What factors are critical for successful acquisition?

Dobbins & Donnelly (1998) have identified many critical factors that can prove to be vital in the government acquisition process. I will discuss some of these factors in the following.

1. Technically competent program office staff: This is the most important factor for any business that is dealing with government for an acquisition of a contract. The program office staff responsible for the acquisition process must have the technical skills to deal with different aspects of the process. For example if the acquisition process is about the acquisition of providing a security software, the program staff must have security experts who can provide timely response to any inquiries by the government.
2. Risk management: Risk is a part of each business game. Risk management is a must to deal with unforeseen circumstances that may arise during the acquisition process or during the implementation of the project already acquired.
3. Schedule management: Government acquisition process have a definite time schedule like when will be the deadlines for the application and proposal submission etc. All these deadline and other scheduled activities must be properly managed to be successful in the acquisition process.
4. Managing political influences: It is obvious that government departments work under one or other form of political setup. There are, therefore, different political influences which need to be managed in an appropriate manner.
5. Leadership: There is a need for an effective and efficient leadership that can lead a team to acquire a government project. The leader must be well informed and must have the ability to manage change.