booz allen hamilton inc. performance criteria for professional services service acquisition center...
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Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
Performance Criteria For Professional ServicesPerformance Criteria For Professional Services
Service Acquisition Center of Excellence
Opening Ceremony
Mike Cameron
November 18, 2004
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A Short StoryA Short Story
Long ago, a traveler came upon three men working beside the road. He asked the men “What are you doing?”
The first man answered “I am shaping this rock.”
The second man replied “I am building a wall.”
The third man said “I am building a cathedral.”
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How Does This Story Relate to PBSA?How Does This Story Relate to PBSA?
The first man described an activity—shaping a rock
The second man described a process—building a wall
The third man described an outcome—building a cathedral
Traditional service procurements are like the first two men—describing activities and processes.
Performance-Based Service Acquisitions are like the third man—defining a result in a way that reveals the purpose of the effort.
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The Burning Issue!The Burning Issue!
Legislation requires PBSA for service procurements—including professional services
Many agencies—and industry—are struggling to understand how to use PBSA for professional services
It’s not a small problem—professional services accounted for 34% of service procurements in 2003
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““You Can’t Define Performance Criteria For The Kind Of You Can’t Define Performance Criteria For The Kind Of Help I Need.”Help I Need.”
Existing examples typically illustrate PBSA for “commercial” services
There is little, or no, guidance widely available that addresses professional service acquisition
Without examples or guidance, many managers don’t know how to define performance criteria for professional services
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Defining Performance—The Performance Work StatementDefining Performance—The Performance Work Statement
The Performance Work Statement (PWS) provides Performance Requirements—unambiguous statements that describe
specific, measurable results that must be provided Performance Standards—statements that define the acceptable quality of
the delivered product or service Performance Measurements—statements that describe how performance
will be measured
The PWS focuses on results and avoids describing how the work will be performed
The Performance Work Statement must answer Two Simple Questions:
1. “What problem am I trying to solve?”
2. “How will I know when I’ve solved it?”
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PBSA PBSA Does WorkDoes Work For Professional Services! For Professional Services!
Professional services are fundamentally different from commercial services
Understanding those differences is the key to writing performance criteria that are meaningful and measurable
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Commercial versus Professional ServicesCommercial versus Professional Services
Commercial services are: A commodity in the marketplace Have adequate competition to set
a market price Differentiated mainly by price Repetitive by nature Insensitive to context
Professional services are: Usually highly customized Often fill a niche in the market Differentiated on factors other than
price Non-repetitive Determined by context
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Repetition and ContextRepetition and Context
The key differences between commercial and professional services are repetition and context
Repetitive services are those for which one instance of the service is fundamentally the same as any other
Repetition allows frequent observation and determination of cause and effect
When a service is sensitive to context, the outcome of the service will vary according to specific customer needs
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Two Examples of Repetition and ContextTwo Examples of Repetition and Context
Commercial Services—Facilities Maintenance
The results of the services—painting, repairs, and cleaning—are the same each time they are provided
The primary function of the facility makes little difference to the delivered service
Experiences gained from one project are directly applicable to another project
Professional Services—Strategic Planning
The specific form of the services will vary according to the need of the customer
The result of the service will differ according to the unique situation of the customer
Experiences gained from one project provide insight into other projects, but are not directly applicable
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Back to the Two QuestionsBack to the Two Questions
“What problem am I trying to solve?”
If you can answer this question, then you can identify the performance requirements…
Performance requirements define the results that must Performance requirements define the results that must be produced in order to achieve the desired solution.be produced in order to achieve the desired solution.
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Back to the Two QuestionsBack to the Two Questions
“How will I know when I’ve solved it?”
If you can answer this second question, then you can identify the performance standards…
Performance standards define the quality levels that Performance standards define the quality levels that must be achieved, or the conditions that must be must be achieved, or the conditions that must be
satisfied, to make the results acceptable.satisfied, to make the results acceptable.
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A Simple ExampleA Simple Example
Objective Statement: You have been tasked to create a customer service portal for your agency and need decision support to select an appropriate technology solution.
The exercise is to Decide what results are necessary to accomplish your objective Decide what conditions will make the results acceptable
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A Simple Example—Analysis of the ProblemA Simple Example—Analysis of the Problem
Question #1: “What problem(s) am I trying to solve?”
Answer: The measurable, specific results must be provided in order to satisfy the objective(s) of the program
1. Complete a comparative evaluation of available commercial technology products and capabilities
2. Recommend a product/capability based on relevance to the current project
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An Example—Analysis of the ProblemAn Example—Analysis of the Problem
Question #2: “How will I know when I’ve solved it?”
Answer: When I can identify the quality of service, or the delivery conditions that must be met, to make the results acceptable
1. Complete a comparative evaluation…
1. The evaluation shall identify the top five products and vendors, based on market share.
2. The evaluation criteria for the analysis shall include all program objectives, program constraints, and constraints, and technical requirements
3. The evaluation shall provide a detailed mapping of each product/capability against the evaluation criteria
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An Example—Analysis of the ProblemAn Example—Analysis of the Problem
Question #2: “How will I know when I’ve solved it?”
Answer: When I can identify the quality of service, or the delivery conditions that must be met, to make the results acceptable
2. Recommend a solution…
1. The recommendation shall provide a rationale for the selected product/capability
2. The recommendation shall provide a lifecycle cost summary
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How Well Did Our example Illustrate the Discussion?How Well Did Our example Illustrate the Discussion?
In this sample problem, the specific services required were Non-repetitive…this job will only be performed once Context sensitive…similar services provided to a different client will
produce different performance criteria
We have avoided any discussion of how the work will be performed, focusing instead on how well the work must be accomplished
Our performance criteria answered The Two Questions
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Tips For Implementing PBSA for Professional ServicesTips For Implementing PBSA for Professional Services
1. Decide that it can be done
2. Translate objectives into a set of necessary results
3. Identify the criteria that make the results acceptable
4. Make the definition of performance criteria as simple and straightforward as possible
5. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes…you will. But you will also learn from them
6. Remember, the simplest solution is usually the best one