Reaching new performance and quality levels in the contracting function starts with establishing where you are today. How does your operation measure up? Are your current contracts delivering the results needed to support both program and agency missions? What's your compliance status?

Getting an accurate view of that "as is" state involves reviewing documents, conducting interviews and collecting a wide variety of information such as organizational and workload data; current policies, processes and practices; contract files; and relevant acquisition and program documentation. Patterns and trends will emerge. Commonality of requirements across programs and offices will become apparent. Systemic problems and misalignment of processes also will become evident. Look at the trends to identify opportunities and isolate problem areas. Pulling together this data forms a coherent picture of your current status to begin mapping the way forward. Contracting checklists and templates provide a structured and systematic basis for evaluation as well as means to standardize operations.

Overlaying your desired state on this current status, you can identify those areas needing change or improvement -- the gap analysis. Applying new processes and best practices to fill these gaps moves the organization forward in leveraging acquisition to achieve agency acquisition. The GAO Framework for Assessing the Acquisition Function at Federal Agencies provides a comprehensive methodology for assessing acquisition operations. Thoroughly assessing your current status provides insight into your contracting function - and real-time operational insight often is the best oversight.

Learn More »