Write a 3-4 page APA format paper on explaining what the Requirement Determining Process is. You will also want to discuss the importance of the solicitation and methods you should use.

What the Requirement Determining Process is?

Introduction

Federal acquisition process is governed by the Federal Acquisition Regulations that each contractor has to meet before they can apply to a government project and be considered for it. These regulations are then used as a guide to comply with the government requirements and a conflict resolution tool if there is any organization conflict of interest during the project implementation (Kathuria, 2009). To fully comply with the requirements of the government projects it is pertinent to abide by the regulations stated in the federal acquisition regulations. Requirement determination process is the process of understanding and fulfilling the requirements of a government projects. In this paper, I will discuss the different aspects of the requirements process that are necessary to understand for the contractors to be successful in the project implementation.

Eligibility Requirements

Any organization that want to apply to federal contracts has to fulfill some legal requirements prior to their application for the contract. First step is to get a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number. This is a 9 digit number that is unique for each business (Number, 2017). The second requirement that must be meat is to get a registration from the Government’s System for Award Management (“System For Award Management”). Without fulfilling both, a company would not be eligible for a government contract.

Defining Requirements

Federal acquisition process is a partnership between the government and the contracting party that is interested in the acquisition. The government issues their requirements in their terms of reference and them in other documents that are provided to the contractors to fulfill. But the process of the requirement definition is not a straight forward one. A contractor may need to be in constant communication with the government to properly define the requirements. The contracts may use the services of technical experts to define government requirements for them. The process of requirements definition consists of the following ingredients.

Understanding Government Requirements: This is the most important activity involved in the requirement determination process. A contract officer is assigned to deal with this stage. He/she is responsible to go through all the available documents issued by the government and document the list of the requirements. The government may not clearly state some requirements. It is the responsibility of the contract officer to dig deep and communicate effectively with the government to define the requirements. If requirements are not clearly understood, the project may not be implemented properly and the project short and long term goals may be jeopardized.

Conducting a Market Research: The contractor may still be in doubt about some requirements as this could involve technologies and other variables that are the most recent and the government may not be able to help in any way. The contractor has then to perform a market research to understand the requirements. Different market research techniques would be then incorporated. This market research would not only help in understanding the requirement but also help in understanding the technologies and/or other equipment that are necessary to carry out the project. Different suppliers would also be identified with this process. A comparison between these suppliers can then be carried out to identify the best one in terms of the price and the quality.

Statement of Work (SWO): The government has their own rules and requirements that they used to award payments to their contractors. The contractors can use Statement of Work to identify these requirements and work in accordance to it while defining requirements so that there are no future conflicts in future payment from the government.

Importance of Solicitation

Solicitation is utilized by the government to ask for information from the bidders about their proposed solutions, their financial quotations and/or other information (“The Solicitation Process “, 2016). The solicitation process can prove to be vital in the requirements determination process. The government has their own inquiries to make from the contractors that are trying to win a contract. They communicate with the contractors to know the types of solutions they have to offer. The contractors can use this as an opportunity to clarify about the requirements that are dubious. The government may use different solicitation methods depending on the specific requirement of the contract. Some of these methods are requesting a quotation, telephone buy, invitation to tender, bid solicitation and request for standing offers.

Conclusion

I would conclude my discussion by stressing on the importance of the requirements determination process. This process can make a contractor win or lose a government contract. It depends on the skills of the contractors to decide how they use the process to be a successful contractor while applying to government contracts.