Presented by the

Department of General Services

Bureau of Procurement

Course Objectives

When you have completed this course, you should be

able to:
Understand what a Statement of Work is and its
purpose.
Understand how to prepare a good Statement of Work
and what is included.
Understand things to avoid when writing a Statement
of Work.
Understand how to formulate the different components
of the Statement of Work.
Understand the consequences of a poor Statement of
Work.
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A Historical Perspective on
the Statement of Work
Government agencies today must be good stewards
of the taxpayers money and deliver successful
projects as efficiently and as cost effectively as
possible. The statement of work is one document
that can help ensure project success. The
significance of this document makes it important to
understand how the Statement of Work (SOW)
originated and what generated the original need for
SOWs.

A Historical Perspective on
the Statement of Work
The earliest use of a formal SOW in modern history
occurred in the early 20th century, when it was used
primarily in government contracting. In 1908, the United
States Signal Corps drafted a general requirements
document to identify the required specifications of the
Wright Brothers heavier-than-air flying machine. The
document was approximately one page in length and
included requirements such as: be easily taken apart
for transport in Army wagons and be capable of being
reassembled for operation in an hour, carry 350 pounds
for 125 miles, and maintain 40 miles per hour in still air.
Compared to SOWs used in business today, which can
easily exceed 100 pages, this was a relatively simple
document for a very complex product.
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A Historical Perspective on
the Statement of Work
Today, the government requires a much more indepth document and description of what the SOW
should look like and the level of detail that should
be included. Generally, statements of work shall
define requirements in clear, concise language
identifying specific work to be accomplished.
Statements of work must be individually tailored to
consider the period of performance, deliverable
items, and the desired degree of performance
flexibility.
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Statement of Work
Overview
Overview. The purpose of this course is to provide
guidance on how to write a Statement of Work
(SOW) for service-type contracts. It will discuss
several key elements that should be contained in
the SOW and address some of the important things
to consider when writing a SOW. A well-written
SOW can prevent disagreement, misunderstanding,
and eventual disputes between the government and
the contractor as to the expectations of the work to
be performed.
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Statement of Work
Definition
Definition. A Statement of Work is a document
that accurately describes a service requirement in
terms of output requirements and the required
quality level or standard of acceptable performance
of outputs. Basically the SOW tells what needs to
be accomplished not how to do the work.

Statement of Work
Purpose
Purpose. The SOW serves as a guideline of the
agreements on performance between a purchasing
organization and a seller materials and/or services.
As a component of the contract, it is often used to
settle disputes over what work should or should not
be included in a project. It establishes expectations
for a variety of issues in the contract relationship.

Tips For Preparing a Good

Statement of Work
Now lets discuss some tips that will help you write
an effective SOW.
a.Try to use plain and simple language in writing your SOW,

and avoid jargon, vague terms and rambling sentences. While

there is a natural tendency to want to cover all possible
contingencies in a SOW and to establish the basis for an
ironclad, no-risk, enforceable contract, this often leads to
excessive legalese creating confusion, misunderstandings
and contradictions. Ask yourself: What would a reasonable
person looking at this conclude?

Tips For Preparing a Good

Statement of Work
b.

c.

There is huge potential within a SOW for overlap,

duplication, and/or contradiction with the Terms and
Conditions of the resulting contract. Remember the
contents of the SOW are variable to define the
requirement(s) at hand vs. the standard terms and
conditions and if an item is covered in the standard terms
and conditions do not include it in the SOW.
Use generic (non-proprietary) terminology and references
in describing your requirements. This allows for greater
competition and it also minimizes the risk of a bid
challenge or allegation that the requirements were slanted
to a particular supplier.

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Tips For Preparing a Good

Statement of Work
d.

e.

The words will and shall have specific, legal meaning

within a SOW. The word shall is always used to convey a
binding provision on the Contractor (i.e. The Contractor
shall supply). The word will is always used to convey
a declaration of future action by the Buyer/Government
(i.e. The Government will provide the Contractor with).
Be careful how those words are used in the SOW.
Remember to spell out acronyms and provide definitions
for any technical or unique terms used within your SOW.

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Tips For Preparing a Good

Statement of Work
In summary, try to do your best in conveying to the
contractor what the requirement is and what it will
take on their part to complete the work to the
governments satisfaction. If you are ever in doubt
about whether to include something or not, check
with your legal office for advice.

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Preparing the Statement of

Work
In preparing to write the Statement of Work, answer
the following questions:
What is the agency trying to achieve?
What is the use, needed functionality, or outcome

expected?
What is the existing environment or framework that
must be considered?

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Things to Avoid in the

Statement of Work

When writing the Statement of Work, avoid:

Use of contradictory terms or statements, which may lead to

confusion of Statement of Work requirements;

Ambiguity in language, which can cause project delays,
amendments, cost overruns, and/or less desirable
outcomes;
Use of too many or undefined acronyms, which may make
the Statement of Work confusing or difficult to read;
Use of active voice when possible, to ensure that it is clear
whom is responsible for the action; and
Use of phrases or words that have multiple meanings, which
can lead to confusion and ambiguity.

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What to include in the

Statement of Work
The DGS template (located in the RFP
template) presents the Statement of Work in
the following sections:
IV-1 Objectives
a) General
b) Specific
IV-2 Nature and Scope of the Project
IV-3 Requirements
IV-4 - Tasks
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What to Include in the

Statement of Work (cont)
IV-5 Reports and Project Control
a) Task Plan
b) Status Report
c) Problem Identification Report
d) Final Report
i.
Summarize the expected report
ii.
Describe data collection
iii. Summarize findings/recommendations
iv.
Include supporting documentation
v.
Recommend time-phased work plan to
implement recommendations.
IV-6 Contract Requirements

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17

IV-1 - Objectives
The Objectives section identifies the organizations overall
outcome for the resulting contracted work, to provide a clear
understanding and enforceable outcome for the work to be
undertaken.
The Objectives section should define, in simplest terms, the

purpose of the project.

The General Objectives should describe why the Issuing
Office is seeking to contract the prescribed services and the
expected gains from doing so.
The Specific Objectives describe in more detail the high
level goals of the project.

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IV-2 Nature and Scope of

the Project
The nature and scope of the project defines in detail the
background of the project, as well as what specific work
falls within the range of the effort including:
Any prior phase documents that form part of the

specifications for the project;

Any contractual arrangements the Department has in place

with other contractors that the successful contractor will be

required to work or interface with;

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IV-2 Nature and Scope of

the Project (cont)
Any information that helps the contractor determine the

specific project size; this may include:

o The business model (including the descriptions of business
o
o
o
o

processes);
Other finalized business requirements;
The number of people to be interviewed;
Organizational units and their structures that will be involved;
or
Any other details that would assist the contractor in the
development of their proposal;

If the successful contractor will be precluded from

participating in future work related to the project because it

was recommended by this project;
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IV-2 Nature and Scope of

the Project (cont)
Any project related documents, if applicable, that will be

made available to the contractor during the solicitation

process; indicate from where and from whom said
documents are available, and how they will be made
available (e.g. on a sign-out basis, via email);
If the contractor will be required to sign a non-disclosure
agreement and, if applicable, include a copy of such
agreement; and

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IV-2 Nature and Scope of

the Project (cont)
The individuals (by role), the committees and/or

Department management that the Contractor will report to

or work with on the project/provision of Services.

Specific outcomes of the project should be defined,

including:
Adherence to governmental policy.
The scope of the project should be carefully
evaluated.
Creating a project with a broad scope can increase
project risk and make attaining objectives and
successful criteria difficult.
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IV-3 - Requirements
The specific requirements of the project that are to
be met must be clearly defined.
*Note that mandatory project/service
requirements should be based on, and
support, the objectives of the project.
If contractors respond stating that they cannot meet
a mandatory requirement, the response is treated
as unacceptable. Requirements should be
developed with regard to a business need, rather
than as related to aspects or features of an
envisioned solution or service.
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IV-3 Requirements (cont)

Requirements may include:
Federal, state, or other governing mandates to which the proposal

must adhere;
An overall project timeline or expected timeframe for completion; and
Commonwealth standards to which the proposal must adhere.

Deliverables are key to measuring successful work

requirements outcomes. The requirements should also:
Describe each deliverable fully;
Be quantifiable;
Clearly identify when the deliverable must be met; and
Relate acceptance of work/deliverables with the payment for

a specific portion of work.

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IV-3 Requirements (cont)

The requirements will not include time and materials
pieces; all requirements must be defined in terms of
project deliverables.
Multiple year projects may include out years, defined
as those outside the initial contract period. For
Out years willprojects:
not be performed under a time and materials basis; and
multi-year
Out years deliverables can be negotiated during renewal years.

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IV-3 Requirements (cont)

Requirements may also define key performance
objectives (KPI) as part of a measurable objective.
KPIs are financial and non-financial metrics used to
quantify and reflect the performance of the
contract. KPIs are frequently used to value
activities within the contract. The KPIs differ
depending on the nature of the Statement of Work
and organizational strategy. They help to measure
progress towards their organizational goals,
especially toward difficult to quantify knowledgebased processes.
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IV-4 - Tasks
Define those specific tasks which the contractor is to
perform. Each task must be related to a higher level
requirement and deliverable, as defined in section IV-3.
This section should also describe a task plan, defining
the method by which the contractor shall achieve
identified tasks. Following are details specific to each
task which should be included in the task plan:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Analysis & design of objectives and events

Planning the work according to the
objectives
Assessing and controlling risk
Estimating resources
Allocation of resources
Organizing the work
Acquiring human and material resources

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IV-4 Tasks (cont)

8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.

Assigning tasks
Directing activities
Controlling project execution
Tracking and reporting progress
Analyzing the results based on the facts achieved
Defining the products of the project
Forecasting future trends in the project
Quality Management
Issues management
Issue solving
Defect prevention
Identifying, managing & controlling changes
Project closure (and project debrief)
Communicating to stakeholders
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IV-5 Reports and Project

Control
The template defines several areas under Reports and
Project Control, highlighting the importance of these
elements in a successful project.
Any reports that are expected or required should be
defined. In describing the reports, define the following:
The schedule upon which reports are to be provided;
To whom the report shall be addressed;
Items of interest to be included; and
The method for identifying at risk project items, including

thresholds to be analyzed.

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IV-5 Reports and Project

Control (cont)
If possible, provide a template to be used for status
reports. This may include:
Overall summarization of the project/services progress;
Deliverables achieved;
Deliverables remaining, progress, and expected delivery on

each; and
Issues and concerns affecting specific deliverables and the
project schedule or any other aspect of the project/services.

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IV-5 Reports and Project

Control (cont)
Examples of some reports include:
Status reports periodic report to demonstrate status of

individual tasks as relate to project deliverables and/or

milestones;
Problem Identification reports report identifying and
describing specific problems encountered within the project;
Deliverables report periodic report to demonstrate status
of project deliverables;
Final Project report single report at the closure of the
project to present the outcome of the project;

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IV-5 Reports and Project

Control (cont)
Spend Detail Report report detailing the actual items procured

within a given time period, potentially including Purchase Order

(PO) Number (open and shipped), Material Number, Item
Description, U/M List Price (catalog only), Cost U/M, Quantity
Ordered, Total Cost, Request Date, Commit Date, Ship Date,
and PO Receipt Date;
Payables Report report detailing how the Commonwealth is
meeting its payable obligations to the supplier;
On Time Performance (OTP)/Delivery Report report
demonstrating deliverables/tasks and how they are
accomplished relevant to agreed upon dates; and
Response Time Report report detailing how well a service
level agreement/acknowledgement is met specific to on-time
performance.
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IV-5 Reports and Project

Control (cont)
Another means to ensure that information is properly
transmitted to the appropriate stakeholders is to develop
a formal communication plan. This plan identifies all
stakeholders and what information is to be shared with
which stakeholder groups. Further, this plan identifies
the schedule and media by which the aforementioned
reports should be distributed to stakeholders.

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IV-6 Contract Requirements

This portion of the DGS template should be left as is
and includes standard contracting language.

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Definition of Change Control

Process
An important element of developing a Statement of
Work is planning for and anticipating change. It is
common for requirements defined in the Statement
of Work to need modification upon commencement
of a contractor engagement. To protect COPAs
interest and make this process as smooth as
possible, the change control process that will be
used for the engagement should be defined along
with the statement of work.

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Definition of Change Control

Process
A change control process should be in place to ensure
that project objectives are met by monitoring and
measuring progress regularly to identify variances from
the plan so that corrective action can be taken when
necessary. This process will define the project/program
managers responsibility, authority, and limitations to
effect changes based upon the project baseline and
the project plan. The process also defines the group of
stakeholders, in some cases an executive board, who
have the authority to approve or deny requested
changes to the agreed upon Statement of Work.

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Definition of Change Control

Process
This section is not currently part of the published DGS
RFP template, but may be appended as section IV-7
Definition of Change Control Process. An example of
language that could be included in this section follows:
The agency and the contractor will mutually define and document
acceptance criteria to be reviewed by the executive change control
board. These criteria will be based on functional requirements.
Upon approval of these criteria by the change control board, the
agency and the contractor will mutually agree to the revised criteria.
Successfully meeting the acceptance criteria as documented with
the Pennsylvania Statement of Work form and signed for approval by
designated agency staff shall constitute acceptance. Milestones
for acceptance will be incorporated into the project plan and
managed by the assigned Contractor personnel.

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38

Consequences of a Poor
Statement of Work
At the RFP Stage (pre-award):
Excessive number of offeror questions
Time delay extensions to RFP Posting period
Discourages many offerors from proposing
Reflects poorly on Government
Diminished trust/confidence
Week foundation to establish meaningful

evaluation and selection criteria, and to defend

them
Reduced likelihood of selecting the best offeror.
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Consequences of a Poor
Statement of Work
At the Contract Stage (post-award):
Operational Risks (i.e. project failure, delay,

weak contract management)

Financial Risks (cost escalations, amendments,
unnecessary expenditures, poor value-formoney)
Legal Risks (Contractor litigation, dispute
resolution)
Reputational Risks (negative media coverage,
negative audits, diminished public confidence)
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41

Sample Statement of
Work
Select the link below to view an example

of a well written Statement of Work.

http://www.dgsweb.state.pa.us/comod/Training

/SampleStatementofWork.doc

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Thank You!

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