Today we went over the procedures to develop Performance Work Statements, and worked in groups on a practical exercise. My group got tasked with drawing one up for "acquisition and installation of a home theater system." We'll present our products tomorrow morning.
This exercise, along with some reflection on my own experience and the video from yesterday, showed how difficult it is to successfully communicate requirements. Here's just one, simple example.
I'm sure that whoever wrote this one up thought they'd considered everything that could go wrong, and this never even popped into their mind. Nevertheless, weird things happen, and you can't count on common sense when developing a Performance Work Statement.
Plus, there's all the things that contractors think about that military people don't. Federal Acquisition Regulation 37.602 stipulates that PWSs should include three things:
- Measurable performance standards
- Financial incentives, and
- a focus on results, not processes
These are the kinds of things we just don't normally think of. If we did, I'm sure performance evaluations would go a lot easier, but with everyone learning a new job all the time we tend to value
responsiveness more than
professionalism.
In a hierarchical organization, superiors can get away with stuff like, "I don't know what I want, but I'll know it when I see it." Plus, you can waste people's time all you want and then force them to stay late, spouting platitudes like "Always put the mission first!"
However, that is the EXACT OPPOSITE of how contracting works, and it can be a real challenge to think way.
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