Develop PWS/QASP
The Performance Work Statement (PWS) defines specific results or outcomes derived
from the commercial activity, including performance measures, standards and timeframes.
The PWS becomes Section C, the technical performance section of the Request for
Proposal (RFP) issued by the Contracting Officer. The Quality Assurance Surveillance
Plan (QASP) describes methods of inspection, required reports, and resources to
be used, including estimated work hours.
What is a Performance Work Statement (PWS – also known as SOW, PRD, or Requirements
Document)?
A PWS is the description of what the Government intends to buy, regardless of the
outcome of the cost comparison. The PWS provides the requirements, performance measures
and standards, workload and conditions of performance. It is a method for acquiring
what is required and placing the responsibility for how it is accomplished on the
Service Provider. The Government's Management Plan and related costs, and Contractor/ISSA
technical and cost proposals will all be based upon the PWS. The QASP is a plan
that focuses on the quality of the products and/or services received from the PA
rather than on the procedures used to provide them. The QASP details the following:
- The methods for surveillance of each award requirement
- The evaluation procedures to be used for each surveillance method
- The approaches for implementation of the QASP
What is meant by Performance Based Service Acquisition (PBSA)?
PBSA involves strategies, methods, and techniques for acquiring services that communicate
the desired end result. It is structured to define a service requirement in terms
of performance objectives and to give Service Providers latitude to determine how
to meet those performance objectives.
What are the steps in the PWS development process?
The steps in the PWS development process are:
- Identifying activity goals consistent with the mission of the organization.
- Developing desired performance outcomes for the services to be provided based on
these activity goals.
- Developing performance measures and standards to gauge progress toward the outcomes.
- Measuring performance to determine if performance standards have been met.
What are the sections of a PWS (Section C of the Solicitation)?
The following major sections provide the basis for a PWS outline. This format is
the most common:
- Section C-1 - This section provides a broad overview of the PWS. Contains a description
of the scope of work.
- Section C-2 - This section includes special terms and phrases used in the PWS. The
definitions must clearly establish what is meant so that disinterested parties will
fully understand them. This section should communicate A-76 and activity specific
terms and acronyms.
- Section C-3 - This section references applicable exhibits and specific terms and
conditions not covered in the FAR clauses.
- Section C-4 - This section holds the Service Provider accountable for all items
required by the proposed approach that is not Government-Furnished.
- Section C-5 - This section is the heart of the PWS, designed to communicate the
requirements to potential Service Providers in a clear and understandable manner.
- Section C-6 - This section has standard text to reference exhibits listing appropriate
documents.
- Technical Exhibits - This section contains items too bulky to include in the main
body of the PWS. Also, the analyst may want to include information helpful to the
potential Service Providers.
What is the Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan (QASP)?
The QASP is the mechanism for implementing the inspection and acceptance clauses
in the FAR. Therefore, Quality Assurance is performed by the Government to assess
Service Provider performance.
What are performance measures and how do they relate to the QASP?
Performance measures are qualitative measures or indicators of progress toward specified
outcomes or benchmarks and are the basis for the QASP. In developing the QASP, it
is important to think about which are the critical tasks of the PWS that are worth
measuring; choose fewer metrics, not more. Choose metrics that are easy to collect.
The key to developing the QASP is to base the metrics on controllable factors that
a service provider should be able to accomplish without dependence on other Govt.
processes or decisions, and to motivate the right behaviors. Monitoring performance
can become very costly if the QASP is written to check every task, every day for
100% compliance. The Government needs to first determine to what standard they are
currently performing before setting higher standards that either an MEO or contract/ISSA
provider could not achieve without great expense.
Resources:
Policy
Guides and Recommended Readings