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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 [The full article first discusses the characteristics of a successful statement of work. It then identifies SOW resources in 4 major categories.] 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. [In this extract, we present the material from one type of resource only.] Part 2 – Templates We found 4 templates, from simple to complex. A review of these can provide you with checklists of important topics or issues to be addressed, and some ideas concerning the organization of your SOW. 1. State of 2. RFP Solutions 3. gantthead.com 4. GSA 1. RFP Solutions This Ottawa-based consulting firm does a lot of RFP training for the Material Management Institute. They have published a 12-page SOW guide which is accompanied by a 6-page example. http://www.rfpsolutions.ca/sowwritingguide.htm I like their approach. For each major topic in the Guide, they have a “Principles” section and an example: 2. Objective Principles: 2.1 Provides a concise statement explaining the purpose of the SOW/RFP process being undertaken, and what the Department/Agency hopes to achieve and why Example: In order to support its efforts in the planning, development and delivery of technology related e-Learning solutions to ABB. Employees, ABB. wishes to retain the services of qualified professionals, capable of providing a range of e-Learning related services (i.e. Instructional Design, Course Development, Graphic Design and Application Programming Services). Here is the table of contents for their SOW Guide: Sections 1. Background 2. Objective 3. Definitions and Applicable Documents 4. Description and Scope of Work 5. Approach and Methodology 6. Deliverables and Schedule 7. Performance Standards and Quality Measurement 8. Departmental Responsibilities and Support 9. Contractor Responsibilities 10. Risks and Constraints 11. Reporting and Communication 12. Service/resource Categories 13. Personnel Replacement and Substitution 14. Language of Work 15. Security 16. Location of Work and Travel 17. Change Management 18. Special Requirements 19. Duration/Period of Agreement 20. Departmental Representative 2. State of The state’s procurement group generates some great documentation which can be readily adapted by other organizations. Here is the link to their RFP Process documents: http://www.discoveringmontana.com/doa/gsd/procurement/rfpprocess.asp Their SOW template is only 4 pages in length but does cover the required content. Here is the SOW link: http://www.discoveringmontana.com-itsd-contract-sow_template_2004.doc Statement of Work Table of Contents Project Title Project Manager – Contractor Project Manager – Agency Project/Task Objectives and Requirements Scope of Work, Deliverables and Acceptance Criteria Timeline and Period of Performance Compensation and Payment Contractor Staff, Roles and Responsibilities Agency Staff, Roles and Responsibilities Contractor Performance Assessments Additional Terms and Conditions Specific to this SOW Execution/Signature Block This site, of primary interest to IT project managers, has some free SOW information. Go to the site and register. It’s free. And then do a search on “statement of work”. It will turn up several hundred “hits”. There is a 14-page Statement of Work Template for consulting services that turned up as the third entry. The statement of work (SOW) encompasses the goals, scope, deliverables, cost and schedule estimates, stakeholder roles, chain of command and communication guidelines for a project. The program management section identifies tasks and responsible individuals. It has several good features and can serve as an excellent checklist. Table of Contents 1 Overview 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Order of Precedence 1.3 Scope/Objective 1.4 Standards/Specifications 1.5 Contract Type of This SOW 2 Definitions/Acronyms 2.1 Acronyms 3 Specific Client Requirements/Constraints 4 Project Schedule 5 Consultant Responsibilities 5.1 Deliverables 5.2 Client Specific Requirements 5.3 Schedules And Timelines 5.4 Key Personnel of Consultant 6 Client Responsibilities 6.1 Inspections and Acceptance 7 Facilities 7.1 Development/Source Environment 7.2 Testing/Production Environment 8 Mutual Responsibilities 8.1 Program Management 8.2 Progress Meetings 8.3 Technical Review Meetings 8.4 Program / Contract Managers 9 Change Management Process. 9.1 Problem Identification 9.2 Change Initiation 9.3 Change Validation 9.4 Impact Estimation 9.5 Implementation 9.6 Approvals and Acceptance 10 Support & Maintenance 10.1 Warranty Period Maintenance and Support 10.2 Post Warranty Maintenance and support 10.3 Skills Transfer from Consultant to Client 11 Configuration Management 12 Quality Management 12.1 Quality Procedures 12.2 Completion and Acceptance Criteria 12.3 Functionality Compliance 12.4 Testing 12.5 Final Acceptance Test (FAT) 12.6 Error Processing During Acceptance Test 13 Compensation and Payment Schedule 13.1 Fixed Price (FP) 13.2 Time & Material (T&M) with Not-to-Exceed 13.3 Maintenance and Support 13.4 Escalation Prices 13.5 Travel Expenses 13.6 Invoice Requirements 14 Unique Terms and Conditions 15 Approvals Attachment I - Functional, Technical, And Quality Specifications Attachment II - Project Schedule Attachment III - Compensation And Payment Schedule Attachment IV - Ongoing Reporting And Maintenance 4. General Services Administration Heartland Region This 13-page template contains some interesting attachments including a worksheet (with examples) for constructing a performance-based statement of work, and a checklist for the contents of monthly status reports. The SOW can be downloaded from the following site: http://www.gsa.gov-gsa-cm_attachments-GSA_DOCUMENT-sow_R2QE2H_0Z5RDZ-i34K-pR.doc Table of Contents 1.0 General 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Background 1.3 Objectives 1.4 Scope 1.5 Contract Type 1.6 Place of Performance/Hours of Operation 1.7 Period of Performance 1.8 Privacy Act 1.9 Personal Service 1.10 Security 1.11 Key Personal 2.0 Definitions & Acronyms 3.0 Government Furnished Item 4.0 Contractor Furnished Items Section 508 Requirements 5.0 Specific Requirements 5.1 Task Description 5.2 Proposal Submission 5.3 Deliverables and Reports 5.4 Delivery Instructions 5.5 Inspection and Acceptance 5.6 Procedures for Payment Example 1: Software Integration Example 2: Help Desk/Technical Support Appendix A. Delegation of Authority for the Contracting Officer’s Representative Appendix B. Monthly Status Reports 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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