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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