Defining roles and responsibilities related to procurement should be done early in the Plan Procurement Management process.

The project manager should ensure that the project team

is staffed with procurement expertise at the level required for the project.

Participants in the procurement process may include personnel from the purchasing

or procurement department as well as personnel from the buying organization's legal department.

These responsibilities should be documented in the procurement management plan.

Typical steps might be:

§  Prepare the procurement statement of work (SOW) or terms of reference (TOR).

§  Prepare a high-level cost estimate to determine the budget. Advertise the opportunity.

§  Identify a short list of qualified sellers.

§  Prepare and issue bid documents.

§  Prepare and submit proposals by the seller.

§  Conduct a technical evaluation of the proposals including quality.

§  Perform a cost evaluation of the proposals.

§  Prepare the final combined quality and cost evaluation to select the winning proposal.

§  Finalize negotiations and sign contract between the buyer and the seller.

The requirements of the project schedule can significantly influence

the strategy during the Plan Procurement Management process.

Decisions made in developing the procurement management plan can also influence

the project schedule and are integrated with the Develop Schedule process,

the Estimate Activity Resources process, and make-or-buy decisions.