Chapter 32: Procurement Management during Monitoring & Controlling the Project

Aim: To understand the Administer Procurements process

The administer procurements process is the blueprint for managing the procurements process and making any changes as necessary. It is the process of comparing vendor or service performance to the contractual service level agreements (SLA). Due to its implications and its potential effect across several sections of the project or the enterprise, all team members must be aware of the legal ramifications of any change in the contractual relationship. In addition, project-vendor disbursements tend to tie the SLAs, or performance agreements, and deliverables to direct cash expenditures.

At all cost, you must avoid any undocumented or unapproved cash disbursements or change that might go against your project deliverables.

The table below shows the inputs, tools and techniques, and outputs for the administer procurements process.

Administer Procurements
Inputs	Tools & Techniques	Outputs
Procurement documents Project management plan Contract Performance reports Approved change requests Work performance information	Contract change control system Procurement performance reviews Inspections and audits Performance reporting Payment systems Claims administration Records management system	Procurement documentation Organizational processes assets updates Change requests Project management plan updates

In general, the project procurements administrator is from the procurement management office and/or your legal department and has the authority to issue change requests or early terminations.

Remember that all communications pertaining to procurement administration must follow formal channels and be logged in your project log.

Your procurement administration process should include mechanisms that allow for contract renegotiation, management response, and payment terms definitions.

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Chapter 76: Administering Procurements

The term procurements and procurement management have been covered multiple times in the previous chapters.

Administering procurements is the process of monitoring and controlling the procurement part of the project. It’s a three-pronged process:

1. Manage procurement-specific relationships
2. Monitor the performance of the procurement part of the project
3. Monitor and control the procurement-related changes

Administering procurements has a two-pronged goal: The seller performance meets the procurement requirements, and the buyer meets its agreed-upon contractual obligations.

Depending on the size and complexity of the project and the structure of the performing organization, procurement administration may be treated by a group outside of the project organization. But you will still need to integrate this function with the project and act as a communicator and coordinator to ensure that this function is performed smoothly without adversely affecting the other aspects of the project. The project management processes that can be used for administering procurements include Perform Quality Control, Report Performance, Direct and Manage Project Execution, Monitor and Control Risks, and Perform Integrated Change Control.

In that sense, it’s a high-level process and is illustrated in the picture below:

The major input items are the procurement management plan, work performance information, performance reports, contracts, and approved change requests.

The tools and techniques used in administering procurements include the contract change control system, the payment system, claims administration, and inspections and audits.

Administering procurements may generate change requests as the output. Updates to certain documentation related to procurement management can also arise out of this process.


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Next: Summary - Monitoring & Controlling Project Work