Please be aware and do the following:
Read Week 1 Lecture notes and below for detailed instructions on Activity 1
This assignment is due at the end of Week 1
Individual Project Activity 1: Identify or select a performance problem in a business activity that you believe could be resolved or substantially improved by the acquisition of IT services performed by a contractor selected in open competition as a result of an RFP (request for proposal). The acquisition of IT services may also include the acquisition of IT software and hardware, as needed. Document your performance problem as Activity 1 using Template 1 provided by IT Economics Corporation. See reference list.
Commodity Purchases: Commodity purchases from vendors usually come with incidental services, such as installation and certain support services. These do not qualify as “contractor services.” An IT product is considered a “commodity” when there is a common definition of the good, the contracts for its purchase are for the most part standardized, and there are common qualities or service levels associated with the good. (On the other hand, your problem can require the selection of a contractor–via an RFP–that, for example, helps your organization identify, evaluate, decide on, and implement one or more IT commodity products.)
For example, going out and buying a printer is a commodity purchase. Buying 20 laptop computers is a commodity purchase. Buying 15 copies of a software application is a commodity purchase. The decision to buy the commodity means that the problem has been solved and the commodity is the solution. However, hiring an IT contractor to help design a system, acquire the hardware and software needed by the system, and assist in implementing the system is NOT a commodity purchase. It is the acquisition of IT services.
Although you must select a performance problem that requires the services of an external contractor, you will not be asked to prepare a request for proposal (RFP) for an external contractor. Instead, you will prepare a basic performance-based work statement–the heart of an RFP–using one of the templates provided.
What Not To Select: Since the solution to your problem must require the services of an IT contractor who is (theoretically) to be selected in open competition as the result of an RFP, there are certain types of problems you should not select.
Do not select a problem that can be solved with better internal management or a different use of internal resources, such as using the organization’s programmers to develop or modify certain software systems.Do not select a problem that can be solved by adding to the tasks of a current contractor.Do not select a problem that can be solved by your organization making its own commodity purchase from a vendor (e.g., a server, Internet service) without the involvement of a contractor selected in open competition after issuing an RFP.
Real Rather Than Fictitious: The problem should be real and for a real organization you are with now or one that you know about. It is recommended that you use a real organization as the context for your project so that the realities of the organization, including the constraints it must contend with, can be taken into account in planning your project. Basing an individual project on a fictitious organization provides no real world challenge since there are no real constraints. There is no need to identify the organization and do not divulge confidential information or information that the organization might find objectionable for you to reveal. Further, you only need to obtain data that are readily available. For data that are not readily available, reasonable estimates will do.
Three-Month Rule: A rule of thumb is to select a problem requiring an IT acquisition project that spans at least three months (though it can be much longer). The idea is to keep the size of the project from being no larger than needed for you to gain the insights from using the acquisition templates but not so small that it will make using the templates trivial and meaningless. Projects shorter than three months generally fall into the latter category. The problem should be such that the organization would be sufficiently concerned with the cost, risk, and need for success that it will go through the various acquisition steps, including competition among contractors (sources), in order to control cost, manage risk, and increase the likelihood of success.
Guidance in Using the Templates: Your individual project will use a total of 12 best practice templates/models involving activities ranging from requirements definition to preparation of a performance-based statement of work. You will be given explanations and, in most cases, examples, of how to use the templates to perform your individual project activities. These are activities that are key in IT acquisition projects.
Examples of Problems Selected by Other Students: Here are some examples of problems that past students have addressed with their individual projects:
Problem of membership maintenance (club, church, etc.)
Problem of controlling financial contributions
Lack of an effective activity reporting system (e.g., for employees)
Lack of a PowerPoint slides management and inventory system in a large organization
Problem of tracking and reporting production
Problem of sharing real-time information with key persons
Problem of selectively distributing analytical reports to groups
Problem of tracking loans
Problem of controlling access to computer services
Chronic inability to test computer software as planned
Problem of effectively managing assets
Problem of controlling large numbers of documents
Problem of gathering and integrating information quickly against deadlines
Problem of controlling electronic documents
Problem of a slow network that is used for online training
Problem of professional billing control for a group of lawyers (could be for any group)
Document Your Problem Selection: Document your problem selection using Template 1 from IT Economics Corporation. See reference list. When you enter your information into Template 1, the result will be your Activity 1. Note that IT Economics Corp. gives two examples of filled-in templates—these are examples of what you are being asked to do to complete your “Initial” Activity 1. Post your Activity 1 as a response to this topic (click “Start a New Thread”) and attach a Word document that contains your Activity 1.
Week 1: Introduction to IT Acquisition Management
This Week’s Objectives
The objectives of this week are to:
• Introduce you to the course, communicate the requirements and expectations, and make
initial assignments
• Demonstrate the relationship between IT acquisition project planning and the enterprise
strategic plan
• Examine the role of the “performance gap” in identifying performance improvement needs,
including the need for an IT acquisition project
About This Course
Your Bio: Please enter your online personal biography in the Bio area of the Class Members section. The
information you enter is entirely voluntary and is meant to help us know each other better.
The Syllabus: Read the Syllabus. It will acquaint you with the course elements and what is expected of
you.
CMMI-ACQ Activities: As the syllabus indicates, you will perform IT acquisition management exercises
with practices that are linked to the Capability Maturity Model Integration—Acquisition Module
(CMMI®-ACQ) Ver. 1.3 published by Carnegie Melon’s Software Engineering Institute (SEI) in 2010. A
copy of the CMMI®-ACQ Ver. 1.3 is available in the classroom, under Week 1 Content.
You will also participate in discussions of issues and other information related to IT acquisition
management.
This course will make use of a variety of online information sources, ranging from publications of the
Federal Government to publications of Carnegie Mellon’s Software Engineering Institute. It is important
to keep in mind that federal publications are based in large part on research into the practices of private
sector firms to determine the best practices that the federal government should adopt. As a result, the
federal publications are generally applicable to both government and private sector organizations.
Introduction to the Process Areas of the CMMI® Acquisition Module
CMMI-ACQ v. 1.3 contains 22 process areas. SEI defines “process area” as follows:
A process area is a cluster of related practices in an area that, when
implemented collectively, satisfies a set of goals considered
important for making improvement in that area.
SEI’s Acquisition Module
Acquisition Process
defines four Process Areas Areas
and individual processes
within each area. They are:
Project Management
Process Areas
Process Management
Areas
Support Process Areas
Project planning
Project Monitoring and
Control
Integrated Project
Management
Quantitative Project
Management
Requirements
Management
Risk Management
Organizational Innovation
and Deployment
Organizational Process
Definition
Organizational Process
Focus
Organizational Process
Performance
Organizational Training
Causal Analysis and
Resolution
Configuration
Management
Decision Analysis and
Resolution
Measurement and Analysis
Process and Product
Quality Assurance
Solicitation and Supplier
Agreement Development
Agreement Management
Acquisition Requirements
Development
Acquisition Technical
Management
Acquisition Verification
Acquisition Validation
Source: Carnegie Mellon-Software Engineering Institute
Figure 1. Process Areas of the CMMI® Acquisition Module
Note that the processes in the table do not represent a sequence of activities. There can be activities in
a number of process areas at the same time. Activities in some of the process areas take place
throughout the acquisition project. For example, activities in the Decision Analysis and Resolution
process areas take place throughout the planning as well as the implementation of the IT acquisition
project.
SEI points out that the acquirer’s activities with the CMMI® Acquisition Module typically take the form of
this sequence: Acquisition Planning, RFP Preparation, Source Solicitation, Program Leadership (Insight
and Oversight), System Acceptance, and Transition. Your assignments during this course will generally
follow this sequence up through Source Solicitation. You will use templates to perform activities that are
in many, but not all, of the process areas. For example, you will not perform activities that are in the
Acquisition Verification process area because you will not actually acquire products and services to be
verified.
The remainder of this Week relates primarily to the following CMMI®-ACQ Module process areas:
•
Acquisition Requirements Development
•
Requirements Management
•
Risk Management
Fundamental Acquisition Principle
A fundamental principle is to recommend the acquisition of IT only in cases in which the problem cannot
be solved without the acquisition of IT.
Too often, IT is acquired to solve a problem that is simply due to poor management, which includes
policies that need to be changed. Therefore, the definition of the performance problem is so important.
Once the problem is accurately defined, there can be a professional analysis of the problem to
determine the root cause of the problem and the requirements for solving it. If the problem is caused by
poor management, then no IT acquisition is required. If it can be solved effectively some other way
without acquiring IT, then no IT acquisition is required. If the only way or the best way to solve the
problem is through the acquisition of IT, then acquisition of IT can be justified.
• Sometimes an unwarranted IT acquisition project is pushed by an executive who truly believes
technology provides the answer, and he or she is unaware of the need for a professional
analysis of the problem to determine whether it is the correct answer.
• In other cases, the IT acquisition may be pushed by an executive who believes it is essential to
always have the latest technology, though the acquisition may not actually be justifiable.
• And sometimes it is the IT component itself that constantly promotes the use of new
technology to solve problems, whether IT is the best solution.
All of these reflect poor management, result in wasted resources, and give the IT component of the
organization a poor reputation.
Therefore, it is important to accurately define the problem and then analyze it to determine whether it
can be solved without acquiring IT. If it is found that the acquisition of IT is required for the solution, it is
necessary to identify and evaluate alternative IT-based solutions, rather than focus on a single IT
solution without considering possible alternatives.
Importance of Alignment of Proposed IT Solutions
There is nearly always more than one way to solve an organizational performance problem. It is
important to determine which proposed IT solution will contribute most to achieving the organization’s
most important goals and objectives at an acceptable cost and with acceptable risks. Some proposed IT
solutions will contribute little or nothing to achieving the most important goals. Usually this is because
they are focusing on lower level goals and objectives that are less important or that are not linked to—
that is, aligned with—the organization’s high-level strategic goals and objectives.
The enterprise strategic plan (assuming it is up to date) documents the organization’s strategic goals and
objectives. Alignment is necessary to focus IT resources on the priority goals and objectives so that best
use will be made of the resources in improving business performance. An illustration of the IT alignment
concept is provided in the graphic below. (In the event the graphic doesn’t appear on your screen, it is
also provided as an attachment.)
One of this week’s assigned readings from IT Economics, Identifying the Organizational Performance
Gap, discusses linking acquisition justifications to key performance indicators (KPIs) that will measure
the contribution the acquisition makes to the organization’s strategic goals and objectives. Linking to
KPIs helps to ensure that the IT acquisition will be aligned with and contribute to the strategic goals and
objectives.
Figure 2. Alignment of IT with Enterprise Goals and Objectives
Required Readings (same as the Week 1 content information)
In your readings, pay particular attention to:
• The nature of the enterprise strategic plan
• Identifying a business “performance gap” that demonstrates the need for business process
improvement
• The role of IT as an enabler of process improvement in support of the enterprise strategic plan
The readings are as follows:
• IT Acquisitions: Pre- and Post-Solicitation Activities, (n.d.) IT Economics Corp (T0-Solicitation
Activities.pdf); See reference list.
• Identifying Organizational Performance Gaps. (n.d.) IT Economics Corp (T1-Performance Gap.pdf);
See reference list.
• Chapter 7: Acquisition Planning (from GSAM Version 3.0). Published by General Services
Administration. (See reference list) Scan, rather than carefully read, this document to get a general
understanding of the activities in the acquisition planning process.
• GSA FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan. (See reference list). This document contains GSA’s vision,
mission, and strategic goals & objectives.
• Guidelines for Strategic Planning, from the Department of Energy FY 2022-2026. (See reference
list) This document is over 10 years old, but its general approach and concepts remain valid. Read
the first six pages.
• One of the most important developments for strategic planning in recent years is the emergence
of the Balanced Scorecard. Most leading organizations now use the Balanced Scorecard to help
develop their strategic plans, document them, and control business operations to achieve the
specified strategic goals and objectives. Much has been written about the Balanced Scorecard since
it was introduced in a 1992 Harvard Business Review article by Robert Kaplan and David Norton.
Read this brief but informative description of the Balanced Scorecard. Available at:
https://balancedscorecard.org/bsc-basics-overview/
• Brief article titled Key Concepts of Strategic Planning. Available at: http://competitiveintelligence.mirum.net/strategic-planning/key-concepts-of-strategic-planning.html
• Video Explaining Web 2.0 and Web 3.0, which includes social networking, cloud computing, and
other types of computing. : https://youtu.be/4jY-J-AKuos
• Chapter 10 (Acquisition of Services) of the Defense Acquisition Guidebook (DAG). (See reference
list). Scan, rather than carefully read, this document to get a general understanding.
• CMMI for Acquisitions v1.3
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Individual Project Activities (same as the Week 1 content assignment information)
Individual Project Activity 1: Identify or select a performance problem in a business activity that you
believe could be resolved or substantially improved by the acquisition of IT services performed by a
contractor selected in open competition as a result of an RFP (request for proposal). The acquisition of IT
services may also include the acquisition of IT software and hardware, as needed. Document your
performance problem as Activity 1 using Template 1 provided by IT Economics Corporation. See
reference list.
Why do you need to select a business performance problem that will require the acquisition of IT
services (and products as needed) from an external IT services contractor? It is the most important form
of IT acquisitions. It involves the largest investments and is instrumental in transforming organizations
and achieving competitive advantage. At the same time, it presents the greatest risk, with the
probability of project failure increasing as the size and complexity of the projects increase. On the other
hand, IT hardware and software acquisitions that do not involve services are usually “commodity
purchases” (as explained below) and lack the challenges and complexity of acquisitions that involve IT
services. The templates used in this course are for IT acquisitions that include IT services. They are not
meant for use with IT commodity purchases.
For example, going out and buying a printer is a commodity purchase. Buying 20 laptop computers is a
commodity purchase. Buying 15 copies of a software application is a commodity purchase. The decision
to buy the commodity means that the problem has been solved and the commodity is the solution.
However, hiring an IT contractor to help design a system, acquire the hardware and software needed by
the system, and assist in implementing the system is NOT a commodity purchase. It is the acquisition of
IT services.
Although you must select a performance problem that requires the services of an external contractor,
you will not be asked to prepare a request for proposal (RFP) for an external contractor. Instead, you will
prepare a basic performance-based work statement–the heart of an RFP–using one of the templates
provided.
What Not To Select: Since the solution to your problem must require the services of an IT contractor
who is (theoretically) to be selected in open competition as the result of an RFP, there are certain types
of problems you should not select.
• Do not select a problem that can be solved with better internal management or a different use
of internal resources, such as using the organization’s programmers to develop or modify certain
software systems.
•
Do not select a problem that can be solved by adding to the tasks of a current contractor.
• Do not select a problem that can be solved by your organization making its own commodity
purchase from a vendor (e.g., a server, Internet service) without the involvement of a contractor
selected in open competition after issuing an RFP.
Real Rather Than Fictitious: The problem should be real and for a real organization you are with now or
one that you know about. It is recommended that you use a real organization as the context for your
project so that the realities of the organization, including the constraints it must contend with, can be
taken into account in planning your project. Basing an individual project on a fictitious organization
provides no real-world challenge since there are no real constraints. There is no need to identify the
organization and do not divulge confidential information or information that the organization might find
objectionable for you to reveal. Further, you only need to obtain data that are readily available. For data
that are not readily available, reasonable estimates will do.
Three-Month Rule: A rule of thumb is to select a problem requiring an IT acquisition project that spans
at least three months (though it can be much longer). The idea is to keep the size of the project from
being no larger than needed for you to gain the insights from using the acquisition templates but not so
small that it will make using the templates trivial and meaningless. Projects shorter than three months
generally fall into the latter category. The problem should be such that the organization would be
sufficiently concerned with the cost, risk, and need for success that it will go through the various
acquisition steps, including competition among contractors (sources), in order to control cost, manage
risk, and increase the likelihood of success.
Guidance in Using the Templates: Your individual project will use a total of 12 best practice
templates/models involving activities ranging from requirements definition to preparation of a
performance-based statement of work. You will be given explanations and, in most cases, examples, of
how to use the templates to perform your individual project activities. These are activities that are key
in IT acquisition projects.
Examples of Problems Selected by Other Students: Here are some examples of problems that past
students have addressed with their individual projects:
• Problem of membership maintenance (club, church, etc.)
• Problem of controlling financial contributions
• Lack of an effective activity reporting system (e.g., for employees)
• Lack of a PowerPoint slides management and inventory system in a large organization
• Need for a better forecasting system of recruitment needs
• Problem of tracking and reporting production
• Problem of preparing accurate and timely reports
• Problem of sharing real-time information with key persons
• Problem of timely analysis of data
• Problem of selectively distributing analytical reports to groups
• Problem of tracking loans
• Problem of controlling access to computer services
• Chronic inability to test computer software as planned
• Problem of effectively managing assets
• Problem of controlling large numbers of documents
• Problem of gathering and integrating information quickly against deadlines
• Problem of controlling electronic documents
• Problem of a slow network that is used for online training
• Problem of professional billing control for a group of lawyers (could be for any group)
Document Your Problem Selection: Document your problem selection using Template 1 from IT
Economics Corporation. See reference list. When you enter your information into Template 1, the result
will be your Activity 1. Note that IT Economics Corp. gives two examples of filled-in templates– these are
examples of what you are being asked to do to complete your “Initial” Activity 1. Post your Activity 1 as a
response to this topic (click “Start a New Thread”) and paste the template 1 table into the post.
The Activity 1 (based on Template 1) you post in the discussion section is your “initial” Activity 1. I will
give you feedback on your Activity 1 that you can use to improve it. (You will also get feedback from
your fellow students.) After you have revised your initial Activity 1 based on the feedback, you will
submit your updated template 1 as Activity 1 in a Word document as your “final” Activity 1 at the end of
week 4. I provide very specific feedback on your Activity 1 to help you get a good start in using the
templates. I know that this will be the first time many of you will have used templates like these.
Important: Look over the “Initial” Activity 1 postings of others and provide any helpful comments you
can based on your professional background and experiences. The objective of posting the Activity 1
documents in the “public” Discussions section is to enable students to see the selections of others and
to obtain insights and suggestions that can help make improvements in their own Template 1/Activity 1
problem statements. I will provide feedback to each student on his or her Activity 1 submission. You can
modify your Activity 1 based on the feedback you receive.
Your “Initial” Activity 1 is the only Activity you will be asked to post in the Discussions section. All
subsequent activities (based on subsequent templates) need to be posted in your Assignments folder
and I will provide my future feedback on your Activities to you there so only you can see it.
2. Discussion Questions
After you have completed the required readings, please answer at least one discussion question and
respond to at least one classmate for this week. See Week 1 Discussion Questions and participate in any
of the questions.
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