Procurement Checklist

Once the decision to purchase goods or services from outside of the organization has been made, the project manager needs to execute the procurement plan and solicit bids from qualified vendors. As part of the procurement process, the project manager will share key project information to potential vendors, including:

Project Objectives: Project objectives should be specific and measurable. Objectives are usually tied to quality, budget and schedule. The following questions can help define project objectives:

• Is the product of the project useful and does it fit the purpose for which it was intended?
• Was the project completed without exceeding the budget?
• Did progress on the project meet planned schedule?

Examples of good project objectives include:
• Decrease product returns by 50%
• Increase customer satisfaction rating by 10% as measured by the annual survey
• Manufactured product must cost less than $2.50 per unit

Project Scope: The project scope defines the work that needs to be done to successfully complete the project. The scope document should include business and technical requirements and specifications, quality standards or governance requirements, and any other mandatory requirements.

Project Milestones: Project milestones include specific financial, schedule or deliverable project benchmarks that must be met, including standards for measurement.

Project Constraints: Project constraints would include known physical, logistic, technical, budgetary, schedule, or other limits placed on the project.

Issues of Intellectual Property: A clear definition of project and product ownership, which should cover patent information, drawings and other project work.

Criteria for contractor selection: A definition of the criteria that will be used to select the contractor. Documentation should include a prioritization or weighting given to specific project factors.

RFQ Response Criteria: it is essential that the RFQ define acceptable methods for the solicitation response. This should include the date of bid closure, technical specifications, drawings, file formats, response delivery mechanism, financial disclosure requirements, references, proof of insurance, as well as any other company or project information required to fully evaluate potential vendors. Many response criteria are typically set by the organization and are often referred to in PMO documentation.