How to Write a Statement of Work, 6th Edition

Table of contents

1. Cover
2. Title Page
3. Copyright
4. About the Authors
5. Dedication
6. Table of Contents
7. Preface
8. CHAPTER 1. OVERVIEW
   1. What Is a Statement of Work?
   2. Importance of the SOW
   3. Need for a Clear and Concise SOW
      1. Before Award
      2. After Award
      3. To Establish Performance Standards and a Contractual Baseline
      4. To Provide Prospective Contractors with a Basis of Estimate
      5. To Communicate Effectively
   4. Relationship of the SOW to the Solicitation and Contract
      1. Format and Content of the Solicitation and Contract
      2. Relationship of the SOW to RFP Sections L and M
   5. Use of the Proposal Preparation Instructions
      1. To Ensure Appropriate Coverage
      2. To Standardize Proposal Format
      3. To Require Specific Information
   6. Formatting the Proposal Preparation Instructions
   7. Need to Check Your Work Carefully
9. CHAPTER 2. PLANNING AND PREPARATION
   1. Acquisition Planning
      1. What Is the Real Requirement, and When Is It Needed?
      2. How Will Success Be Measured or Determined?
      3. What Is It Likely to Cost, and What Funds Are Available?
   2. Market Research
   3. Thinking the Project Through
   4. Using a Work Breakdown Structure
   5. Choosing the Contract Type
      1. Fixed-Price Contracts
      2. Cost-Reimbursement Contracts
      3. Time-and-Materials and Labor-Hour Contracts
      4. Indefinite-Delivery Contracts
   6. Choosing the SOW Type
      1. Functional Descriptions
      2. Performance Descriptions
      3. Differences between Functional and Performance Descriptions
      4. Design Descriptions
   7. Incorporating a Contractor’s Proposal by Reference
   8. Distinguishing Between Level-of-Effort (LOE) and Completion SOWs
      1. Level-of-Effort SOWs
      2. Completion SOWs
      3. Distinguishing between the LOE and Completion Forms
      4. Providing a Basis of Estimate for LOE and Completion Requirements
   9. Personal Versus Nonpersonal Services
   10. Sole-Source SOWs
   11. Follow-on Efforts and Options
10. CHAPTER 3. WRITING A PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT FOR PERFORMANCE-BASED SERVICE CONTRACTING
    1. What is Performance-Based Service Contracting?
       1. Performance Work Statement
       2. Quality Assurance Plan
       3. Incentive Plan
    2. When Is It Appropriate to Use PBSC?
    3. Developing a Job Analysis
       1. Organizational Analysis
       2. Data Gathering
       3. Directives Analysis
       4. Market Research
       5. Work Analysis
       6. Performance Analysis
       7. Cost Analysis
       8. For Defense Department (DoD) Readers
    4. Developing a Quality Assurance Plan
       1. Types of Surveillance Methods
       2. Selecting Surveillance Methods
       3. QAP Example
    5. Offering Incentives
       1. Formula Incentives
       2. Award Incentives
       3. Award Term Incentives
       4. Should Incentives Be Used in PBSC Contracts?
       5. Deductibles
    6. Summary
11. CHAPTER 4. USING A STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES (SOO) AND RELATED ISSUES
    1. What Is an SOO?
    2. SOO Format
       1. Section L
       2. Section M
    3. Incorporation by Reference
    4. Using an SOO
    5. Competing the SOO
       1. Five-Step Approach
       2. Releasing Funding Information
    6. Summary
12. CHAPTER 5. THE SOW FORMAT
    1. SOW Part I: General Information
       1. Section A: Introduction
       2. Section B: Background
       3. Section C: Scope
       4. Section D: Applicable Documents
    2. SOW Part II: Work Requirements
       1. Section A: Technical Requirements
       2. Section B: Deliverables
    3. SOW Part III: Supporting Information
       1. Section A: Security
       2. Section B: Place of Performance
       3. Section C: Period of Performance
       4. Section D: Government-Furnished Property
       5. Section E: Qualifications of Key Personnel
    4. SOWs for Sealed Bidding
       1. How the Differences between Sealed Bidding and Negotiation Affect the SOW
       2. Techniques to Support the SOW
    5. Summary
13. CHAPTER 6. COMMON PROBLEMS IN WRITING SOWS
    1. General Writing Guidelines
    2. Common Ambiguities in SOWS
       1. Inconsistency of Requirements
       2. Calling a Requirement by Different Names
       3. Conflicting or Unreasonable Schedules
       4. Incomplete Description of Requirement
       5. Vagueness and Generalized Language
       6. Use of Abstractions
       7. Unnecessary Comments
       8. Poor Sentence Construction
       9. Typos or Missing Text
       10. Overly Complicated Vocabulary
       11. Excessively Long Sentences
    3. Conflicts Between the SOW and Contract Clauses
    4. Obtaining Contractor Comments
       1. Draft Solicitations
       2. Preproposal Conference
       3. Proposal Preparation Instructions
    5. Guidelines Related to the Use of Words
    6. Guidelines Related to the Use of Phrases and Terms
14. CHAPTER 7. MANAGING CHANGES TO THE SOW
    1. Legal Precedents Backing Change Management
    2. Identifying Changes
    3. Managing Project Changes
       1. Factors Affecting Change Mismanagement
    4. Tools for Managing Changes
       1. Change Order Form
       2. SOW Change Order Tracker
15. APPENDIX A. SOW REVIEW
16. INDEX