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schedule delays. Most procurement departments are highly process-driven, and if you

miss something along the way, the procurement folks may or may not choose to show
mercy and lend a hand in getting the forms through.

Do not underestimate the power your procurement department possesses.
I have been involved on projects that were delayed for months because
the procurement process was not started in time or I missed one of the myriad

forms they require to complete the transaction. Make certain you know and
understand your procurement department’s rules and processes so that you don’t
bring about unnecessary time delays on your project.

As the project manager, you’re the buyer of goods and services for your project, so I’ll
cover the procurement process from the buyer’s perspective. The organization selling
the goods or services is referred to as a vendor, a seller, a supplier, a consultant, or a
contractor.

The typical areas where you may need to procure goods or services are discussed next:

Equipment For some projects, the equipment needs may be fairly simple to

determine. If you are developing a new application that requires new hardware, you’ll
need to obtain the hardware from outside your company. If you’re working on a project
that requires equipment your organization routinely has available, you’ll want to
reserve the equipment for the tasks and time frames needed for the project.

Staff Augmentation Staff augmentation may come about for several reasons.
Perhaps your organization lacks the expertise or skills needed in certain areas. Or,
there may be other critical projects that have reserved the same resources you need for

your project. Projects with a time constraint may also require more resources than are
currently available. Contract resources can help fill this gap.

Staff augmentation may range from contracting with a vendor to run the entire project
to contracting for specific resources to perform certain tasks. In my experience, staff
augmentation is often needed for large, complex projects.

Other Goods and Services Goods and services that your organization typically does

not produce or keep on hand are good candidates for procurement. You may also find
that some of the project deliverables are best met by procuring them from outside the
organization.

Procurement planning starts with the decision to procure goods or services outside the
organization. Once that decision has been made, you need to determine what type of
procurement vehicle is best for the purchase you need to make. A simple purchase
order may suffice, or you may need a contract.

Statement of Work

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