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Chapter 9

Conducting Procurements and Sharing Information

The PMP® exam content from the Executing the Project performance domain covered in this chapter includes the following:

• Task 1: Obtain and manage project resources, including outsourced deliverables, by following the procurement plan in order to ensure successful project execution.
• Task 2: Execute the tasks as defined in the project plan in order to achieve the project deliverables within budget and schedule.
• Task 3: Implement the quality management plan, using the appropriate tools and techniques, in order to ensure that work is being performed according to required quality standards.
• Task 5: Implement approved actions (e.g., workarounds) by following the risk management plan in order to minimize the impact of the risks on the project.
• Knowledge and Skills:
  • Project monitoring tools and techniques
  • Elements of a statement of work
  • Interaction of work breakdown structure elements within the project schedule
  • Project budgeting tools and techniques
  • Quality standard tools
  • Continuous improvement processes

This chapter wraps up the Executing process group. We’ll look at four processes in this chapter: Conduct Procurements, Perform Quality Assurance, Distribute Information, and Manage Stakeholder Expectations.

Most of these processes aren’t related to each other, but all are necessary to conduct the work of the project. They work in coordination with all the other Executing processes and are extensions of the Planning processes that preceded them (such as Plan Procurements, Plan Quality, and so on). Conduct Procurements and Perform Quality Assurance in particular work hand in hand with their Monitoring and Controlling processes (Administer Procurements and Perform Quality Control) to implement, measure, and report services and results.

The Conduct Procurements process is where sellers respond to the bids prepared in the Plan Procurements process. Contract awards are made here also. In Perform Quality Assurance, we’ll look at several techniques to audit the project’s quality requirements against the quality results. Distribute Information will cover more communication topics, including status reports, and last but not least we’ll talk about Managing Stakeholder Expectations, which is critical during the Executing processes. Grab your favorite beverage and let’s get started.

Conducting Procurements

Many times project managers must purchase goods or services to complete some or all of the work of the project. Sometimes the entire project is completed on contract. The Conduct Procurements process is concerned with obtaining responses to bids and proposals from potential vendors, selecting a vendor, and awarding the contract.

This process has several inputs:

• Project management plan (procurement management plan)
• Source selection criteria
• Qualified seller list
• Seller proposals
• Project documents
• Make-or-buy decisions
• Teaming agreements
• Organizational process assets

I’ve talked about most of these inputs in previous chapters. Procurement documents include requests for proposals (RFPs), requests for information (RFIs), requests for quotations (RFQs), and so on. The responses to those proposals become inputs to this process. Source selection criteria was defined in the Plan Procurements process that we talked about in Chapter 7, “Planning Project Resources.” In the tools and techniques section for this process, we’ll talk more about how seller proposals are evaluated.

Qualified sellers lists are lists of prospective sellers who have been preapproved or prequalified to provide contract services (or provide supplies and materials) for the organization. For example, your organization might require vendors to register and maintain information regarding their experience, offerings, and current prices on a qualified seller list. Usually, vendors must go through the procurement department to be placed on the list. Project managers are then required to choose their vendors from the qualified seller list published by the procurement department. However, not all organizations have qualified seller lists. If a list isn’t available, you’ll have to work with the project team to come up with your own requirements for selecting vendors.

In the following sections, you’ll examine some new tools and techniques that will help vendors give you a better idea of their responses, and then you’ll move on to the outputs of this process, two of which are the selected seller and procurement contract award.

Conduct Procurements Tools and Techniques

Remember that the purpose of the Conduct Procurements process is to obtain responses to your RFP (or similar procurement document), select the right vendor for the job, and award the contract. The tools and techniques of this process are designed to assist the vendors in getting their proposals to you and include techniques for evaluating those proposals. The tools and techniques are as follows:

• Bidder conferences
• Proposal evaluation techniques
• Independent estimates
• Expert judgment
• Advertising
• Internet search
• Procurement negotiations

We’ll look at each of these tools and techniques next with the exception of expert judgment.

Bidder Conferences

Bidder conferences (also known as vendor conferences, prebid conferences, and contractor conferences according to the PMBOK® Guide) are meetings with prospective vendors or sellers that occur prior to the completion of their response proposal. You or someone from your procurement department arranges the bidder conference. The purpose is to allow all prospective vendors to meet with the buyers to ask questions and clarify issues they have regarding the project and the RFP. The meeting is held once, and all vendors attend at the same time. The bidder conference is held before the vendors prepare their responses so that they are sure their RFP responses will address the project requirements.

Proposal Evaluation Techniques

There are several techniques you might use to evaluate proposals. Simple procurements may not need much more than a quick check against the statement of work or a price comparison. Complex procurements may need several rounds of evaluation to begin narrowing the list of sellers. This is where you might use one or more of the following evaluation techniques to get to the final winner.

You can use source selection criteria as one method of rating and scoring proposals. We discussed source selection criteria in Chapter 7. You may recall that this includes several elements such as an understanding of the work, costs, technical capability, risk, warranty, and so on. We’ll get into more detail on some of these criteria here. Keep in mind this is an input to the Conduct Procurements process, not a tool and technique, even though you’ll be using it as you would a tool and technique.

The types of goods and services you’re trying to procure will dictate how detailed your evaluation criteria are. (Of course, if your organization has policies in place for evaluating proposals, then you’ll use the format or criteria already established.) The selection of some goods and services might be price driven only. In other words, the bidder with the lowest price will win the bid. This is typical when the items you’re buying are widely available.

When you’re purchasing goods, you might request a sample from each vendor in order to compare quality (or some other criteria) against your need. For example, perhaps you need a special kind of paper stock for a project you’re working on at a bank. This stock must have a watermark, it must have security threads embedded through the paper, and when the paper is used for printing, the ink must not be erasable. You can request samples of stock with these qualities from the vendors and then test them to see whether they’ll work for your project.

It’s always appropriate to ask the vendor for references, especially when you’re hiring contract services. It’s difficult to assess the quality of services because it’s not a tangible product. References can tell you whether the vendor delivered on time, whether the vendor had the technical capability to perform the work, and whether the vendor’s management approach was appropriate when troubles surfaced. Create a list of questions to ask the references before you call.

You can request financial records to assure you—the buyer—that the vendor has the fiscal ability to perform the services they’re proposing and that the vendor can purchase whatever equipment is needed to perform the services. If you examine the records of the company and find that it’s two steps away from bankruptcy, that company might not be a likely candidate for your project. (Remember those general management skills? Here’s another example where they come into play.)

One of the most important criteria is the evaluation of the response itself to determine whether the vendor has a clear understanding of what you’re asking them to do or provide. If they missed the mark (remember, they had an opportunity at the bidder conferences to ask clarifying questions) and didn’t understand what you were asking them to provide, you’ll probably want to rank them very low.

Now you can compare each proposal against the criteria and rate or score each proposal for its ability to meet or fulfill these criteria. This can serve as your first step in eliminating vendors that don’t match your criteria. Let’s say you received 18 responses to an RFP. After evaluating each one, you discover that six of them don’t match all the evaluation criteria. You eliminate those six vendors in this round. The next step is to apply the tools and techniques of this process to further evaluate the remaining 12 potential vendors.

Weighting Systems

Weighting systems assign numerical weights to evaluation criteria and then multiply them by the weights of each criteria factor to come up with total scores for each vendor. This technique provides a way to quantify the data and assist in keeping personal biases to a minimum. Weighting systems are useful when you have multiple vendors to choose from because they allow you to rank the proposals to determine the sequence of negotiations.

You’ll find an example of a weighted scoring system in Chapter 2, “Creating the Project Charter.” These systems are commonly used to evaluate vendor proposals.

Screening Systems

Screening systems use predefined performance criteria or a set of defined minimum requirements to screen out unsuitable vendors. Perhaps your project requires board-certified engineers. One of the screening criteria would be that vendors propose project team members who have this qualification. If they don’t, they’re eliminated from the selection process.

Screening systems can be used together with some of the other tools and techniques of this process, weighting systems, and independent estimates, to rank vendor proposals.

Seller Rating Systems

Seller rating systems use information about the sellers—such as past performance, delivery, contract compliance, and quality ratings—to determine seller performance. Your organization might have seller rating systems in place, and you should check with your procurement department to see whether they exist for the bidders on your project. Part of the Administer Procurements process (I’ll talk about this in Chapter 10, “Measuring and Controlling Project Performance,”) concerns gathering and recording this type of information. Don’t use seller rating systems as your sole criteria for evaluating vendors.

Independent Estimates

Your procurement department might conduct independent estimates (also known as should cost estimates) of the costs of the proposal and compare these to the vendor prices. If there are large differences between the independent estimate and the proposed vendor cost, one of two things is happening: either the statement of work (SOW) or the terms of the contract or both are not detailed enough to allow the vendor to come up with an accurate cost, or the vendor simply failed to respond to all the requirements laid out in the contract or SOW.

Advertising

Advertising is letting potential vendors know that an RFP is available. Advertising can be used as a way of expanding the pool of potential vendors or it may be a requirement, such as in the case of government projects. The company’s Internet site, professional journals, or newspapers are examples of where advertising might appear.

Internet Search

Internet searches have several useful features in this process. You can use Internet searches to find vendors, perform research on their past performance, and compare prices. You can also use the Internet to purchase items that are readily available and are generally offered for a fixed price. Internet searches are probably not useful when you’re conducting high-risk or complex procurements, but you could do some research on company performance and reputation to help in choosing a vendor.

Procurement Negotiation

In procurement negotiation, both parties come to an agreement regarding the contract terms. Negotiation skills are put into practice here as the details of the contract are ironed out between the parties. At a minimum, contract language should include price, responsibilities, regulations or laws that apply, and the overall approach to the project.

The complexity of the contract will determine how extensive the contract negotiations will be. Simple contracts may have predetermined, nonnegotiable elements that only require seller acceptance. Complex contracts may include any number of elements, including financing options, overall schedule, proprietary rights, service-level agreements, technical aspects, and more. In either case, once agreement is reached and the negotiations are finished, the contract is signed by both buyer and seller and then it is executed.

You might see the term fait accompli show up on the exam. Fait accompli tactics are used during contract negotiation when one party tries to convince the other party discussing a particular contract item that it is no longer an issue. It can be a distraction technique, when the party practicing fait accompli tactics is purposely trying to keep from negotiating an issue and claims the issue cannot be changed. For example, during negotiations the vendor tells you that the key resource they’re assigning to your project must start immediately or you’ll lose that resource and they’ll get assigned work elsewhere. However, you don’t know—because the vendor didn’t tell you—that the vendor can reserve this resource for your project and hold them until the start date. In this instance, they used fait accompli tactics to push you into starting the project, or hiring this resource, sooner than you would have otherwise.

The literal translation of fait accompli into English is fact realized or accomplished. This tactic does not always produce a negative result. For example, when candidate Barack Obama was running for the White House, he promised his daughters that if he won the election, they could get a dog. Once he won the election, getting a dog was no longer in question; it became a fact realized or a done deal you might say. In April 2009, President Obama and his family welcomed Bo, a Portuguese Water Dog, to the White House.

The project team is in the Conduct Procurements process and has received bids based on the RFP published earlier this month. Fitness Counts is using a combination of selection criteria and a weighted scoring model to choose a vendor.

One of the evaluation criteria states that the vendor must have prior experience with a project like this. Four vendors met that criteria and proceeded to the weighted scoring selection process.

Amanda is one of the members of the selection committee. She and four other members on the committee rated the four vendors who met the initial selection criteria. They read all of the proposals and rated the criteria using factors they had predetermined for each. For example, vendors who proposed a SQL database as part of the “Platform” criteria (along with the other predetermined factors) should receive a total weighted score of 5. Table 9-1 shows their results.

Vendor C is the clear winner of this bid. Based on the weighted scoring model, their responses to the RFP came out ahead of the other bidders. Amanda calls them with the good news and also calls the other vendors to thank them for participating in the bid. Vendor C is awarded the contract, and Amanda moves on to the Contract Administration process.

Table 9-1: A Weighted Scoring Model

Conduct Procurements Outputs

The Conduct Procurements process has six outputs:

• Selected sellers
• Procurement contract award
• Resource calendars
• Change requests
• Project management plan updates
• Project document updates

The selected sellers output is obvious: you choose the seller (or sellers) to whom you’ll award the project and execute the contract. I’ll talk more about the procurement contract award next. I’ve discussed all the other outputs previously.

Elements of a Procurement Contract Award

You might recall that a contract is a legally binding agreement between two or more parties, typically used to acquire goods or services. Contracts have several names, including agreements, memorandums of understanding (MOUs), subcontracts, and purchase orders.

The type of contract you’ll award will depend on the product or services you’re procuring and your organizational policies. I talked about the types of contracts—fixed price, cost reimbursable, and so on—in Chapter 6, “Risk Planning.” If you need a refresher, you can refer back to it. If your project has multiple sellers, you’ll award contracts for each of them.

The contract should clearly address the elements of the SOW, time period of performance, pricing and payment plan, acceptance criteria, warranty periods, dispute resolution procedures, and so on.

Because contracts are legally binding and obligate your organization to fulfill the terms, they’ll likely be subject to some intensive review, often by several different people. Be certain you understand your organization’s policies on contract review and approval before proceeding.

Contracts, like projects, have a life cycle of their own. You might encounter questions on the exam regarding the stages of the contract life cycles, so we’ll look at this topic next.

Contract Life Cycles

The contract life cycle consists of four stages:

• Requirement
• Requisition
• Solicitation
• Award

These stages are closely related to the following Project Procurement Management Knowledge Area processes from the PMBOK® Guide:

• Plan Procurements
• Conduct Procurements

A description of each of the contract life cycles follows.

Requirement The requirement stage is the equivalent of the Plan Procurements process I discussed in Chapter 7. You establish the project and contract needs in this cycle, and you define the requirements of the project. The SOW defines the work of the project, the objectives, and a high-level overview of the deliverables. You develop a work breakdown structure (WBS), a make-or-buy analysis takes place, and you determine cost estimates.

The buyer provides the SOW to describe the requirements of the project when it’s performed under contract. The product description can serve as the SOW.

Requisition In the requisition stage, the project objectives are refined and confirmed. Solicitation materials such as the request for proposals (RFP), request for information (RFI), and request for quotations (RFQ) are prepared during this phase. Generally, the project manager is responsible for preparing the RFP, RFI, and RFQ. A review of the potential qualified vendors takes place, including checking references and reviewing other projects the vendor has worked on that are similar to your proposed project. Requisition occurs during the Plan Procurements process.

Solicitation The solicitation stage is where vendors are asked to compete for the contract and respond to the RFP. You can use the tools and techniques of the Conduct Procurements process during this contract stage. The resulting output is the proposals. Solicitation occurs during the Conduct Procurements process.

Award Vendors are chosen and contracts are awarded and signed during the award stage. The Conduct Procurements process is the equivalent of the award phase.

The project manager—or the selection committee, depending on the organizational policy—receives the bids and proposals during the award phase and applies evaluation criteria to each in order to score or rank the responses. After ranking each of the proposals, an award is made to the winning vendor, and the contract is written.

Once you have a contract, someone has to administer it. In large organizations, this responsibility will fall to the procurement department. The project manager should still have a solid understanding of administering contracts because that person will work with the procurement department to determine the satisfactory fulfillment of the contract.

Now we’re going to switch courses and discuss the quality assurance aspects of the project. We discussed the Plan Quality process back in Chapter 7, which prepared us for the Perform Quality Assurance process that’s conducted during the Executing process group. We’ll look at it next.

Laying Out Quality Assurance Procedures

The Plan Quality process laid out the quality standards for the project and determined how those standards are to be satisfied. The Perform Quality Assurance process involves performing systematic quality activities and uses quality audits to determine which processes should be used to achieve the project requirements and to assure they are performed efficiently and effectively.

The project team members, the project manager, and the stakeholders are all responsible for the quality assurance of the project. Continuous process improvement can be achieved through this process, bringing about improved process performance and eliminating unnecessary actions.

A quality assurance department or organization may be assigned to the project to oversee these processes. In that case, quality assurance might be provided to (rather than by) the project team. The project manager will have the greatest impact on the quality of the project during this process.

You’ll review the inputs to this process next and then spend some time exploring a few new tools and techniques for assuring a quality product and project.

Inputs to Perform Quality Assurance

The inputs to Perform Quality Assurance are what you use to measure the organizational project quality management processes against. The quality management processes were defined during Quality Planning. The inputs to the Perform Quality Assurance process are as follows:

• Project management plan
• Quality metrics
• Work performance information
• Quality control measurements

You’ve heard about the inputs to Perform Quality Assurance before, so we’ll move right into the tools and techniques of this section.

Perform Quality Assurance Tools and Techniques

The Perform Quality Assurance process has three tools and techniques: Plan Quality and Perform Quality Control tools and techniques, quality audits, and process analysis.

I discussed Plan Quality planning tools and techniques during the Quality Planning process in Chapter 7. You’ll recall that the tools and techniques are cost-benefit analysis, cost of quality, control charts, benchmarking, design of experiments, statistical sampling, flowcharting, proprietary quality management methodologies, and additional quality planning tools. When we discuss the Perform Quality Control process in Chapter 11, “Controlling Work Results,” we’ll add even more tools to our quality tool bag with some Perform Quality Control tools and techniques. All of these tools and techniques from both the Plan Quality and Perform Quality Control processes can be used during the Perform Quality Assurance process as well to measure project performance.

We’ll look at the remaining tools and techniques in the following sections.

Quality Audits

Quality audits are independent reviews performed by trained auditors or third-party reviewers. The purpose of a quality audit is the same as the purpose of the Perform Quality Assurance process—to identify ineffective and inefficient activities or processes used on the project. These audits might examine and uncover inefficient processes and procedures as well as processes that are not in compliance with organizational practices.

You can perform quality audits on a regular schedule or at random, depending on the organizational policies. Quality audits performed correctly will provide the following benefits:

• The product of the project is fit for use and meets safety standards.
• Applicable laws and standards are followed.
• Corrective action is recommended and implemented where necessary.
• The quality plan for the project is followed.
• Quality improvements are identified.
• The implementation of approved change requests, corrective actions, preventive actions, and defect repairs are confirmed.
• Gaps or shortcomings in the process are identified.

Quality improvements come about as a result of the quality audits. During the course of the audit, you might discover ways of improving the efficiency or effectiveness of the project, thereby increasing the value of the project and more than likely exceeding stakeholder expectations.

Quality improvements are implemented by submitting change requests and/or taking corrective action. Quality improvements interface with the Monitoring and Controlling processes because of the need to submit change requests.

Experienced specialists generally perform quality audits. The specialist’s job is to produce an independent evaluation of the quality process. Some organizations are large enough to have their own quality assurance departments or quality assurance teams; others might have to hire contract personnel to perform this function. Internal quality assurance teams report results to the project team and management team of the organization. External quality assurance teams report results to the customer.

Process Analysis

Process analysis looks at process improvement from an organizational and technical perspective. According to the PMBOK® Guide, process analysis follows the steps in the process improvement plan and examines the following:

• Problems experienced while conducting the project
• Constraints experienced while conducting the work of the project
• Inefficient and ineffective processes identified during process operation

One of the techniques of process analysis includes performing root cause analysis. (I talked about root cause analysis in the Identify Risks process in Chapter 6.) While you’re examining problems and constraints, for example, you should look for what’s causing the problem. The result of this exercise will allow you to develop preventive actions for problems that are similar to the problem you’re examining or that have the similar root causes.

Perform Quality Assurance Outputs

The Perform Quality Assurance process has four outputs:

• Organizational process assets updates
• Change requests
• Project management plan updates
• Project document updates

These aren’t new, but there is one new idea embedded in the change requests output. During this process, any recommended corrective actions, whether they are a result of a quality audit or process analysis, should be acted upon immediately. Let’s say you’re manufacturing parts for one of the deliverables of your project. Obviously, the moment you discover that the parts are not correct, you’d correct the process by calibrating the machine perhaps, or by using different raw materials, to make certain the parts are produced accurately.

Once again we’re going to shift gears and talk about a new process. We’ll look at best practices regarding sharing and distributing information next.

Distributing Project Information

The Distribute Information process is concerned with getting stakeholders information about the project in a timely manner. This can come about in several ways: status reports, project meetings, review meetings, and so on. Status reports are actually part of the work performance information you saw in the output of the Direct and Manage Project Execution process. Status reports inform stakeholders about where the project is today in regard to project schedule and budget, for example. They also describe what the project team has accomplished to date. This might include milestones completed to date, the percentage of schedule completion, and what remains to be completed. The Distribute Information process describes how this report and other information are distributed and to whom.

In the Distribute Information process, the communications management plan that was defined during the Plan Communications process is put into action. Remember that this plan is a subsidiary of the project management plan, which is an input to this process. The other inputs include performance reports and organizational process assets. Plan Communications and Distribute Information work together to report the progress of the project team.

Distribute Information has some new tools and techniques, which we’ll look at next.

Tools and Techniques of Distribute Information

The tools and techniques of this process are as follows:

• Communication methods
• Information distribution tools

Communication methods include all means feasible to communicate project information to the appropriate recipients, such as meetings, email, videoconferences, conference calls, and so on.

Communication skills are probably the single most important skill in your project management toolbox. You can’t employ communication methods without some sound communication skills, so let’s take a look at this topic next.

Developing Great Communication Skills

Every aspect of your job as a project manager will involve communications. It has been estimated that project managers spend as much as 90 percent of their time communicating in one form or another. Therefore, communication skills are arguably one of the most important skills a project manager can have. They are even more important than technical skills. Good communication skills foster an open, trusting environment, and excellent communication skills are a project manager’s best asset.

Throughout this book I’ve emphasized how important good communication skills are. Now I’ll discuss the act of communication, listening behaviors, and conflict resolution. You’ll employ each of these techniques with your project team, stakeholders, customers, and management team.

Information Exchange

Communication is the process of exchanging information. All communication includes three elements:

Sender The sender is the person responsible for putting the information together in a clear and concise manner. The information should be complete and presented in a way that the receiver will be able to correctly understand it. Make your messages relevant to the receiver. Junk mail is annoying, and information that doesn’t pertain in any way whatsoever to the receiver is nothing more than that.

Message The message is the information being sent and received. It might be written, verbal, nonverbal, formal, informal, internal, external, horizontal, or vertical. Horizontal communications are messages sent and received to peers. Vertical communications are messages sent and received down to subordinates and up to executive management.

Receiver The receiver is the person for whom the message is intended. They are responsible for understanding the information correctly and making sure they’ve received all the information.

Keep in mind that receivers filter the information they receive through their knowledge of the subject, culture influences, language, emotions, attitudes, and geographic locations. The sender should take these filters into consideration when sending messages so that the receiver will clearly understand the message that was sent.

Methods of Information Exchange

Senders, receivers, and messages are the elements of communication. The way the sender packages or encodes the information and transmits it and the way the receiver unpacks or decodes the message are the methods of communication exchange.

Senders encode messages. Encoding is a method of putting the information into a format the receiver will understand. Language, pictures, and symbols are used to encode messages. Encoding formats the message for transmitting.

Transmitting is the way the information gets from the sender to the receiver. Spoken words, written documentation, memos, email, and voicemail are all transmitting methods.

Decoding is what the receiver does with the information when they get it. They convert it into an understandable format. Usually, this means they read the memo, listen to the speaker, read the book, and so on.

Forms of Communication

Communication occurs primarily in written or verbal form. Granted, you can point to something or indicate what you need with motions, but usually you use the spoken or written word to get your message across.

Verbal communication is easier and less complicated than written communication, and it’s usually a fast method of communication. Written communication, on the other hand, is an excellent way to get across complex, detailed messages. Detailed instructions are better provided in written form because it gives the reader the ability to go back over information about which they’re not quite sure.

Both verbal and written communication might take a formal or an informal approach. Speeches and lectures are examples of formal verbal communication. Most project status meetings take more of a formal approach, as do most written project status reports. Generally speaking, the project manager should take an informal approach when communicating with stakeholders and project team members outside of the status meetings. This makes you appear more open and friendly and easier to approach with questions and issues.

Effective Listening Skills

What did you say? Often we think we’re listening when we really aren’t. In all fairness, we can take in only so much information at one time. However, it is important to perform active listening when someone else is speaking. As a project manager, you will spend the majority of your time communicating with team members, stakeholders, customers, vendors, and others. This means you should be as good a listener as you are a communicator.

You can use several techniques to improve your listening skills. Many books are devoted to this topic, so I’ll try to highlight some of the most common techniques here:

• Appear interested in what the speaker is saying. This will make the speaker feel at ease and will benefit you as well. By acting interested, you become interested and thereby retain more of the information being presented.
• Making eye contact with the speaker is another effective listening tool. This lets the speaker know you are paying attention to what they’re saying and are interested.
• Put your speaker at ease by letting them know beforehand that you’re interested in what they’re going to talk about and that you’re looking forward to hearing what they have to say. While they’re speaking, nod your head, smile, or make comments when and if appropriate to let the speaker know you understand the message. If you don’t understand something and are in the proper setting, ask clarifying questions.
• Another great trick that works well in lots of situations is to recap what the speaker said in your own words and tell it back to them. Start with something like this, “Let me make sure I understand you correctly, you’re saying…,” and ask the speaker to confirm that you did understand them correctly.
• Just as your mother always said, it’s impolite to interrupt. Interrupting is a way of telling the speaker that you aren’t really listening and you’re more interested in telling them what you have to say than listening to them. Interrupting gets the other person off track, they might forget their point, and it might even make them angry.

Not to disagree with Mom, but there probably are some occasions where interrupting is appropriate. For example, if you’re in a project status meeting and someone wants to take the meeting off course, sometimes the only way to get the meeting back on track is to interrupt them. You can do this politely. Start first by saying the person’s name to get their attention. Then let them know that you’d be happy to talk with them about their topic outside of the meeting or add it to the agenda for the next status meeting if it’s something everyone needs to hear. Sorry, Mom.

Resolving Conflicts

We discussed conflict resolution techniques in Chapter 8, “Developing the Project Team.” They are also a form of communication skills. You may recall the conflict resolution techniques:

• Forcing
• Smoothing/accommodating
• Compromise
• Confrontation/problem solving
• Collaborating
• Withdrawal/avoidance

Keep in mind that group size makes a difference when you’re trying to resolve conflicts or make decisions. Remember the channels of communication you learned about in Chapter 5, “Developing the Project Budget”? The larger the group, the more lines of communication and the more difficult it will be to reach a decision. Groups of 5 to 11 people have a manageable number of participants and have been shown to make the most accurate decisions.

Use communication, listening, and conflict resolution skills wisely. As a project manager, you’ll find that your day-to-day activities encompass these three areas the majority of the time. Project managers with excellent communication skills can work wonders. Communication won’t take the place of proper planning and management techniques, but a project manager who communicates well with their team and the stakeholders can make up for a lack of technical skills any day, hands down. If your team and your stakeholders trust you and you can communicate the vision and the project goals and report on project status accurately and honestly, the world is your oyster.

Information Distribution Tools

Information distribution tools are ways of getting the project information to the project team or stakeholders. As the name implies, these are ways to distribute the information and might include email, hard copy, voice mail, videoconferencing, and so on. It also includes electronic project management tools like schedules and meeting software for maintaining project records.

Output of Distribute Information

Organizational process assets updates are the output of the Distribute Information process. The updates here consist of six elements:

Stakeholder notifications Remember that the focus of this process is distributing information. Stakeholder notifications involve notifying stakeholders when you have implemented solutions and approved changes, have updated project status, have resolved issues, and so on.

Project reports Project reports include the project status reports and minutes from project meetings, lessons learned, closure reports, and other documents from all the process outputs throughout the project. If you’re keeping an issue log, the issues should be included with the project reports as well.

Project presentations Project presentations involve presenting project information to the stakeholders and other appropriate parties when necessary. The presentations might be formal or informal and depend on the audience and the information being communicated.

Project records As you might guess, project records include memos, correspondence, and other documents concerning the project. The best place to keep information like this is in a project notebook or in a set of project notebooks, depending on the size of the project. The project notebooks are ordinary three-ring binders where project information gets filed. They are maintained by the project manager or project office and contain all information regarding the project. You could also keep the information on a project website, the company intranet, or CDs. If you’re keeping the information electronically, make certain it’s backed up regularly. Individual team members might keep their own project records in notebooks or electronically as well. These records serve as historical information once the project is closed.

Feedback from stakeholders This one ties into lessons learned. Feedback you receive from the stakeholders that can improve future performance on this project or future projects should be captured and documented. If the information has an impact on the current project, distribute it to the appropriate team members so that future project performance can be modified to improve results.

Lessons learned documentation Lessons learned are information that you gather and document throughout the course of the project that can be used to benefit the current project, future projects, or other projects currently being performed by the organization. Lessons learned might include positive as well as negative lessons.

During the Distribute Information process, you’ll begin conducting lessons learned meetings focusing on many different areas, depending on the nature of your project. These areas might include project management processes, product development, technical processes, project team performance, stakeholder involvement, and so on.

Lessons learned meetings should always be conducted at the end of project phases and at the end of the project at minimum. Team members, stakeholders, vendors, and others involved on the project should participate in these meetings. It’s important to understand, and to make your team members understand, that this is not a finger-pointing meeting. The purpose of lessons learned is to understand what went well and why—so you can repeat it on future projects—and what didn’t go so well and why—so you can perform differently on future projects. These meetings can make good team-building sessions because you’re creating an atmosphere of trust and sharing and you’re building on each other’s strengths to improve performance.

You should document the reasons or causes for the issues, the corrective action taken and why, and any other information from which future projects might benefit.

We’re making one last switch of focus in this chapter and will examine how to manage stakeholder expectations next.

Managing Stakeholder Expectations

In my experience, managing stakeholder expectations is much more difficult than managing project team members. Stakeholders are often managers or directors in the organization who might be higher in the food chain than the project manager and aren’t afraid to let you know it. Having said that, you can manage stakeholder expectations and you do this using communication.

The Manage Stakeholder Expectations process is about satisfying the needs of the stakeholders by managing communications with them, resolving issues, improving project performance by implementing requested changes, and managing concerns in anticipation of potential problems.

Stakeholders need lots of communication in every form you can provide. If you are actively engaged with your stakeholders and interacting with them, providing project status, and resolving issues, your chances of a successful project are much greater than if you don’t do these things.

Manage Stakeholder Expectations Inputs

The inputs of Manage Stakeholder Expectations include the following:

• Stakeholder register
• Stakeholder management strategy
• Project management plan
• Issue log
• Change log
• Organizational process assets

We have discussed each of these inputs previously with the exception of the change log. We’ll look more closely at change logs in the next chapter, but for purposes of this process, understand that this is a log that documents all the changes made during the course of the project. In terms of stakeholder expectations, you’ll want to keep stakeholders updated on changes and their impacts on the project.

One thing to note about the issue log in this process is that it acts more like an action item log where you record the actions needed to resolve stakeholder concerns and project issues they raise. Issues should be ranked according to their urgency and potential impact on the project. As with the issue log in the Manage Project Team process, you’ll assign a responsible party and a due date for resolution.

Tools and Techniques for Manage Stakeholder Expectations

The tools and techniques of this process include communication methods, interpersonal skills, and management skills. It’s been a while since we talked about management skills, but for purposes of this process, they refer primarily to presenting, negotiating, writing, and public speaking skills. Keep in mind that face-to-face communications are the most effective with stakeholders.

Manage Stakeholder Expectations Outputs

The outputs of the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process are organizational process assets updates, change requests, project management plan updates, and project document updates. The project documents that may need an update as a result of this process include the stakeholder management strategy, the stakeholder register, and the issue log.

You’ve successfully completed the Executing process group. Remember that the Executing processes and Monitoring and Controlling processes serve as inputs to each other and that Executing and Monitoring and Controlling are both iterative process groups. As your project progresses and it becomes evident that you need to exercise controls to get the project back on track, you’ll come back through the Executing process group and then proceed through the Monitoring and Controlling processes again. You’ll move on to the Monitoring and Controlling process group now and find out what it’s all about.

Understanding How This Applies to Your Next Project

This chapter is jammed with information you need to know for the exam as well as on the job. Depending on the size of your organization, many of the processes I discussed in the Executing process group might actually be handled by another department in your organization. I’ve worked in small companies (fewer than 100 people) and very large companies and have always had either a person or a department that was responsible for the vendor selection, contract negotiation, and contract administration. In all these situations and in my current role as project manager, I have significant input to these processes, but the person or department responsible for procurement has the ultimate control. For example, we use only RFPs (and occasionally RFIs) to solicit vendors. We typically use a weighted scoring model in combination with a screening and rating system to choose a vendor. For small projects, we have a list of prequalified vendors from which to choose.

Someone who is skilled at writing contracts can best handle the contracts, which ideally should be reviewed by the legal team. The legal team should also review changes proposed by the vendor before someone signs on the dotted line. Clear, concise, and specific contracts, in my experience, are critical success factors for any project. I’ve too often seen contract issues bring a project to a sudden halt. Another classic contract faux pas allows the vendor to think the work is complete while the buyer believes the vendor is weeks or months away from meeting the requirements. These types of disputes can almost always be traced back to an unclear, imprecise contract. It’s important to be specific in your statement of work. Make sure that the project requirements are clear and broken down far enough to be measurable and that deliverables are defined with criteria that allow you to inspect for contract compliance prior to final acceptance.

I’ll emphasize one last time the importance of communication, good communication skills, and getting that information into the appropriate hands at the right time. Enough said.

Managing your stakeholder’s expectations is as important as managing the project team. Stakeholders need plenty of communication, and issues need to be discussed and resolutions agreed upon. Remember the old adage that most people need to hear the same information six times before it registers with them. Stakeholders, understandably, are notorious for hearing what they want to hear. Here’s an example: If I asked you to picture an elephant, you would likely picture an elephant in your mind. It might be live or the stuffed variety and it could be gray, brown, or pink, but you’d clearly understand the concept. Elephant is a word that’s pretty hard to misinterpret. But what if I asked you to picture a three-bedroom house? There’s lots of room for interpretation there. When I said three-bedroom house, I meant ranch style with the master on one end of the house and the other two bedrooms at the other end of the house. What did you picture? Make certain you’re using language your stakeholders understand, and repeat it often until you’re certain they get it.

Summary

This chapter finished up the Executing process group. We looked at Conduct Procurements, Perform Quality Assurance, Distribute Information, and Manage Stakeholder Expectations.

Conduct Procurements involves obtaining responses to bids and proposals from potential vendors, selecting a vendor, and awarding the contract. In this process, the selection committee will use proposal evaluation techniques to prioritize the bids and proposals, and the outcome is that a seller (or sellers) is selected and contracts awarded.

Contracts have cycles of their own, much like projects. Phases of the contracting life cycle include requirement, requisition, solicitation, and award. Changes to the contract are managed with change requests.

Changes that cannot be agreed upon are contested changes. These take the form of disputes, claims, or appeals. They might be settled among the parties directly, through a court of law, or through arbitration.

During the Perform Quality Assurance process, quality audits are performed to ensure that the project will meet and satisfy the project’s quality standards set out in the quality plan.

Distribute Information is concerned with making certain project information is available to stakeholders at the right time and in the appropriate format. Distribute Information is performed throughout the life of the project.

The Manage Stakeholder Expectations process concerns making certain communication needs and expectations of the stakeholders are met, managing any issues stakeholders might raise that could become future issues, and resolving previously identified issues.

Exam Essentials

Be able to describe the purpose of the Conduct Procurements process. Conduct Procurements involves obtaining bids and proposals from vendors, selecting a vendor, and awarding a contract.

Be able to name the tools and techniques of the Conduct Procurements process. The tools and techniques of the Conduct Procurements process are bidder conferences, proposal evaluation techniques, independent estimates, expert judgment, advertising, Internet search, and procurement negotiations.

Be able to name the contracting life cycle stages. Contracting life cycles include requirement, requisition, solicitation, and award stages.

Be able to describe the purpose of the Perform Quality Assurance process. The Perform Quality Assurance process is concerned with making certain the project will meet and satisfy the quality standards of the project.

Be able to differentiate between senders and receivers of information. Senders are responsible for clear, concise, complete messages, while receivers are responsible for understanding the message correctly.

Be able to describe the purpose of the Manage Stakeholder Expectations process. Manage Stakeholder Expectations concerns satisfying the needs of the stakeholders and successfully meeting the goals of the project by managing communications with stakeholders.

Key Terms

I’ve discussed the processes you’ll use while measuring and evaluating project performance. You need to understand each of these processes to effectively evaluate progress, recognize variances from the plan, and make adjustments to keep the project on track. Know them by the names used in the PMBOK® Guide so you’ll recognize them on the exam.

Conduct Procurements	Manage Stakeholder Expectations
Distribute Information	Perform Quality Assurance

You learned a lot of new key words in this chapter as well. PMI® has worked hard to develop and define terms that apply across industries. Here is a list of some of the terms you came across in this chapter:

advertising	procurement negotiations
arbitration	project presentations
bidder conferences	project records
communication	project reports
fait accompli	qualified sellers lists
independent estimates	quality audits
information distribution tools	screening systems
lessons learned	seller rating systems
process analysis	should cost estimates

Review Questions

1. You have been hired as a contract project manager for Grapevine Vineyards. Grapevine wants you to design an Internet wine club for its customers. Customers must register before being allowed to order wine over the Internet so that legal age can be established. You know that the module to verify registration must be written and tested using data from Grapevine’s existing database. This new module cannot be tested until the data from the existing system is loaded. You are going to hire a vendor to perform the programming and testing tasks for this module to help speed up the project schedule. You decide to use an IFB and include a detailed SOW. This is an example of which of the following?

A. Standard form

B. Make-or-buy analysis

C. Advertising

D. Procurement documents

2. Receivers in the communication model filter their information through all of the following, except:

A. Culture

B. Knowledge of subject

C. Habits

D. Language

3. You have accumulated project information throughout the project and need to distribute some important information you just received. Which of the following is not an information distribution tool?

A. Project reports

B. Electronic databases

C. Electronic mail

D. Manual filing system

4. You know that the next status meeting will require some discussion and a decision for a problem that has surfaced on the project. To make the most accurate decision, you know that the number of participants in the meeting should be limited to:

A. 1 to 5

B. 5 to 11

C. 7 to 16

D. 10 to 18

5. You are holding end-of-phase meetings with your team members and key stakeholders to learn what has hindered and helped the project team’s performance of the work. All of the following are true regarding this situation except for which one?

A. These meetings are called lessons learned meetings. Lessons learned documentation is an output of the Distribute Information process. These meetings are also a good team-building activity.

B. The information learned from these meetings concerns processes and activities that have already occurred, so it will be most useful to document the lessons learned for future projects.

C. The project reports component of the organizational process assets updates output includes status meetings and lessons learned.

D. These meetings should be documented and should always include the cause of the issue, the reasons for corrective actions, and other appropriate information about the issues.

6. You are a project manager for Dakota Software Consulting Services. You’re working with a major retailer that offers its products through mail-order catalogs. The company is interested in knowing customer characteristics, the amounts of first-time orders, and similar information. As a potential bidder for this project, you worked on the RFP response and submitted the proposal. When the selection committee received the RFP responses from all the vendors bidding on this project, they used a weighted system to make a selection. Which tool and technique is this a part of?

A. A proposal evaluation technique in the Conduct Procurements process

B. A seller proposal technique in the Conduct Procurements process

C. A make-or-buy decision technique in the Conduct Procurements process

D. A procurement negotiations technique in the Conduct Procurements process

7. You have been asked to submit a proposal for a project that has been put out for bid. First you attend the bidder conference to ask questions of the buyers and to hear the questions some of the other bidders will ask. Which of the following statements is true?

A. Bidder conferences are a component of the procurement negotiations tool and technique of the Conduct Procurements process.

B. Bidder conferences are an input of the Conduct Procurements process.

C. Bidder conferences are an output of the Conduct Procurements process.

D. Bidder conferences are a tool and technique of the Conduct Procurements process.

8. You have been asked to submit a proposal for a project that has been put out for bid. Prior to submitting the proposal, your company must register so that its firm is on the qualified seller list. Which of the following statements is true?

A. The qualified seller list provides information about the sellers and is a tool and technique of the Conduct Procurements process.

B. The qualified seller list provides information about the project and the company that wrote the RFP and is an output of the Conduct Procurements process.

C. The qualified seller list provides information about the project and the company that wrote the RFP and is a component of the procurement documents input of the Conduct Procurements process.

D. The qualified seller list provides information about the sellers and is an input to Conduct Procurements.

9. Which of the following tools and techniques of the Conduct Procurements process is used to check proposed pricing?

A. Screening systems

B. Seller rating systems

C. Independent estimates

D. Proposal evaluation technique

10. During the opening rounds of contract negotiation, the other party uses a fait accompli tactic. Which of the following statements is true about fait accompli tactics?

A. One party agrees to accept the offer of the other party but secretly knows they will bring the issue back up at a later time.

B. One party claims the issue was documented and accepted in the issue log but they’re willing to reopen it for discussion.

C. One party claims the issue under discussion has already been decided and can’t be changed.

D. One party claims to accept the offer of the other party, provided a contract change request is submitted describing the offer in detail.

11. The tools and techniques of the Conduct Procurements process include all of the following except which one?

A. Bidder conferences

B. Make-or-buy analysis

C. Advertising

D. Internet search

12. The purpose of a quality audit includes all of the following except which one?

A. To determine which project processes or activities are inefficient or ineffective

B. To examine the work of the project, or the results of a process, and formally accept the work results

C. To improve processes and reduce the cost of quality

D. To improve processes and increase the percentage of product or service acceptance

13. You are a contract project manager for a wholesale flower distribution company. Your project involves developing a website for the company that allows retailers to place their flower orders online. You will also provide a separate link for individual purchases that are ordered, packaged, and mailed to the consumer directly from the grower’s site. This project involves coordinating the parent company, growers, and distributors. You’ve discovered a problem with one of the technical processes needed to perform this project. You decide to perform root cause analysis to determine the cause of this problem and recommended preventive actions. Which of the following is true?

A. You are using the process analysis technique.

B. You are using the quality audit technique.

C. You are using the root cause identification technique.

D. You are using a design of experiments tool and technique.

14. The tools and techniques of the Perform Quality Assurance process include all of the following except which one?

A. Quality audits

B. Process analysis

C. Proprietary quality management methodologies

D. Plan quality and perform quality control tools and techniques

15. You are working on a project and discover that one of the business users responsible for testing the product never completed this activity. She has written an email requesting that one of your team members drop everything to assist her with a problem that could have been avoided if she had performed the test. This employee reports to a stakeholder, not to the project team. All project team members and stakeholders are co-located. Because your team also needs her to participate in an upcoming test, you decide to do which of the following?

A. You decide to record the issue in the issue log and bring it up at the next status meeting. Everyone can benefit from understanding the importance of stakeholders fulfilling their roles and responsibilities on the project.

B. You decide to record the issue in the issue log and then phone the stakeholder to explain what happened. You know speaking with the stakeholder directly is the most effective means for resolving issues.

C. You decide to have a face-to-face meeting with the stakeholder because this is the most effective means for resolving issues with them.

D. You decide to email the stakeholder and explain what happened in a professional manner so you can incorporate their response in the next status report.

16. Your project is progressing as planned. The project team has come up with a demo that the sales team will use when making presentations to prospective clients. You will do which of the following at your next stakeholder project status meeting?

A. Preview the demo for stakeholders, and obtain their approval and sign-off.

B. Report on the progress of the demo, and note that it’s a completed task.

C. Review the technical documentation of the demo, and obtain approval and sign-off.

D. Report that the demo has been noted as a completed task in the information retrieval system.

17. Negotiated contracts that will be used as the final contract are a requirement of which of the following outputs of the Conduct Procurements process?

A. Independent estimates

B. Project document updates

C. Procurement contract award

D. Selected sellers

18. According to the PMBOK® Guide, this party is responsible for managing stakeholder expectations.

A. Project manager, because actively managing stakeholder expectations will reduce project risk and help unresolved issues get resolved quickly.

B. Project sponsor, because the overall success or failure of the project rests on this individual.

C. All stakeholders have the responsibility to make sure their expectations are managed and they receive the proper information at the right time.

D. Project manager and the project team members together have the responsibility because the project manager alone cannot manage all the stakeholders on a large, complex project.

19. This activity can become its own process with inputs and outputs on large or complex projects.

A. Seller selections

B. Procurement negotiations

C. Procurement contract awards

D. Proposal evaluations

20. Which of the following statement is false regarding contract life cycles?

A. The requirement phase is the first contract life cycle phase and is performed during the Plan Procurements process. The buyer prepares the SOW during this phase.

B. The award phase is the fourth contract life cycle phase and is performed during the Conduct Procurements process. The buyer awards the contract in this phase.

C. The solicitation phase is the third contract life cycle phase and is performed during the Conduct Procurements process. This phase receives the bids and proposals and applies evaluation criteria to each in order to score or rank the responses.

D. The requisition phase is the second contract life cycle phase and is performed during the Plan Procurements process. The buyer prepares the RFP during this phase.

Answers to Review Questions

1. D. Procurement documents include bids, quotations, RFIs, IFBs, RFPs, RFQs, and so on as you learned in the Plan Procurements process. They are an input of the Conduct Procurements process.

2. C. Receivers filter information through cultural considerations, knowledge of the subject matter, language abilities, geographic location, emotions, and attitudes.

3. A. Project reports describe project status and are an item that is distributed, not a distribution tool.

4. B. Group sizes of 5 to 11 participants make the most accurate decisions.

5. B. Lessons learned (which is what this question describes) are useful for activities and processes for the current project as well as future projects.

6. A. Weighted systems are a type of proposal evaluation technique, which is one of the tools and techniques of this process used to evaluate vendors based on selection criteria defined by the organization.

7. D. Bidder conferences are a tool and technique of the Conduct Procurements.

8. D. Qualified seller lists are an input of Conduct Procurements. Their purpose is to provide information about the sellers.

9. C. Independent estimates, also called should cost estimates, are a way to check proposed pricing.

10. C. Fait accompli is a tactic used during contract negotiations where one party convinces the other that the particular issue is no longer relevant or cannot be changed.

11. B. Make-or-buy decisions are inputs into the Conduct Procurements process, and make-or-buy analysis is a tool and technique of the Plan Procurements process.

12. B. The acceptance of work results happens later during the Verify Scope process, not during Perform Quality Assurance.

13. A. The process analysis technique in the Perform Quality Assurance process includes root cause analysis to analyze a problem and solution and to create preventive actions.

14. C. Proprietary quality management methodologies are a tool and technique of the Plan Quality process.

15. C. Face-to-face meetings are the most effective means for resolving stakeholder issues, provided these meetings are practical.

16. B. Status meetings are to report on the progress of the project. They are not for demos or show-and-tell. Option C is not correct because stakeholders are not concerned about the content of the technical documentation; they need to know that a qualified technician has reviewed the technical documentation and that the documentation task is accurate and complete.

17. D. The selected sellers output requires a negotiated contract. Independent estimates are a tool and technique of this process.

18. A. The project manager alone is responsible for managing stakeholder expectations.

19. B. Procurement negotiations, a tool and technique of Conduct Procurements, can become its own process with inputs and outputs for large or complex projects.

20. C. The requirements phase is where the SOW is prepared. The fourth phase is where the contract is awarded. The solicitation phase is where bids and proposals are prepared. However, evaluation criteria is not applied and reviewed until the award phase. The requisition phase is where the RFP is prepared.