incentives to your objectives • Prepare the SOW/PWS/SOO to state critical needs first, then important needs, then preferences NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

14. Preparing to Prepare the AP… • Decide if your procurement needs: • Formal AP or • Informal (answers the basic questions) • For a formal AP, realize you won’t know all the answers immediately but the AP will mature as you get the answers. • Form your acquisition team - preparing an Acquisition Plan is a team effort. NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

15. An observation on collaboration • “A nearly universal observation is that the entire acquisition planning process works more smoothly when coordination among the cognizant parties occurs early and often.” -- Procurement Information Circular 01-04, NASA NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

16. AP Team Suggestion • The formal Acquisition Plan Team: • Requirements person(s) • Project Manager, Branch Chief, and/or COR • Budget office • Legal counsel • Contracting Specialist • Not everyone needs to be involved all the time – keep it real! NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

17. How to get what you need… • Decide if a SOW or a PWS is best • SOW defines your specific requirements and tells the vendor how to meet them. • PWS defines your goals/objectives, the environment in which the work will take place, and the minimum requirements. The vendor proposes their solution (the “how”). • How can you ensure your needs are met? • By using the right evaluation criteria • By selecting the right incentives NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

18. Getting Help with your AP • Anything new has a learning curve • Every AP is different • Use common sense • Think of the AP as your plan of action, capturing everything you need to know • Search Internet for ideas NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

19. Acquisition Planning Template • It should be published on Intranet • Each AP should start new with the template • In case it was updated • To be sure all items are considered • Cut and paste from previous APs but be sure all entries are relevant and accurate • Remember the fields are required by the FAR so do not delete; provide a response NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

20. Benefits to you for doing AP: • You will have the “big picture” and know what to expect and when to expect it • You will have an approved plan to follow • You will have agreement from all offices involved so no surprises • You will ensure a better end result that meets your goal(s) at best value NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

21. What happens if you don’t do Acquisition Planning? • If you don’t plan ahead, you will be catching up later when things don’t work out • “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” • Remember the Three Pigs… • Rule of thumb: every hour spent on acquisition planningsaves 2 hours later in the formation of the contract and/or contract administration! NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

22. The real result for not planning-- “Opportunities for obtaining or improving competition have often been lost because of untimely, faulty, or the total lack of advance procurement planning. Noncompetitive procurement or inadequate competition also has resulted many times from the failure to develop specifications….” -- GAO Decision, June 9, 2003 NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

23. Planning got every-one on the same sheet of music But the best benefits of all… Great results! Best value was achieved Bought the right item! Players all had a say Used a strong foundation NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management

24. Acquisition Plans • Examples of APs are on the Internet • www.dogpile.com • www.mamma.com • Handout at back of room as you leave with some examples • Questions? (baierl@sec.gov) NCMA World Congress 2006 : Achieving High Performance in Global Business: Leadership, Outsourcing, & Risk Management