Chapter 11 - IT Procurement Planning and Strategic Sourcing

Step 

Action 

1. 

Develop and agree upon product, service and/or solution requirements. 

2. 

Utilize approved solicitation documents and templates as discussed in Chapter 24, RFPs and Competitive Negotiations, and Chapter 25, IT Contract Formation. 

3. 

Establish evaluation criteria that provide clear, concise definitions for each criterion. 

4. 

Develop a detailed scoring plan that explains how proposals will be evaluated and provides the specific meaning of the scoring methodology. 

5. 

Determine if a pre-bidders/pre-proposal conference is justified. 

6. 

Identify major project milestones and deliverables and identify the key logistic milestones that may affect competition. Determine if supplier payments should be tied to the major milestones or deliverables and if any holdback is required prior to final acceptance. 

7. 

Identify if there are other related project interdependencies that may affect the project’s schedule. 

8. 

Discuss which contract type is appropriate or whether a specialized contract is needed and any specific terms and conditions. For cloud/SaaS procurements, see the ECOS Procedure Checklist for Cloud Solution Solicitations and Contracts for additional information and recommended solicitation language here: Procurement Tools | Virginia IT Agency 

Regardless of the amount, if the procurement involves an off-premise (cloud hosted) solution, agencies must follow the Enterprise Cloud Oversight Services (ECOS) process and Third Party Policy Workflow. A Security Assessment of the cloud service will need to be completed by the supplier and approved by ECOS, via a work request 1-003, and special Cloud Services Terms & Conditions must be included in the contract prior to award. 

The VITA Minimum Contractual Requirements for “Major” Technology Projects and Delegated Procurements identifies specific terms and conditions for agency delegated procurements and those requiring CIO approval and can be found on VITA’s website here: https://www.vita.virginia.gov/procurement/policies--procedures/procurement-forms/ .

9. 

Identify or determine what business-based service levels are needed to develop a performance-based contract and apply desired remedies. 

10. 

Develop a change management plan to manage expectations and communications. 

11. 

Create Request for Proposal/Invitation for Bid package, including any attached specifications, diagrams, etc. 

12. 

Obtain any necessary review and/or approvals (i.e., legal, CIO, PMD) prior to solicitation release.