Procurement Strategy Tool is aimed at helping to develop the strategy to be used in procurement of the project that is the PPM Selection Project of the University of Prosperity. In this approach, the planning, execution, and management of procurements to be undertaken in the project lifecycle will be explained. Procurement Strategy deliverable is prepared in the Planning Process Stage of the project and helps be a framework document of the concerned top management, such as the project manager, project team, project sponsor, procurement manager, contract manager, and senior leadership of the project (Amaro & Domingues, 2023). The strategy will establish the tasks that have to be undertaken to undertake the acquisition process and it is fundamental in the success of the acquisition of the Project and Portfolio Management (PPM) solution to the University of Prosperity.

Background and Objective

Business Problem

The University of Prosperity is experiencing enormous challenges on its capability to manage and control its soaring number of projects well. At present, there exist no coordinated method of project and portfolio management (PPM) and the current projects management procedures are scattered and not-so-efficient. The university finds it hard to plan its projects with respect to the strategic goals, real-time tracking, and resource allocation in various projects. Portfolio managers and project managers do not have a centralized platform to review the whole project landscape, assess the project performance, or make decision-based data.

This unintegrated usage of PPM is causing below par performance of a project in terms of failure to meet due dates, cost overruns and an inefficient utilization of resources. The university also does not have a system of record which would enable them to make equalized project reporting (Edition, 2018). The university cannot allow a reliable prediction of the requirements of the future projects, monitor the usage of resources and deal with the project risks without an integrated PPM solution.

The goal of the PPM Selection Project would be to acquire a detailed and complete PPM solution to fill the identified gaps by improving the way projects are managed, effectively support the decision-making process, and align the projects with the strategic objectives of the university. With a well-established PPM solution, an organization will be able to manage its resources, align projects, and report better, thus being able to make it more productive and efficient.

Applicable Assumption

The assumptions most crucial to the process of procurement, and which must form the basis of the strategy, are the following:

Schedule Assumptions: The proposed plan of acquiring the supplies should be accomplished within the stipulated period of the Project Charter. Sourcing postponements might cause negative impacts on the complete project program, which might include implementation.

• Cost Constraints: The university has a fixed budget that would be used in acquiring the PPM solution. The present budget incorporates the software cost, implementation services, training, and subsequent support cost. The project sponsor will have to approve any variations regarding the scope of work as well as unexpected expenses.

• Scope Assumptions: The scope of the procurement can be defined as acquisition of a PPM solution with such parts as portfolio management (software), resource distribution (software), project planning (software), financial monitoring (software) and reporting (software). Also, the vendor will deliver the following types of services: the system integration and configuration, system customization and the training of the university workers.

• Resource Assumptions: The resource that will be used in the procurement will be the available members of the project team and other stakeholders in the university. Sourcing of extra external resources to run the procurement activities will not be necessary.

Technology Assumptions: PPM solution should be able to conform to existing IT infrastructure in the university. The solution must be easily accommodated to the existing systems and be able to be easily adopted by staff in the university.

Delivery Method and Performance-Period Requirements

Professional services will be used to provide PPM solution and they include system integration, configuration, and customization. The vendor will maintain responsibility in ensuring that PPM solution is applicable to the requirements of the university such as compatibility with the current IT-related systems. The vendor shall also give training of project managers and staff to enable them be fully capable of using the solution.

Demands of the PPM solution in the performance-period will comprise an elaborate program of implementation, which will be used by the negotiation phase of a contract. This schedule will set the standards of integrating, configuring, testing, and training of the system users (Marnada et al., 2022). Also, performance benchmarks will be set to make sure that the PPM solution is to be understood by the university as per the expectations concerning functionality, integration, and usability.

The urgency behind the process may be explained by the necessity to overcome the existing inefficiencies with respect to the project management. The lag in acquisitions would lead to persistence of the inefficiencies as well as these unutilized chances of enhancing the project management practice of the university. Thus, the pace of procurement should be increased as well as the high standards of selecting the vendors and assessing them.

Contract

Contract Type

The PPM solution and other services to be procured under the project will be provided using firm-fixed-price (FFP) contract. With firm-fixed-price type of contract, the vendor is required to offer the desired PPM solution and services as well as additional services at a specific amount. The amount is settled prior to the commencement of the project. Such kind of contract is suitable since there will be clear cost control of the university which means that budget will not be overspent. Firm-fixed-price structure also reduces the financial risk of both the vendor and the university since it guarantees the expense of software, implementation, training, and support.

The firm-fixed-price contract will contain such major points:

• Scope of Work: specifications of the PPM software in full with specification of functional and technical requirements and implementation, customization, and training responsibilities of the vendor.

• Payment Terms: We will be paid after successful completion of agreed milestones which might include; completion of system integration, configuration, training amongst others.

Delivery Schedule: An elaborate schedule of delivery of solution, complying with implementation and post-implementation back-up.

• Service Level Agreements (SLAs): These are agreements specifying what the vendor is supposed to do in terms of performance including the response time regarding the technical support as well as the availability of the system.

This is the type of contract that the university will find satisfying because it will see to it that the project is accomplished within the stipulated period and budget and the university will have the freedom to negotiate on terms, which suit its strategic goals.

Procurement

Procurement Phases

The process of OP will follow the following phases in the procurement of PPM solution.

1. Planning Phase:

The procurement team will identify the strategy of the procurement, and it will include the development of the Request of Proposal (RFP). The RFP will also contain the technical, functional, and service requirements of the PPM solution by the university. Also, the project team will develop the selection criteria and find possible vendors to offer the project proposals to.

2. Solicitation Phase:

The required vendors will be identified and the RFP presented to them and they will be requested to give detailed proposals. These proposals will be evaluated by the procurement team with respect to preset criteria, some of which are the cost, the experience of vendor, their technical skills and the implementation schedule proposed by the vendor (Qazi & Appolloni, 2022). This stage is aimed to narrow the set of vendors by finding the shortlist of those who can satisfy the needs of the university.

3. Contracting and Selection of Vendor:

The proposals will be assessed more thoroughly and the procurement team will perform vendor interviews or demonstration, where necessary. The team will evaluate the capacity of each of the vendor to satisfy the technical and functional requirements of the university and then identify the most suitable vendor. After selecting a vendor, the team involved in the procurement process will negotiate the contract terms such as price, payment etc.

4. Implementation Phase:

The chosen vendor will commence deployment of the PPM solution that involves integration of the system, configuration, and customization of the system to conform with the current IT infrastructure of the university. Training will also be done to the project managers and other pertinent personnel by the vendor (Qazi & Appolloni, 2022). The project manager will carefully oversee the execution process to make sure that the process runs on schedule and it meets the expectations of the university.

5. Closeout Phase:

On successful implementation of the PPM solution, a final verification of the deliverables as done by a responsible procurement team will be carried out. The last payment will be provided and the contract will be closed officially. This will be accompanied by an evaluation of the success of the procurement process done upon implementation to determine the lessons learnt to be used in the future procurements. The summary of the Procurement Phases.

In this document, a procurement strategy of the PPM Selection Project within the University of Prosperity will be described. Through this approach, the university will be in a good position to acquire a PPM solution that addresses its project management requirements, increases its resource utilization and visibility of project portfolio. The procurement strategy will keep all the major stakeholders in constructive collaboration and that the procurement process will be deployed in an efficient, timely, and cost-effective manner.

References

Amaro, F., & Domingues, L. (2023). PMBOK 6th meets 7th: How to link both guides in order to support project tailoring?. Procedia Computer Science, 219, 1877-1884.

Edition, P. S. (2018). A guide to the project management body of knowledge. Project Management Institute. Pensylvania, 21.

Marnada, P., Raharjo, T., Hardian, B., & Prasetyo, A. (2022). Agile project management challenge in handling scope and change: A systematic literature review. Procedia Computer Science, 197, 290-300.

Qazi, A. A., & Appolloni, A. (2022). A systematic review on barriers and enablers toward circular procurement management. Sustainable Production and Consumption, 33, 343-359.

Phase 1: Planning Phase

Identify the procurement strategy

Phase 2: Solicitation Phase:

Review Vendor

Phase 3: Contracting and Selection of Vendor:

Review the completed PPM solution RFP

Review your PPM Solution Requirements

Review the RFP Process

This stage is aimed to narrow the set of vendors by finding the shortlist of those who can satisfy the needs of the university.

Answer any pending questions related to the RFP

Discuss scores by the RFP responses and vendor presentations

Produce a Vendor Scorecard

Evaluate vendors RFP's and presentations using the scorecard.

Development o request of proposal (RFP)

Technical, functional and service requirement of the PPM solution.

Develop the selection criteria and finding possible vendors.

Phase 4: Implementation Phase:

Vendor will commence deployment of the PPM solution

Training will also be done to the project managers and other pertinent personnel by the vendor

The project manager will carefully oversee the execution process to make sure that the process runs on schedule and it meets the expectations of the university.

Phase 5: Closeout Phase:

Final verification of the deliverables as done by a responsible procurement team will be carried out.

The last payment will be provided and the contract will be closed officially.

Evaluation of the success of the procurement process done upon implementation to determine the lessons learnt to be used in the future procurements