Practical Contract Management - Getting the Results

The post award management of the contract by the contract holder, line manager, project manager or supervisor is essential to the successful execution of the contract.

With organisations contracting out more of their activities it is becoming increasingly important to ensure that the performance of the contract is managed correctly. Companies now focus their efforts on getting the upstream activity correct but unfortunately the downstream activity is just left to happen, the consequences of which are cost and schedule over runs.

Just leaving the contract to happen doesn't work - the contract must be managed on an on-going basis. Failure to do so leads to quality being compromised, clauses falling into disuse (or even misuse) and disputes and claims proliferating. Most activities that are out sourced tend to be contracted for 3-5 years with options to extend for further years, so it is vital that the promised results are delivered throughout the life of the contract.

The course provides participants with;

• the ability to understand what has been passed from the upstream phase
• the ability to examine the business environment and foresee how the contractor may perform
• recognition of the importance of their interpersonal skills
• project management tools
• some tools required to measure the contractor's performance.

By the end of the course participants will be able to;

• appreciate the Business Drivers relative to a particular contract
• read the "road map" through the contract and apply the levers of performance
• examine roles and responsibilities and how to agree the rights and obligations
• understand the value of Intelligence Gathering and be able to apply and communicate the acquired knowledge effectively
• appreciate the different types of contract/relationship
• recognise the company's Business Ethics and the dangers of Information Brokering
• apply Contract/Project Management tools & techniques
• use the controls from the contract and build in additional operational ones of their own
• use the Tool Kit for Improvement
• investigate, understand and apply the "soft" and "hard" dimensions successfully to deliver contract completion.
• explore the "what" and the "how" of key performance indicators
• take a pro-active, organised, effective and agreed role in variations, claims, close-out and knowledge capturing.