Chapter 12 - Statements of Work for IT Procurements

The following questions will help in the final quality review of the statement of work:

• Overall: Does the SOW clearly define and support all agency/project requirements? Is it consistent with the requirements definition and statement of scope documents and does it include specific tasks, work breakdown structure requirements, deliverables, and milestone/schedule requirements?
• Technical, functional and performance requirements: Are the technical, functional and performance requirements complete and adequately detailed, described and consistent with all agency/project needs and requirements to motivate supplier understanding and success? Are all necessary agency/VITA/Commonwealth of Virginia/federal security, confidentiality, accessibility, technology and/or best-practice specifications, standards and directives included?
• Deliverables: Do all required deliverable(s) support the project's needs? Are they necessary? Are all deliverables including hardware, software, design/development, testing, services, reports, project reporting, status, metrics, etc. specified, as well as when, where, how they should be delivered? Should deliverables be tied to the technical requirements, milestones, and/or supplier payments? Should any payment retentions be included to incentivize supplier to meet the deliverables' or milestones' schedule, and/or as a mitigation for overall project non-performance or non-acceptance?
• Key personnel: Does the project require and does the SOW identify key personnel or are other supplier staff qualifications and levels needed? Have project points of contact and information for both agency and supplier been clearly identified?
• Processes and resources: Have the business and technical processes, resources and/or facilities to ensure satisfactory performance been properly identified and addressed? Are supplier process plans for evaluating or measuring supplier performance and status necessary?
• Inspection and testing: Does the project warrant inspection and/or testing? Have we addressed the need for this based on the effort's technical requirements, performance specifications, level of compliance, and the need for mitigating performance risks?

• Supplier Audits: Will supplier-required licensing or other customer compliance audits be allowed; and, are all your agency-specific, Commonwealth or VITA access requirements or restrictions for such audits included?
• Acceptance and testing: Are sufficient testing and/or acceptance criteria, including acceptance of deliverables, testing and final acceptance included? Are performance-based requirements, metrics and measurements being used for this procurement and are they adequately described? Is it necessary to define if testing or acceptance must occur at varying phases or subsystem completions, prior to implementation/cutover or at the end of performance or on a per deliverable basis? Do these support the technical requirements and performance specifications? Who should develop the test plans, conduct the tests, and verify test results? How long will the agency have to test or approve the deliverable(s), services or solution prior to final written acceptance and has the length of time supplier will have to remedy been included?
• Project schedule: Does the project's overall schedule and/or milestone schedule support the project's requirements? Are the requirements reasonable for the work being accomplished? Does the schedule include downtime for changes, unforeseen problems or other schedule slips? What is the likelihood of schedule slippage due to interdependency, interface, or conversion issues? Does the SOW consider increased labor or production (and related costs) to meet a non-flexible schedule? Does the agency need to address any urgency or contingency information relating to schedule?
• Reliability and maintainability (RAM): Are there requirements for RAM or integrated logistics support or upgrades and enhancements? Have these requirements been adequately defined and do they need to include performance specifications?
• Maintenance/service/training: Are there requirements for training, ongoing technical support, extended or special warranties, maintenance and/or service? Have all of these and their respective duration and location needs been clearly addressed? Are there any potential conflicts between these requirements and the standard business offerings within the market area of this project?
• Project reviews and supplier performance management: Are program reviews or supplier surveillance necessary for monitoring performance?  Does the SOW include sufficient requirements for periodic project status reviews, design reviews, or access to supplier's facilities for surveillance visits? Are there clear performance objectives and service levels, if required? Does the SOW establish clear and attainable positive and negative incentives to those performance objectives and service levels?  Does the SOW include a requirement for a quality control plan from the supplier and/or quality assurance surveillance plan for agency monitoring? Does the solicitation address the need for an independent IV&V resource if one is intended?