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6 Guide to Contracting ITS Projects
Project Planning
Stakeholders &
Management
Yes
Establishing Budget and Consider COTS
Start project Schedule OK and Outsourcing
feasibility
No
Procurement Planning
Prepare
Statement
of Work *
Execute Decision
Prepare RFP and Prepare Prepare WBS
Process including
Execute Selection for contracting
Contract Terms and
Procurement Plan Criteria process
Conditions
Prepare
operations &
maintenance
plan Management
Contracts
Legal
Procurement
Completed
* May also include plans and specifications as required by the
selected contracting alternative
Figure 2. The planning process
COTS versus Custom System Development
Frequently, the system that your stakeholders defined while establishing project feasibility
has been developed and procured by another agency. This reality results in a favorable scenario
for you. ITS that have been previously installed are considered COTS systems. If at all possible,
you should contact peer agencies to acquire lessons learned from their experience procuring the sys-
tem that your agency is interested in procuring. Additional benefits accrue with procuring COTS
You should look for opportunities systems:
to use COTS products wherever
possible. It may be that minor · The system has been previously tested.
adjustments to the concept of · The cost for system upgrades can be shared with other agencies.
operations will permit this
· The system can be viewed in operation before system procurement.
approach.
In contrast, your project stakeholders may define a system that has not previously been
installed--a custom system development. In some cases, it may be best to procure a hybrid sys-
tem that includes both COTS and custom components.
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process by which organizations (public or private) use external providers to
manage or maintain certain aspects of their businesses. While establishing project feasibility, stake-
holders may realize that the group does not have the personnel (skills or resources) to design, procure,
deploy, operate and/or maintain the defined system. In this case, outsourcing may be prudent.
