The first of my two points of interest from this weeks readings is with the different types of contracts. According to CMBOK 2015, the different types of contracts that are used are fixed price, cost reimbursement, incentive, and other. Fixed-based agreements have a set price for its deliverables, where the actual cost does not matter. This type of contract may be appropriate when deliverables/milestone are well-defined, cost estimate is solid, and funding will sufficiently cover all project expenses (Zhu, 2021). For these contracts payment is focused on milestones and delivery of the goods, not any R&D costs associated with the work. On the other hand, cost reimbursable agreements are generally used when there is a lot of variables and when there a lot of unknowns. A good example of this is with R&D work, like the Manhattan Project, where there was no way of knowing if the weapon could be built and what was the way to build it. For these projects, the awardee is reimbursed for actual allowable, allocable and reasonable project costs in line with the approved budget (Zhu, 2021).
My second point of interest from this week’s readings is with the metrics that are measured for a project. Metrics are a specific measurable standard against which actual performance is compared (Gordon, 2016). They are broken down into what they attempt to measure, the past or future. To look forward, leading indicators originated from economics, where it is designed as a measurable factor that shifts prior to the economy following a trend (Marr, 2021). Whereas a lagging indicator shows the past, by looking at goals and targets that were either achieved or missed. Having a good view of both leading and lagging indicators, you are able to correct issues that have arisen, judge how a project is progressing and make timely decisions to drive the projects performance.
References.
Contract Management Body of Knowledge (CMBOK). (2015). National Contract Management Association. Retrieved from https://web.archive.org/web/20220621080326/https://www.apu.apus.edu/academic/partners/_documents/cmbok-desktop-pocket-guide.pdf
Gordon, R. (2016). Contracting, logistics, reverse logistics: The project, program and portfolio approach. Westphalia Press. Retrieved from https://apus.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=41212038
Zhu, J. (2021). Cost reimbursable vs fixed-based agreement types. UCLA research administration. Retrieved from https://ora.research.ucla.edu/wp-content/uploads/RAF-2021-10-OCGA-agreement-types.pdf
