TenStep Project Management Process Procurement Extension

This extension describes the processes and techniques used to manage project procurement. Procurement is not considered to the TenStep Project management process for a number of reasons.

  • Although it is a vital aspect of project management for many project managers, the experience of the authors is that it is not a core aspect for most. Therefore although it is certainly an interesting topic for project managers, and it is an area where all project managers should have some familiarity, it is not a responsibility for most project managers.

  • Even if there is an aspect of your project that deals with vendor management, in most organizations it is the ultimate responsibility of a Procurement or Contracts Department. Project managers normally do not have authority to sign contracts on behalf of the company. Again, you may be a project manager that has such authority, but you would not be in the majority.

  • Although it may be true that project managers do have many responsibilities managing the vendor relationship once a contract is signed, they normally do not have formal authority to if there are issues, problems, changes, etc. In each of those instances where the contract needs to be enforced or changed, the centralized Procurement Group would again step in for primary responsibility.

The points above are not meant to diminish the importance of procurement management on many projects. The point is just to show why this aspect of project management is described in an extension to the TenStep Project Management Process, rather than being a core “step” in the project management model.

Extensions are a way to provide more content of interest to some project managers, without adding to size of the core process. 

Instructions for using this Extension

If you have a project where procurement will be a major aspect of your project management work, you can use this extension to supplement the content in the basic TenStep process. When you read the TenStep process you will find placeholders in various sections where procurement content would be applicable. These sections have a comment for the reader to find the content in the Procurement Extension instead. You can refer to the content in this extension. If this is a subject that your organization uses an on ongoing basis, you may choose to integrate this procurement content into your base TenStep process.

1.1.3.1 Plan Procurements

1.2.6 Techniques / Basics of Contracts

3.1.3.P7 Administer Procurements

3.1.6 Managing Outsourced Projects

3.2.4.P9 Re-bid or Renegotiate External Contracts

90.0.P2 Close Contracts

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