Performance Work Statement
The Performance Work Statement (PWS) specifies the government's requirements for services to be performed under the resulting task order. The PWS is one of three optional work statement methods - the others being the Statement of Objectives and the Statement of Work - that may be used in an ITES-2S Task Order Request.
The ITES-2S Ordering Guide (1.2M MS Word file) describes the PWS in paragraph 4 of Chapter 3 with an annotated example provided in Attachment 3, including a section for a Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan.
The use of a PWS (with included Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan [QASP]) is the task order request method that most closely adheres to the principles of Performance-Based Services Acquisition. A well-crafted package accomplishes the following:
- Requirements (or Outcomes) define the work in measurable, mission-related terms
- Measurable performance standards are tied to requirements or outcomes
- Includes a plan and methodology for measuring performance against standards
- Performance incentives promote contractor achievement of desired outcomes and/or performance objectives
Key elements of the PWS that are essential to supporting the PBSA paradigm include:
Related links:
- Defense
Acquisition University
Templates for various services - Army Material Command
PBSA links and templates
Developing the PWS
Many variants on the Performance Work Statement format exist on the Web and in various training courses. The ITES-2S Ordering Guide (1.2M MS Word file) provides a template for the PWS as used on this contract.
In contrast to a classic SOW, the PWS focuses on what the contract is to perform, rather than how to do the work. This shift is key to establishing a PBSA task.
Use of Templates "Re-use" - a term from software engineering - is very applicable to developing a PWS. If possible, find a good, well-crafted PWS with strong performance-oriented characteristics in a similar task activity and use that as a starting point in writing your agency's requirements. This may expedite your PWS writing process.
Writing Style – Check all statements within the PWS to make sure that directions to the contractor are eliminated and that all "how" statements are removed. The emphasis is on capturing technical requirements in terms of outcomes desired, rather than details that often devolve into "direction," which should be avoided.
Roles and Responsibilities - The PWS should be clear regarding roles and responsibilities of the government. This must be clear since the responsibilities for service delivery generally belong to the contractor, unless otherwise stated.
Performance Requirements
FAR 2-101 defines "performance-based contracting" as structuring all aspects of an acquisition around the purpose of the work to be performed, with the contract requirements set forth in clear, specific, and objective terms, with measurable outcomes, as opposed to either the manner by which the work is to be performed or broad and imprecise statements of work.
Performance requirements (required services) should focus on the outcomes or end results required rather than the “how” of accomplishing this. A good performance requirement statement directly addresses one or more problems (needs) of the Requiring Activity.
| ITES-2S Task Area | Performance Requirement(s) |
|---|---|
| Business Process Reengineering (BPR) | All key managers are interviewed and inputs integrated into the
current system definitions |
| Information Systems Security | Systems installed shall meet the specified security and vulnerability
standards System backup and disaster recovery plans comply with X |
| Information Technology Services - Engineering Life Cycles | Super-user workstations must be replaced at two-year intervals Software Development organization shall be CMMI® Level 5 Registered |
| Program/Project Management | Deliver required reports Assess customer satisfaction for each service Provide timely notification of issues or other items requiring government action |
| Strategic Enterprise IT Policy and Planning | |
| Systems Operation and Maintenance | Hardware and software that are declared surplus, must be disposed
of within 60 days Call Center must be available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week, 365 days per year Provide preventive maintenance |
| Incidental Construction | Comply with all Health, Safety, and Environmental regulations
and directives |
Performance Standards
A "performance standard" is a characteristic of a "performance requirement" (service or product) that indicates the quality of the outcome achieved and that can be measured. Each performance requirement should have a performance standard. For some services, more than one performance standard may be appropriate if they each individually measure a unique facet of the quality of service being delivered. Conversely, in some cases, one performance standard may apply to several services in an aggregate or composite manner.
Performance standards define the measures of success in delivery of the performance requirement. Normally, it is expressed in terms of a metric that measures the service and in terms of a period of time over which the metric is measured and evaluated.
Metrics Selection - It is important that a performance indicator metric:
- Is quantifiable - measurable in a numerical or countable manner
- Focuses on the critical services provided rather than ancillary items or intermediate results
- Stresses the performance of the contractor and not the specific methods or processes used
- Is relatively similar to historical values and experience
- Minimizes judgmental evaluations
- Represents how well the services are meeting the standard
- Is realistic - sometimes this may be a compromise
- Is unambiguous - each element of the performance standard should be well defined in the context of the task order and the services being ordered
For example, the number of aircraft departures could be compared to the number of departures scheduled in a period of time to determine the number of cancelled or delayed flights. Then, a percentage (error rate) for delayed flights can be determined. The performance standard would be based on the percentage of cancelled or delayed flights in the given period.
Defects and exceptions - The performance standard is based on a measurement (count) of the defects or exceptions to the metric used to express the performance standard. Usually, perfection would be zero (0) defects.
Metric Periods - Normally, a performance standard includes a measurement period (per day, per item, per month) for the term of the task order.
Qualitative and Subjective Metrics – It should be noted that most PBSA tasks will have some performance standards that are best evaluated in terms of "qualitative" or “subjective” measures. These often are a substitute for hard, quantifiable metrics when these metrics are not readily identifiable. If qualitative measures are included, they should be defined such that they result in quantifiable measurements or indicators.
Daily Management Metrics - Well-managed organizations rely heavily upon process metrics and like data to accomplish daily management of their operations. Often these metrics are numerous, detailed, perhaps complicated, esoteric, and of value principally to those managing the processes. If they were not of value, an efficient organization would cancel the measurement immediately! This data is often innocuous such as personnel attendance, security logs, help desk trouble ticket categorization attributes, vendor payment timeliness, etc. These metrics play a key role in the contractor or organization effectively executing its process, which ultimately produce the required services or products for the customer.
Undoubtedly there is a relationship between daily management metrics that measure a process and those that adequately measure satisfaction of specific requirements in accordance with a performance standard. It is important to recognize the difference between "common" daily management metrics and those that must bear a role in the measure of final accomplishment of requirements. A contractor's daily management metrics should be evident in various plans, e.g. PMP, QAP, etc., as well as the processes uses, especially in a CMM® Level 5 or an ISO 9001:2000-registered organization.
The following table provides several additional examples of performance standards that are germane to typical required services within the scope of ITES-2S. These examples illustrate the concepts but may not be applicable to any specific customer’s requirement.
| Performance Requirement | Performance Standard | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| Provide continuous operations of mainframe systems and services | Availability 98 percent during the hours 0800-1600 One 2-hour maintenance outage scheduled monthly |
|
| Comply with applicable site environmental, health, safety and fire regulations | All incidences are reported No major violations Less than one minor violation per month |
Illustrates multiple standards for one requirement |
| Document all product shipments | In accordance with accepted Management Plan | |
| Assure that customers (call center operations) are satisfied with quality of service | No more than 5 percent of callers surveyed express dissatisfaction with service |
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Note: CMM and CMMI is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office by Carnegie Mellon University.