Project Procurement and Contract Management, Research Paper Example

Project Management Life Cycle defines how to manage a project, according to the NYS Project Management Guidebook (2012), and one of the biggest challenges facing objectives managers using this concept, is to align special project life cycles with procurement management and contract management activities, which may all be ongoing and concurrent.

Project Management Life Cycle managers in embracing Procurement Management and Contract Management of goods and services, also need to be aware that the two components will have different objectives while constantly interacting within the same market segment, according to NYS Project Management Guidebook (2012).

Contract Management according to DPSS (2012) entails the use of a contract manager or a supervisor, whose job it is to ensure that both parties to the contract fully understand their respective obligations and are ensuring the best values are being given for the money that will eventually be paid at the end of the project.

However, preceding the initiation of the contract management process, Project Management Life Cycle practitioners, will always have to make allowance for all stages of the procurement process, which include the requirement, requisition, solicitation, award, and contract management cycles. The latter aspect of the process involves the managing of subcontractors until definitive products or services are delivered to the standards expected, and from which payments can be made (Project Procurement and Contract Management in Ethics, 2012).

A major advantage in successfully incorporating procurement and contract management in any Project Management Life Cycle, is the realization that each process will result in a specific product or service being delivered within given parameters, and upon analysis and examination, can be used as foundation for subsequent exercises.

Additionally, the combination of a series of such procurement management processes will enable the development of best practice patterns for managing contracts and vendor relationships going forward.

Case Study Report

In a case concerning Atkins, the issue of obligation arose and the organization had to forthrightly deny claims that its contract represented poor value for money, according to DPSS (2012).

The accusation came about during Atkins provision of 24 hour accommodation help desk and IT platform services to UK Probation Services Estate, and the management of the service company had to state in details, that in the process of handling calls, providing asset management systems, work approval and instruction process to service contractors, it was always meeting its obligations to the fullest extent (DPSS, 2012).

It could be argued that UK Probation Service Estate did not utilize the a proper procurement management process, when seeking a service provider for its estate, and as such as receiving poor value for its money, despite opposition from Atkins.

Had the company selected a service provider through the procurement management process, it would have been able to develop a short list of suppliers that it could conduct research on and compare what they were offering objectively before making an informed choice.

UK Probation Service Estate would have been able to compare cost, years of service and even get feedback from past and present customers that were in contractual relationship with each of the prospective service provider.

Assuming the writer was in a senior position within UK Probation Service Estate, the problem would have been solved by sending a team of qualified examiners to the job site to monitor the quality of services being offered, and constantly making comparisons to the requirements stated on the procurement forms, to see whether Atkins were in conformance or not. Should the service provider be found deficient, his services would then be terminated and a new procurement management process set in motion, to find a supplier that will ensure the company brand remain untarnished in the eyes of its stakeholders.

Special Procurement Project

Three companies had offered their catering services for the right to serve quests at a wedding in the family, and this writer was fortunate to have access to the details. On examination of all the relevant requirements, requisitions, solicitation awards and the contracts, this writer made a recommendation that the bride and groom instantly agreed to and the wedding went ahead.

The outcome was successful because the caterer was asked for his business card by a number of very satisfied guests and the feedback from several others who attended were also quite good.

Reference

DPSS Consultants (2012). Practical Contract Management (2012). Retrieved from: www.dpss.co.uk/news/practical-contract-management.php on 07/09/12

NYS Project Management Guidebook (2012). Project Management Life Cycle Retrieved from www.cio.ny.gov./pmpguide , 07/09/12

Project Procurement, Contract Management and Ethics (2012). Lecture 45 Retrieved from: www.pec.org.pk/scourse..Procurement%20%20contracts.pp , 07/09/12