Plan
post-award of the acquisition contract. It covers all phases and aspects of system acquisition, including:
• Developing the statement of work (SOW)
• Developing and issuing the request for proposal to acquire the system • Evaluating proposals
• Ensuring that all required equipment and materials can be procured as required
• Planning, organizing, and coordinating to ensure that the funding, personnel, resources, and logistic support required are available when and where required
The acquisition process should be considered in the investment analysis, since the investment analysis includes the costs to acquire the system, the projected schedule, and budget.
In developing the Acquisition Strategy, the analyst needs to carefully evaluate the process of acquiring the system and all requirements for a smooth acquisition. This is a much more detailed evaluation of this phase of the life cycle than in the Investment Analysis, and effectively provides a 'sanity check' for the Investment Analysis. The more detailed analysis of the process should also help to identify efficiencies and cost-saving measures in the acquisition process. Two key elements of the Acquisition strategy, to a large extent interrelated, are the budget and schedule.
One of the IPT’s primary responsibilities in planning the acquisition is to develop the budget, including the budget profile (i.e., how much money in which years) and the amounts required from the different budgets. The investment analysis should include the budgetary requirements for the preferred alternative. The IPT needs to ensure that:
• The budget covers all requirements for the acquisition, including all peripheral equipment, telecommunications, supplies, logistic support, and government and contractor personnel.
• The budget is adequate to cover all acquisition-related activities, including any risk mitigation actions, contractor support, legal support, etc.
• The budget request is based on a realistic assessment of funding requirements.
• The budget profile is consistent with the acquisition schedule; that is, funding is available when it is needed to meet the planned schedule. Among the considerations should be whether the acquisition is single or multi-year, whether it is phased (i.e., it should cover planned enhancements or future phases), whether there are planned upgrades or refurbishments, and the implementation schedule if the system will be installed at multiple sites.
• The funding profile is provided in budget year dollars (i.e., inflation included).
• Review authorities will require accurate budget numbers.
Careful schedule planning is necessary to ensure materials, resources, and support can be delivered when needed, and then to ensure that the budget reflects the financial requirements to meet the schedule. The schedule should include milestones for all acquisition period events; i.e., developing the SOW, issuing the request for proposal, evaluating the proposal, selecting the vendor, contract award, any production required, and delivery of products and services. As necessary, the schedule should also include time for legal reviews/opinions, or other events particular to the project. The ITIM Process & Procedures Guide lists project milestones for required activities, with guidance on actions required and scheduling. As with the budget, the schedule analysis should be more detailed than in the CBA, and should provide a sanity check for it. Some key elements that the schedule analysis should account for include:
• Schedule dependencies (e.g., x has to be completed before y can occur)
• The lead-time required for various activities • Coordination of schedule with the budget
• Time-period between contract award and delivery; this can be minimal for COTS items, but where production or software development is required, the time and annual funding for such activities needs to be carefully planned and coordinated
• Coordination with the implementation schedule (which may drive the acquisition schedule), particularly if (a) the implementation is phased, and/or (b) a large number of systems is being installed over multiple years
The implementation plan covers the period from the acquisition of the system and related resources until the system is fully operational. Although there should be a degree of implementation planning during the
Schedule Planning
the system, any infrastructure needs, etc.), the actual plan is developed after the preferred alternative is selected. Like the acquisition strategy, the implementation plan is often presented as part of the business case package; however, for major or critical systems, or systems being installed in numerous locations, there may be a requirement for a separate document. The SDLC Manual provides details about the implementation plan.
As with the acquisition strategy, development of the implementation plan is equivalent to a sanity check on the investment analysis. The analysis involved ensures that the system can be effectively implemented, and provides information to the Project Manager and decision-makers for effective planning and coordination. Also, like the acquisition strategy, it requires special attention to budget and schedule issues.
Since there are numerous activities during the implementation phase, all must be evaluated in terms of budgetary requirements. Again, it is important to plan and coordinate with the schedule to ensure that adequate finances are available when needed. This is especially important when there is a phased implementation, and/or when the implementation is at multiple sites. Planning is necessary to cover any known upgrades/enhancements.
The transition period is important. In many cases, there is a brief period where both a legacy and a new system are running simultaneously until there is adequate confidence that the new system is working properly. There may also be a temporary requirement for extra staff or contract support. Other measures may have to be taken to ensure that daily office functions are performed and services to the public continue while the transition is taking place. If an existing system(s) is/are being replaced, budget planners should also account for removal and disposal of such system(s).
Training is one item that is often miscalculated. Training plans need to consider numerous factors: number of people to be trained, length of training courses, course materials (type, media, etc.), whether course materials are available or need to be developed, type of training (briefings, classroom, laboratory), and logistics (e.g., how many people need to travel, and to where?).
Careful schedule planning is necessary to ensure that materials, resources, and support can be delivered when and where needed, and to ensure that the budget reflects the financial requirements to meet the schedule. The
Budget
Key considerations include the following:
• Schedule dependencies and lead times required for various activities • Coordination of schedule with the budget
• The time period between delivery and installation and between installation and actual operational readiness. It should not be assumed that a system is installed just after delivery and is activated once it is installed. The schedule should account for checkout/testing, data transfer, and other activities before the system can begin operation
• Site preparation; activities and how much time is required before the system can be installed
• The implementation schedule, particularly if (a) the implementation is phased, (b) a large number of systems are being installed over multiple years, and/or (c) there are planned upgrades or enhancements
• Transition period; how long and what sort of transition is required. With a relatively simple system upgrade, there may be a minimal transition period with no likely disruption. With a system radically different than what is in place, there may be a period with both systems operating, and a transition in terms of business process reengineering and new procedures
• Training should be scheduled very shortly before a system becomes operational, so that users will have the training fresh in their memories when they begin using the new system
A key function of the acquisition and implementation plans is to provide the analysis and planning to demonstrate the feasibility of acquiring the system and bringing it to operational status. They also refine the CBA cost and schedule estimates, in particular, the acquisition budget and implementation schedule.
For each option being considered in the investment analysis, there should be at least a high-level analysis to determine and estimate the costs of acquisition and implementation requirements. A schedule must also be estimated since this determines the operational life cycle period. In most cases, the investment analysis should identify acquisition and implementation issues such as site preparation and infrastructure requirements, integration issues, training requirements, and security issues. In general, the investment analysis should provide decision-
Validation of Economic and Schedule Analysis
schedule and budget that is accurate enough for planning purposes.
For project reviews, particularly presentations to the IAB, decision-makers and managers will want to see that there is thorough planning for system acquisition and implementation, covering security, resource and budget issues, risk management, and schedule in order to decide whether to fund it or not.
Once the analysis has been completed and an alternative has been recommended for approval, assemble the findings into a concise report that can be used to support informed decisions. The report should be consistent with other program documentation. It should also address the various topics identified in this volume, including options, assumptions, parameters, performance measures, costs, benefits, risks and uncertainties, sensitivity analysis, and a recommendation. This section shows how to prepare the business case documentation to demonstrate the relevance and financial viability of an IT investment option.
Early in the process, identify the audience for the cost benefit analysis and for the report. In particular, it is important to determine who are the decision-makers and the stakeholders. In practice, there may be several audiences at various levels or for different parts of the process. In nearly all business cases, the audience will include:
• The IAB – the INS review authorities, who view the business case in terms of the standard IT investment ranking criteria. Ultimately, the IAB decisions play a major role in determining which projects are funded.
• Congress – which provides funding for projects, is primarily interested in solid justification for projects in terms of economic soundness, meeting organizational goals and objectives, and adhering to the guidelines of federal directives such as the GPRA, the Clinger- Cohen Act, and "Raines' Rules".
• Other Stakeholders/Sponsors – This may include system users, other INS groups or managers, INS senior management, other government organizations, private sector businesses, organizations, and other groups impacted by the project. Stakeholders have an interest in the project because they will use it or its products and are primarily focused on their interests being addressed. The IPT should coordinate with stakeholders throughout the business case process, including the presentation of results.